How tall is Michael Douglas

Canson said on 4/Dec/24
@Cobra: I could see the 5’9 over 5’9.5”. Maybe rob Shonda reduce him to 5’9. I don’t see 2” loss at this stage either

Canson said on 2/Dec/24
@Rising: you make an excellent point! I agree probably similar in height to someone like Don Johnson.too. I’ve had DJ as 5’9 too. I’d have said DJ was prob a guy who didn’t dip below 5’9 peak (Rob prob should lower the listing a bit for Douglas). And 5’9” looks right next to the Sheens and others. He’s prob not over it more I see

Cobra 5'9.5" said on 2/Dec/24
@Canson

5'9" is more accurate than 5'8.5", I just feel that there's a better chance of him being slightly under 5'9" then slightly over it during his peak.

Rising174cm said on 1/Dec/24
@Canson: I agree that he was 5'9" peak and 5'8.5" seems a bit low, but I agree with Cobra insofar as it is more possible than 5'9.5" which is too high without his lifts, imo. Douglas should have still been at his peak height at only 46 in the full photo I posted on 28/Nov/24 from the 1991 Cannes film festival and if Sharon Stone was 5'8" as listed here then Douglas looks under 5'9" with her wearing such a low heel of 1 1/2" or 1 5/8" max. Rob also estimated 5'8" range for Dennis Miller and he looked very similar in height to Douglas in the 1994 film Disclosure: Click Here Miller was probably 5'8.5", 5'9" at most meaning Douglas probably didn't wear lifts there since he doesn't really look above 5'9".

As for height loss, it only really became noticeable around 2009 when he was looking under 5'8" or probably 172 cm at age 64, but this is not a surprising loss at that age since Douglas also had a knee replacement in 2009. He also he seemed to stop wearing elevator shoes/lifts for a time, at least offscreen. Perhaps he didn't feel like bothering after undergoing the knee replacement followed by chemo in late 2010. But I think the 3 cm loss seemed even greater at the time because he stopped regularly wearing lifts around the same time. Though he wasn't over 5'8.5" by age 60 since he was not only shorter than a 58-year-old Stallone in golf shoes as seen in full pictures: Click Here but a 60-year-old Douglas again looked about the same height as 5'8" Kiefer Sutherland in a series of photos at this event from 2005 including another full picture: Click Here I wouldn't have otherwise said he looked to have lost noticeable height yet, but I assume he lost a half inch between 55-60, likely more late 50s, because he couldn't have been over 5'8.5" in the series of photos with Kiefer from that event or with Stallone, who definitely didn't look to have shrunk yet but was 5'9" max himself, not minimum. In fact Stallone also appeared taller than Douglas in 1991. But I assume Stallone's elevator shoes could have been bigger at that event with both likely wearing lifts of some kind and Douglas later looked shorter than Kiefer at the same 2009 event the Jack Nicholson video was taken at. Maybe he lost another small fraction in his late 60s and was already 5'7.5" but I think his height loss slowed down after that 60-65 period. Although Douglas did appear to start wearing lifts for the occasional talk show or awards ceremony in 2019, but needed them just to appear closer to 5'8" by then. Without them, he could look closer to 5'7" by 74 as seen with Alan Arkin. I've not given Arkin's peak height much thought but it's much easier for me to believe he was once 5'9.5" seeing him still apparently a solid 5'8" then at 84.

Canson said on 30/Nov/24
@Cobra: 5’9 minimum, doubt under at his peak

Canson said on 30/Nov/24
What is with these average height guys losing an inch and a half to two later in life but then the taller ones retain? Usually the other way around

