Actor Michael Douglas sat down with Today Show host Matt Lauer for an exclusive interview that aired on NBC this morning. He talked publicly for the first time about his son Cameron Douglas, who recently received a five year prison sentence for heroin possession and conspiring to sell crystal meth. When he is set free, he will serve an additional five years of supervised release.
Douglas believes that the sentence handed down by Judge Richard Berman was just, and dismisses reports that suggest his son received celebrity treatment. He said, “Look, my son was a drug dealer and he’s been trying to kill himself for a while and I can’t condone his behavior.” Searching for something positive to offset the hard truth, he continued: “The best part of it is he will be able to start his life afresh.”
The actor was quick to accept part of the blame for his wayward son and chalked up a portion of the blame to genetics. He said, “I’ve taken blame about being a bad father — if being a bad father is working your butt off trying to create a career. I’ve also confessed the fact that I was in rehab 20 year ago. I lost a brother from an overdose four years ago. I have another brother who has been on the program for years. My ex-wife’s family has alcoholism running in it.”
Douglas divorced his first wife Diandra in 2000, ending their 23 year marriage. Their only child is 31-year-old Cameron Douglas.
Michael married actress Catherine Zeta-Jones in 2000. They have two young children: Dylan, 9, and Carys, 7. He acknowledges that his priorities have changed: “My marriage and my family now come before my career.”
Check out the entire interview on the video below:
Photo: WENN