Michael Douglas to release ‘raw, sweeping’ memoir later this year

Oscar-winning actor Michael Douglas is set to release a "raw, sweeping" memoir this autumn, promising an unfiltered account of his celebrated personal and professional life. The as-yet-untitled book, due out on 6 October from Grand Central Publishing, aims to illuminate the realities behind the headlines.

"After being asked for many years, I’ve finally decided it’s time to tell my story on my own terms," Douglas stated in a release on Wednesday.

"Not the highlight reel, not the version shaped by headlines or box office numbers, but the real one. I’ve lived a life that unfolded in public while being deeply private at the same time, and there’s a difference. This is about where I came from, what I fought against, and what I chose for myself. Fame can blur the truth; this is my attempt to bring it back into focus."

The 81-year-old actor, who collaborated with Michael Fleming on the project, has been a fixture on screen and in the public eye for decades.

The son of Hollywood legend Kirk Douglas, he rose to prominence in the 1970s with The Streets of San Francisco before starring in iconic films such as Fatal Attraction, Wall Street and Basic Instinct. He also produced the Oscar-winning One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, a project his father had long aspired to undertake.

Douglas’s life has been marked by significant challenges, including surviving cancer and substance abuse, as he strived to forge his own path distinct from his famous father.

His marriage in November 2000 to fellow actor Catherine Zeta-Jones, more than two decades his junior, initially faced scepticism but has since become one of Hollywood’s most enduring unions.

Grand Central’s announcement highlights that the memoir will trace his journey "from his father, Kirk Douglas’ shadow to his own stardom," bearing both his demons and triumphs, including his "victorious fight against stage-four cancer and his enduring 25-year marriage to Catherine Zeta-Jones, which has proved skeptics wrong and become one of Hollywood’s most enduring love stories."

Beyond his Academy Awards for acting in Wall Street and producing One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Douglas boasts five Golden Globes, a Primetime Emmy, and an AFI Lifetime Achievement Award.

He is also a dedicated philanthropist and activist, having been appointed a Messenger of Peace by United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan in 1998.