Rising174cm said on 28/Nov/24
@Legend 177 cm: You are absolutely right. It is clear that Douglas was not any taller than 5'9" barefoot during the height of his movie stardom in the 80s and 90s. He wore massive elevator boots and lifts in some films like A Perfect Murder and Basic Instinct. But this is what he looked like without them at the time of the latter with 5'8" Sharon Stone who has a low 1.5" range heel giving her only a half inch over Michael's dress shoes: Click Here Michael struggles to even look a full 5'9" and you can see Michael is also tip-toeing on his left foot which could have given him up to 1 cm and made Stone's low heel advantage almost negligible. In that case, Douglas was likely not wearing lifts, but he's worn them offscreen as well. As I've posted before, Douglas appeared on The Tonight Show that same year(1992) wearing elevator boots. You could see how high his ankle was and Rob agreed it was likely the boots had a lift. I've seen other stills and behind-the-scenes photos in which Douglas was no taller than Sheen as well. I was only conceding the possibility since Douglas could look a bit taller on The Streets of San Francisco but it's not at all unlikely that Douglas already wore lifts in the 70s. When it is confirmed a guy wears lifts by his own shoemaker, it shouldn't surprise anyone that he'll sometimes look a bit taller than he is — that is the whole purpose of lifts!

@reachjtm: This is extremely unlikely. Here is a video in which a 64-year-old Douglas is looking up to a 72-year old Jack Nicholson @ around 49 seconds and 8:09: Click Here Neither man was at his peak any more with Jack 174 cm at most but Douglas was already no more than 172 cm by then. I can believe Jack was still 5'8.5" in his early 70s as opposed to 5'8" flat but that still puts Douglas a weak 5'8" at best before he was even 65. Unless it can be shown Jack also wore lifts and was therefore shorter than 5'9.5" in his prime then he was likely taller in their primes just as he was at a more advanced age there. Douglas may have first shrunk a half inch around his late 50s since the was maybe 5'8.5" and could already look just a solid 5'8"-5'8.5", but his height loss only got noticeable around the time of the video in the 60-65 age range when age, health, and injury seemed to catch up to him a bit. But this was more noticeable because that also seemed to be when he pretty much stopped wearing lifts for a while making it seem like he had shrunk even more. Although he's worn lifts again more recently such as in his 2019 appearance on James Corden's show.

Cobra 5'9.5" said on 28/Nov/24
Better chance of 5'8.5" peak than 5'9.5" peak

reachjtm said on 26/Nov/24
there should be no debate he was taller than Jack Nicholson peak in my eyes.

Legend 177 cm said on 25/Nov/24
@Rising174cm

He never looked above 5'9" when he was younger. Even 5'9.25" peak seems too high. 5'9" flat max for his peak height. He's practically the same height as Charlie Sheen and he's listed at 5'9".

Click Here

Rising174cm said on 24/Nov/24
De Niro was probably still 5'7.5" age 70 above while Douglas was already under 5'8" without lifts. Aged 64, Douglas was already looking 172 cm without lifts with a 5'8.5" max 72 year old Jack Nicholson and 5'8" Kiefer Sutherland. Age 60, Douglas was about Kiefer's height and shorter than 58 year old Sly Stallone in golf shoes. The current listing is reasonable but the tallest I could see. An 85 year old Alan Arkin was making a 74 year old Douglas look closer to 5'7". Peak is at least a quarter to half inch too high, imo.

I can buy Nicholson at 5'9.5" peak much easier than Douglas since I've not seen the same evidence Jack really wore elevator shoes. 5'9.25" in the 70s is the tallest I could see Douglas ever being. Promoting Basic Instinct in the 90s, without his lifts from the film, Douglas was struggling to look any taller(going up on one foot) than 5'8" Sharon Stone in just a half inch less footwear.

Legend 177 cm said on 19/Nov/24
@Rob, Can you change Michael's current listing to 5'7.5"? You changed De Niro's current listing to 5'7" flat and Michael is barely taller than him today. I think 5'7.5" is fair. He was easily 5'9.5" in his peak maybe 5'9.75".

Gerald S said on 24/Sep/24
Rob, who might have been closer to 5’10” out of Douglas and Jack Nicholson in their peak years?

Group 70s Images below

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5'11james said on 1/Dec/23
5'9-5'9.25 peak
5'7.5 nowadays

Tommy234 said on 27/May/23
He's got good proportions as did his father. Never really looked small.

Gearsley said on 10/Dec/22
Yes Rob, please give Douglas 5’7.5” for his height today. Check out below photos with Alan Arkin.

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Sinclair said on 11/Sep/22
Rob, can Douglas get 5'7.5" for today?

