People can sometimes be blinded by the illusion of first impressions, and that’s exactly what happened to Michael Douglas when he judged a new actor without first testing his ability. Perhaps the Ant-Man star expected less from the young lad whose career had only just begun.
Douglas revived his fame after joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Hank Pym, but he was quite the star during his early years in Hollywood. Some of his notable works from the past include Basic Instinct, The War of the Roses, and Romancing the Stone. His 1987 film Wall Street finally got a sequel in 2010.
Michael Douglas Wasn’t Thrilled With Shia LaBeouf Joining Wall Street 2
Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps follows Michael Douglas’ Gordon Gekko who finds himself out of prison yet mocked by his peers. He befriended his daughter’s boyfriend, Jake Moore (played by Shia LaBeouf), in hopes of earning her trust but also saw it as an opportunity to take down a Wall Street enemy.
In an interview with Access Hollywood, Douglas admitted he had second thoughts about the Lawless star joining the franchise. He noted that LaBeouf might not be able to live up to certain expectations:
“Shia, honestly, we were all not sure about whether he had the chops. As you remember from the first, Charlie Sheen carried the movie, Gordon Gekko had very colorful parts, but it was not every scene.”
LaBeouf has starred in several big franchises over the past years, with the likes of Transformers and Indiana Jones under his belt. He also appeared in the star-studded movie Fury, Disturbia, and Eagle Eye.
But, fans would prominently recognize the actor as Sam Witwicky from the famed action-adventure Michael Bay films. He was replaced by Mark Wahlberg in the fourth installment, following the actor’s sentiment that his character’s story had run its course.
Douglas, feeling that the “timing was right” to finally bring in the sequel to the story he helped create in 1987, was shocked at LaBeouf’s performance:
“He knocked it out of the park. I’m so proud of him, he just kicked butt.”
The Falling Down actor contemplated on Gordon Gekko and revealed that LaBeouf became interested in investing and trading after starring in the sequel:
“It’s an interesting time, sort of 22 years later, Gekko going to jail. [He] comes out, no money, can’t trade, what happens? I stayed so far away from all of that stuff. My character doesn’t enter into that world, so that was the perfect excuse for me not to care because it’s not my world.”
Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps was fairly received by the audiences, although many preferred the original movie for its brilliant storytelling and creative production.
Michael Douglas Reflects On His Wall Street Character
Despite the fame of the Wall Street movie, Michael Douglas could not grasp viewer’s fascination with Gordon Gekko. He told Parade that he finds this obsession really bizarre:
“Everybody is fascinated with Gordon even though he was a villain. That’s what was so weird. I kept getting a run of drunken investment bankers coming up to me at bars saying, ‘You’re the man. You’re the man. You’re the reason I got involved in this business.’ And I’m going, ‘Whoa, but I’m the bad guy, right?’ And they were like, ‘No, no!’ So there you go. Greed is good.”
Indeed, running a business like this means money cannot sleep – it has to keep flowing! And, once you get addicted to it and be able to witness the power it holds, it can become an obsession.
Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps is available on Hulu, Prime Video, and Apple TV.
Sources: Access Hollywood, Parade
