Michael Douglas Objected to This Uncomfortable Gay Scene in ‘Behind the Candelabra’
Actor Michael Douglas teamed up with Matt Damon for the critically acclaimed feature Behind the Candelabra. Douglas played famous artist Liberace in the picture, with Damon co-starring as his lover Scott Thorson.
Although Douglas had no problems playing a gay character in the film, there was one scene that the Oscar-winner felt was too extreme.
Michael Douglas had these gay scenes cut out of ‘Behind the Candelabra’ for his kids
Douglas was well aware of what he was getting into when playing Liberace in Behind the Candelabra. Although the film came out in 2013, he’d been considered for the project as far back as 2000. Filmmaker Steven Soderbergh was interested in doing a film about Liberace, and approached Douglas about the idea in Traffic.
“I was cast in Traffic as a government drug-enforcement czar in a gray suit and tie. And Steven came up to me and wanted to know if I ever thought about playing Liberace,” Douglas once told Vulture. “I thought he was playing a game with me—like it was some mind-f*** trick to get me into the character. But I played along—I imitated Lee’s [as Liberace was known] voice briefly for him, and we went on with making Traffic.”
Years later, he’d portray the flamboyant artist alongside Damon. But there was one sequence in Soderbergh’s script that Douglas felt needed to be omitted. Especially since Behind the Candelabra was a film he hoped to share with his family one day.
“Liberace loved sex, and I didn’t have a problem with that. But, at one point, Steven Soderbergh wanted to show [Liberace] watching a gay porno,” he said. “I said, ‘I’d like my kids to see this R-rated movie, but I don’t want to show them a 14-inch d**k! It was the only thing I objected to, so we cut to different parts of the apartment during the porno.”
Michael Douglas wouldn’t have done ‘Behind the Candelabra’ in the prime of his career
At the time, Douglas found portraying Liberace different from many of his usual film roles. Having known and met the artist in real life, Douglas considered Liberace a very personable figure.
“The nice thing about this part is that I am playing a nice guy. I don’t get to play nice guys that often. He was so generous. He was such a nice fellow,” he once said according to The Irish Times.
Additionally, Douglas would be doing a gay role. Which he admitted wasn’t an opportunity that would’ve interested him years prior.
“No, not in the prime of my career,” Douglas said. “I wouldn’t have taken this role. I would have been scared in terms of where everything was at in the gay situation 20 years ago. We’ve come a long way. I don’t know. Matt is in the prime of his career and he didn’t even think about it. But there are not a lot of guys who, in Matt’s position, wouldn’t blink when offered that part even now.”
What truly concerned Douglas about playing Liberace wasn’t his sexuality, but rather his size.
“I guess I was nervous because he was a big guy, a Polack,” Douglas said. “He was barrel-chested. One thigh was the size of both of mine. His hands were huge. I’m not an impersonator. How do you capture all that?”
Matt Damon pretended Michael Douglas was his wife Catherine Zeta-Jones in kissing scenes
Damon and Douglas had to indulge in a few intimate scenes with each other in Behind the Candelabra. Audiences would see the two stars lock lips for the first time on screen. In a resurfaced interview with Access (via Digital Spy), Douglas’ wife Zeta-Jones revealed how Damon used her to get through the kissing scenes.
“Matt actually said to my husband that when he had to kiss Michael, he’d close his eyes and pretend he’s actually kissing me, which I thought to be extremely flattering,” she said.