Sinclair said on 4/Jun/22
5’9.5” seems to be the going height for big Hollywood types of the 70s and 80s (Douglas, Burton, Nicholson, Newman, McQueen, Duvall, Arkin, Caan). Douglas was a bit over 5’9” in The Streets of San Francisco days, probably 5’9.5” (taller than Kirk). He had a good 2.5 inches on 5’7” Tom Bosley. By the time of Basic Instinct and The Game, Douglas was barely surpassing 5’9”. His hair helped. Today, Douglas is probably around 5’7.25”.

Rising174cm said on 4/May/22
@dreus23: Yes, but you can gain something like 1 cm off of one foot, which isn't much less the footwear difference and as you can see, Michael winds up barely taller than a 5'8" Sharon Stone. He was never close to 5'10" and hasn't been 5'8" for more than a decade. 5'9" peak or just over and now 5'7.5" at the absolute most. Not unlike De Niro.

dreus23 said on 3/Apr/22
@Rising174cm

You do realize that tiptoeing on one foot barely gives any height at all right

Rising174cm said on 30/Mar/22
Weak 5'10" was 100 percent impossible. Better chance of weak 5'9". Here's Michael 30 years ago on his toes with 5'8" Sharon Stone and just 0.5" less footwear: Click Here He looks barely a weak 5'9" there without his lifts.

5'8" is also impossible today. Alan Arkin is listed that height and a 74 year old Michael is clearly shorter: Click Here Click Here He was 172 cm a decade ago. Here he is at just 64 years old in 2009 with 5'8" Kiefer Sutherland: Click Here Michael was 5'7.5" max by 74 as you can see with Arkin. He's now 77.

Sheen was 5'9", but Douglas might have edged him due to footwear as Douglas is a confirmed lift wearer like his father. Also, they could look the same height in some promo and behind the scenes pics: Click Here There was another one with Oliver Stone where the two looked the same height.

Most likely, Douglas was 5'9" flat, but at most, I could be generous and give him 5'9.25" in his Streets of San Francisco days. He is definitely not above 5'7.5" today either way.

Miss Sandy Cowell said on 26/Mar/22
Michael doesn’t have a cr@ppy posture at all; in fact, he has a pretty good one, and when I recently saw ‘Fatal Attraction’ and ‘Basic Instinct’, I thought he looked 5ft9.5, possibly more, but I remembered his height from Celebheights.

There’s always the possibility that he wore lifts to seem taller than the statuesque Sharon Stone, of course.

5ft9.5 peak and 5ft8.25 now. A good posture restricts shrinkage rate, unless you have an accident you rue for the rest of your life! 😢

Michael is 78 this year, after all, and is ageing well.

berta said on 21/Jan/22
He did edge out 175-76 Charlie Sheen in wall Street. To me he did look 176,5-177,5 peak. Weak 5"10 is not imposssible. Would not go lower than this. Today at best 173 but i think 172, the cancer made him loose alot.

Rapha said on 19/Jan/22
Hi Rob

It seems that many actors such as Michael Douglas and others often claim their morning height (he is listed at 178 cm on most databases) . It seems that as an actor you will give your maximum height you can reach barefoot in order to make the tallest impression possible. Or is it just that most actors do not care about height shrinkage throughout the day and just measure their height in the morning ?

Rising174cm said on 11/Dec/21
@Sree Smith: Even 5'9.5" is too high, but 5'10" is impossible. And there's no chance he's still a full 5'8", let alone 5'8.5". He might have been 5'8.5" back in 2004-2005. Alan Arkin is listed at 5'8" and an 84 year old Arkin was clearly taller than a 74 year old Douglas in full pics: Click Here Click Here It's clear Douglas is no longer even 172 cm with Arkin. He's at least half an inch shorter and 5'7.5" max these days, especially 3 years later.

