Michael Douglas on "Franklin," and his own inspiring third act
CBSN
It's been a long time since he was a student here, but on the campus of University of California, Santa Barbara, Michael Douglas still knows his way around: "That theater was here when I was here 60 years ago," he said. The campus had been a Marine base during World War II. "It was all filled with, like, barracks."
Today, the theater with his name on the lobby is a new addition. "The most expensive lobby you're ever gonna find!" he laughed, adding he thought it appropriate that, under his name, were the men's and women's rest rooms.
But when Douglas was actually enrolled here, he didn't have the same sense of direction. "Getting to my third year in school, they called me into the counselor's office," he recalled. "And they said, 'You have to declare a major.' I said, 'I don't know, man. I think…' Well, I thought theater would be easy. But I can't say it was any big, burning desire. But I thought, 'Well, maybe I know something about it. My mother's a stage actress. My father's an actor.' And so, I reluctantly started."