A nepo baby who became an A-list movie star in his own right is unrecognizable in his old high school yearbook photos.
He was born to one of the reigning icons of Old Hollywood, an actor known for his ravishing looks and smoldering performances.
The son, meanwhile, became one of the most recognizable celluloid faces of the 1980s and 1990s, starring in two erotic thrillers that helped define the genre.
In real life he inspired widespread mockery for tying the knot with a much younger actress, but their union has proven to be a rare long-lasting showbiz marriage.
Even diehard fans of this actor would be hard-pressed to guess his name just by looking at his high school yearbook pictures from 1963.
Can you figure out who he is?
A nepo baby who became an A-list movie star in his own right is unrecognizable in his old high school yearbook photos
The actor in question is Michael Douglas, pictured in his senior year photo at The Choate Preparatory School in Wallingford, Connecticut in 1963.
Various pictures from his yearbook show him as part of the football team, sitting at his desk and taking part in the automobile club.
He is also pictured with a group of his classmates apparently attending a dance, given all the male students were wearing suits with corsages.
Michael is a scion of Old Hollywood royalty, as the son of Spartacus and Paths Of Glory star Kirk Douglas and his actress wife Diana Dill.
Early in his own movie career, Michael was a successful producer, helping bring The China Syndrome and One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest to the screen.
The peak of his stardom came in the 1980s and 1990s when he starred in two of the best-remembered erotic thrillers of the era.
First came the 1987 picture Fatal Attraction, led by him and Glenn Close, and then in 1992 came Basic Instinct, which cast him opposite Sharon Stone.
The 1980s was when Michael delivered his best-remembered performance – his Oscar-winning turn as the ruthless Gordon Gekko in Oliver Stone’s Wall Street.
The actor in question is Michael Douglas, pictured in his senior year photo at The Choate Preparatory School in Wallingford, Connecticut in 1963
Michael, 80, and his wife Catherine Zeta-Jones, 55, are pictured last month attending the Red Sea International Film Festival in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
He is pictured on the right, wearing glasses whilst sitting at his desk
He is also pictured with a group of his classmates apparently attending a dance, given all the male students were wearing suits with corsages; Michael is in the middle of the front row
Michael is in the back row, third from left, in a meeting of the school’s automobile club
Michael is pictured in the middle of the front row as part of the football team
The peak of his stardom came in the 1980s and 1990s when he starred in two of the best-known erotic thrillers of the era, beginning with Fatal Attraction with Glenn Close (pictured)
HIs other best-remembered erotic thriller is the 1992 hit Basic Instinct, directed by Paul Verhoeven and starring him with Sharon Stone (pict
ured)
The 1980s was when Michael delivered his best-remembered performance – his Oscar-winning turn as the ruthless Gordon Gekko in Oliver Stone’s Wall Street
His longtime fans also remember him in such movies as the adventure picture Romancing The Stone and the dark divorce comedy The War Of The Roses, both starring him alongside Kathleen Turner and Danny DeVito.
Later career highlights include his acclaimed performance as Liberace in the HBO biopic Behind The Candelabra, featuring Matt Damon as his lover.
Michael, 80, has been married since 2000 to Catherine Zeta-Jones, 55, with whom he shares his son Dylan, 24, and daughter Carys, 21.
Ever since their romance burst into the public eye in the 1990s, the pair have set heads turning because of their yawning quarter-century age gap.
But in spite of the naysayers, they have soldiered through personal crises to emerge as one of the most enduring couples in Hollywood.
The marriage was not without its rough patches, particularly in the early 2010s as Michael battled throat cancer and Catherine was diagnosed with bipolar II disorder.
They briefly separated in 2013, but quickly fell back into each other’s arms later that year, with Michael explaining that he and Catherine were ‘working things out.’
A few years later, Catherine remarked: ‘I’m very blessed. I have a husband who listens to me and I’m a wife who listens to him. That’s why – though every marriage goes through ups and downs – we’ve come to a place where we couldn’t be better.’
