'I'M HAPPY TO PLAY THE WIFE'

At 80, Michael Douglas has bid goodbye to Hollywood for a supporting role at home as his wife Catherine Zeta-Jones continues to pursue her career

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He has won five Golden Globes, two Oscars and one Emmy and is regarded as one of the finest Hollywood stars of his generation.

But despite his prolific acting career, Michael Douglas, at the grand old age of 80, has stepped back and says he is happy to let Catherine Zeta-Jones, his wife of nearly 25 years, take the spotlight.

“I just like to watch my wife work,” he says. “I’m not working. I’m not pursuing work. My golf game is getting better. I have one little independent movie that I’m trying to get a good script out of, but that’s about it. Catherine is 25 years younger than I am. She’s very busy right now and I think, in the spirit of maintaining a good marriage, I’m happy to play the wife.”

Michael, who shares children Dylan, 24, and Carys, 22, with Catherine, 55, continues: “I’ve had a very busy career, I’ve not worked since 2022 because I realised I had to stop. I’d been working hard for almost 60 years, and I didn’t want to be one of those people who dropped dead on set.

“I’m very happy with taking the time off. I have no real intentions of going back. I say I’m not retired because if something special came up I’d go back. Otherwise, I’m quite happy.”

Michael and Catherine Zeta-Jones in 2015 with their children, Dylan and Carys