Whilst some movie stars took the lighter road, Michael Douglas very rarely has.
With Douglas, the inverse is true.
Where Douglas is different is that, unlike Cagney and Robinson, he looks like a leading man.
What Douglas brings to his characters is the charm and personal magnetism of a traditional movie star.
Even in his first major hit,Romancing The Stone, Douglas plays a morally ambiguous smuggler.
Its not until the climax that he has redeemed himself.
There are probably three factors for Douglas career trajectory.
The first is age.
The second factor is his fathers example.
His father provided a precedent for his son to follow.
InFalling Down, Douglas took on a role that put even Gordon Gekko in the shade.
Embodying the frustrations and resentments of a deranged WASP, Douglas reaffirmed his status as a daring leading man.
InA Perfect Murder, Douglas plays an out-and-out villain who ends up brutally murdered.
While these roles were not Douglas phoning it in, there is a sense of him becoming pigeonholed.
Test cases:The American PresidentandThe Ghost And The Darkness.
When Douglas starts the film as a weak, somewhat duplicitous president, it feels right.
Having Douglas play a redemptive arc packs a intertextual punch.
As a Great White Hunter, Douglas fails to convince.
With such an archetypal character, Douglas presence undermines its sense of mystery.
He is too recognisable a star for the role to work.
It is one of his best, and most underrated performances.
Despite Douglas reputation as a ladies man, it is a role that fits him like a glove.
One hopes that todays current generation of male thespians can maintain the kind of character trajectory that he did.