Michael Douglas on 'Ant-Man' and being a good guy

[July 09, 2015]  By Piya Sinha-Roy

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - From "Fatal Attraction" and "Wall Street" to last year's "Beyond the Reach," Michael Douglas has never shied away from characters that have mislaid their moral compasses. But as he enters what he calls "the afternoon" of his career, Douglas wanted to play the hero.

In Marvel's latest superhero movie "Ant-Man," in theaters on July 17, Douglas plays scientist Hank Pym, who creates a technology that allows its user to shrink and become an insect-sized superhero.

Douglas, 70, told Reuters what drew him to a Marvel movie and what he'd do as Ant-Man. Below are excerpts from the interview.

Q: What enticed you to take on a Marvel movie?

A: Wouldn't you or wouldn't anybody in this world want to get in one of these movies if you can? I mean, everyone says "this will stereotype me or typecast me." I don't have to worry about that. I came into the Marvel world in the afternoon of my career. So this to me was such a joy, and a treat to do something I've never done before, with the kind of special effects these movies have, play a good guy, a heroic guy, someone my children can look up to.

Q: You mentioned Hank Pym is a good guy, but he has some complexities.

A: You know old Mikey likes complexities. I always like characters that have a little mix in the air, a little bit of darkness that goes a long way.

Q: What does "Ant-Man" get to do that the other Marvel superhero movies haven't really tapped into?

A: Probably more of the sense of humor that the "Guardians of the Galaxy" had to a degree. The whole concept of getting small and looking at the special effects of the eyes of an ant, I think this is really going blow a lot of people's mindsets.

Q: What themes do you think that this movie gets to explore that tap into today's world and audience?

A: I would say relationships of the parent and their kid, struggling with those relationships and certainly good over evil. People always ask me, "if you could be Ant-Man, what is the first thing you would do?" For me that would be eliminating nuclear weapons. That would be my first goal.

Q: That's a pretty big goal considering ...

A: Yes, that I'm a pretty small ant.

(Reporting by Piya Sinha-Roy, editing by Jill Serjeant and Peter Galloway)

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