Michael Douglas — Second Chances

Determined to stay positive, Douglas is savoring his much-improved family relations, including those with his father, now 93 and living in Los Angeles. He delights in bringing his younger kids to visit Kirk. "It's like a feeling of immortality," Douglas explains. "Just knowing that it's your daddy's daddy really does excite my kids." He says that Kirk, who suffered a stroke in 1996, has fully recuperated and has rediscovered spirituality in his life. "He's a very different person than when he was actively involved in his career," Douglas says. "I'm in awe to be able to watch how I'm going to hopefully conduct my next act."

Kirk himself says he has seen a remarkable change in how Michael relates to his children—and to him. "Michael is more like a father now than he ever has been," he observes. "And Michael is closer to me as we get older."

 This summer, for the Liberace biopic filming, Michael Douglas plans to temporarily relocate his family from New York City to L.A. so they can be closer to his dad and stay together through this new production. With his father and young children separated by nearly nine decades, Douglas is acutely aware of the precious value of time. "I'll be watching my six- and nine-year-olds just take off on their computers," he says. "I'm looking on in complete awe; they're looking at me like I'm a dinosaur. Time is moving fast—it's moving really fast." He pauses, then adds, "I'm just trying to slow it down."

Jim Jerome has written celebrity profiles for People, Ladies' Home Journal, and InStyle.