Michael Douglas is opening up about one of his biggest struggles as a father.
Speaking to AARP the Magazine, the “Wall Street” actor, 76, got candid about son Cameron’s drug abuse and revealed that he learned to set boundaries as a result.
“Set boundaries, big and small. My older son, Cameron, was a drug addict and ended up serving seven-and-a-half years in federal prison,” the actor told the outlet, per Entertainment Tonight. “That was hard, having to protect myself and my family and tell my older son that if you feel like I’m pulling away from you, I am, because I’m afraid you’re either going to kill yourself or kill somebody else.
“That experience with Cameron I don’t wish on anybody,” Douglas added of his son, who he shares with ex Diandra Luker.
MICHAEL DOUGLAS’ SON CAMERON DOUGLAS FREED EARLY FROM SUPERVISED RELEASE
From left to right, Cameron Douglas, the late Kirk Douglas and Michael Douglas at the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2018. Michael Douglas recently opened up about the relationship between him and his son, Cameron, during the height of Cameron’s drug addiction.
(AP, File)
“There is a toughness that’s required,” the actor continued. “But when you reach that point, you’re doing it for your child.”
Cameron’s drug-related problems came to a head when he was arrested in July 2008 at a Manhattan hotel. In 2010, Cameron, now 42, was sentenced to five years in prison for heroin possession and dealing methamphetamine and cocaine.
CAMERON DOUGLAS RECALLS PASSING AROUND DRUGS AT FAMILY PARTY
His sentence was lengthened after he confessed to smuggling drugs into prison. He was then placed in solitary confinement from 2012 to 2014 at the Cumberland Federal Corrections Institute in Maryland.
In a 2018 interview with Entertainment Tonight, Douglas said that maybe Cameron “needed [his prison sentence] to really see the new life that he’s got ahead of him.”
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Cameron Douglas served seven years for drug-related offenses.
(Photo by Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic)
Cameron was released from prison in August 2016.
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In addition to Cameron, Douglas shares kids Dylan and Carys with wife Catherine Zeta-Jones.
