After a career spanning everything from The Streets of San Francisco to “Fatal Attraction,” Wall Street” and the “Ant-Man” movies, Michael Douglas stars in the epic, eight-part limited series “Franklin,” now streaming on AppleTV+.
If you don’t think Douglas looks like Benjamn Franklin, neither did the actor. He does an extraordinary job, however, dissappearing undet the skin of the American founding father, especially at his late-in-life, diplomatic best. These were the years where Franklin was tasked with trying to persuade the French to back the States in the War of Independence — an audacious ask of one monarch’s help in plotting against another one in Great Britain.
Franklin was in his seventies at the time, back in the 18th century when life expectancy topped out at around 39. “He makes Joe Biden look like a kid!” Douglas joked — a few months before Biden’s age became a hot election issue.
Does it help to be famous to play someone famous, I ask? Douglas acknowledges that he could tap into some of the built-in, “rock star”-like advantages Franklin enjoyed. That “Franklin” the series is also about a struggle for democracy, as well as a tale of truth, lies and the power of the press, well, how bloody timely is that.
Douglas also talks about The Kominsky Method, his farm in Quebec, the Montreal doctor who saved his life and, as he approaches his 80th birthday in September, gratitude. I’m just grateful for this conversation with a reflective star, which happens to be a Canadian podcast exclusive.
To read more about Michael Douglas and his joy in bringing “Franklin” to life, follow this link to the feature I wrote for Zoomer magazine.
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To listen to our podcast conversation, simply click on the white arrow in the blue dot above.
