Cancer-ridden star braves red carpet

Fans were shocked when the superstar admitted he had the disease last month.

The actor — who turns 66 tomorrow — did not speak as he walked down the red carpet and has had to pull out of international trips to promote the movie.

Douglas was diagnosed with stage four oropharyngeal cancer after doctors found a walnut-sized tumour at the base of his tongue. It is shrinking thanks to radiation and chemotherapy and is confined to the neck area, giving him an 80 per cent chance of recovery.

But treatment has left him with mouth sores that make it hard to eat and swallow.

Douglas admits to being a heavy smoker and drinker for years. Eight in 10 throat cancer victims use tobacco and drink alcohol, according to the American Cancer Society. Men get it twice as frequently as women.

Oscar winner’s best movies

Michael Douglas returns to the big screen this week in Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, the sequel to the 1980s blockbuster about corporate greed.

He deservedly won his only acting Oscar for his portrayal of Gordon Gekko — his other was the Best Picture prize for One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest, which he produced. Here are his top five roles:

Wall Street (1987)

Douglas dazzles as ruthless stock market kingpin Gordon Gekko in Oliver Stone’s blistering attack on the materialistic 1980s and its cash-obsessed yuppies.

Fatal Attraction (1987)

Douglas stars as Dan Gallagher, a married New York lawyer whose illicit one-night stand comes back to haunt him and his family.

Basic Instinct (1992)

Infamous for Sharon Stone crossing her legs, Douglas excels as a hard-bitten cop who begins a torrid affair with a murder suspect.

Falling Down (1993)

Man-on-the-edge William ‘D-Fens’ Foster (Douglas) goes on a violent rampage across LA to fight back against the social ‘injustices’ he encounters.

The Game (1997)

A taut psychological thriller by David Fincher (Se7en) in which Douglas plays a millionaire who learns life lessons from a perplexing and terrifying live action fantasy game.

Fun facts about the acting legend

• Michael Douglas turns 66 tomorrow — the same day his wife Catherine Zeta Jones turns 41.
• He met his wife in August 1998 at the Deauville Film Festival in France and told her he wanted to have children with her.
• The actor made his film debut in 1969’s Hail Hero, in which he plays a hippy draft evader who decides to fight in Vietnam.
• He was guest of honour at the rum roof wetting for Masterworks art gallery in November 2006 — and nearly fell off the cherry-picker while 25ft in the air after he lost his footing.
• He is a member of the UN Messenger of Peace group, which focuses on nuclear disarmament and human rights.
• He lived with actor Danny DeVito when they were first starting out in acting.
• He is one of only two people to win Oscars for Best Picture and Best Actor in their lifetime — the other is Sir Laurence Olivier.
• The Sunday Times last year estimated he and his wife are worth a net $278 million.