Michael wore boots with lifts in them for Basic Instinct: Click Here Click Here Here's how he looked with 5'8" Sharon Stone without them in 1992: Click Here Sharon has about 0.5" footwear advantage, but Michael is going up on his toes and still struggles with 5'9" there. Here's Michael wearing elevator boots on The Tonight Show that same year: Click Here A 64 year old Michael looked 2" shorter than a 51 year old Sharon Stone in heels: Click Here Remember, women tend to shrink more than men, but even if Sharon hadn't lost height, Michael is looking 5'8" flat with her and his posture is fine.

In 1991 with weak 5'9" max Sly Stallone: Click Here Yes, Sly is probably wearing lifts, but Michael and Sly both had lifts made by the same shoemaker and Sly looks an inch taller. Here's a 60 year old Douglas clearly shorter than a 58 year old Sly both in golf shoes: Click Here Click Here

A 60 year old Douglas looked the same height as solid 5'8" Kiefer Sutherland: Click Here Click Here and Kiefer was taller than a 64 year old Douglas: Click Here so Michael may have already been 172 cm.

In addition to elevator boots in Basic Instinct, Michael also wore huge lifts in A Perfect Murder and the cowboy boots he wore in Romancing the Stone were a bigger 2" type and very possibly had a lift: Click Here But he wasn't just wearing lifts on and offscreen in the 80s and 90s. Here's Michael wearing lifts as recently as August 2019: Click Here

I'm a big fan of many of the films Michael did in the 80s and 90s, especially Falling Down, but he tended to make excellent choices in general. However, people are totally forgetting about the fact that Douglas is a confirmed lift wearer. Yet in the case of his current height, he still doesn't even pull off 5'8" anymore.

5'9" flat peak is most likely. But even if we're generous and assume he had lost 1/4" by the early 90s and was taller on The Streets of San Francisco then he was still 5'9.25" max. How do we know he didn't simply look taller because he was already wearing lifts on the show? His father was a huge lift wearer as well. Also, how much height could Michael have realistically lost by age 60? He was definitely more like 5'8.5" than 5'9" by that point and I tend to doubt he had lost a full inch, much less more. Again, there's plenty of evidence even beyond this post that Michael was 5'8" flat max by age 64 and very likely a fraction under it. I don't believe he lost 1.5" minimum before 65, much less 2"+.

He suddenly looked noticeably shorter because he stopped wearing lifts for a while in his 60s. He needs at least 1/4" downgrade for his peak, but a minimum 1/2" downgrade for his current height.

Rising174cm said on 6/Nov/21
Look at my post on 10/Jan/21. He was 100% more 5'9" than 5'10". I can maybe buy 176 cm Streets of San Francisco era, but he was also a known lift wearer like his father. Now that we know Kiefer's height, we can also say Michael was struggling with 5'8.5" by age 60 and 5'8" by 64. Alan Arkin is a decade older yet visibly taller a few years ago so most likely 5'9" or 5'9.25" max in the 70s, 5'9" flat during peak movie star years and 5'7.5" max today.

Rampage(-_-_-)Clover said on 20/Oct/21
Rob, maybe 5ft9¾ peak?


I'm not sure I'd go with the full 5ft10 but I suppose that's not entirely impossible either going back to the Streets of San Francisco days. Here he is looking barely shorter than Karl Malden (by then early height loss looked to have set in)

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Sree Smith said on 19/Oct/21
Rob,He can also look solid 5ft 10 with karl malden.but I'm not getting why he's listed 5ft 9.5?

Sree Smith said on 19/Oct/21
Rob,He can also look solid 5ft 10 with karl malden.but I'm not getting why he's listed 5ft 9.5?

Sree Smith said on 16/Oct/21
Rob , have you seen that pics in 1976?

Sree Smith said on 13/Oct/21
Rob,He can look well over 5ft 10 with Louise Fletcher and jack nicholson .nowadays because of his bad posture he can look between 5ft 8 and 8.5.

5'10 Dude said on 10/Oct/21
I'd say that Michael Douglas in his 20s looked 5'9½ next to his father who was 5'9(at most in my opinion). Nowadays Michael Douglas is looking 5'8 tops and his posture isn't quite as good anymore. It makes sense. He's not young anymore after all, but I still think he looks healthy.

Miss Sandy Cowell said on 25/Sep/21
🎂🎈🎁🍻 Happy 7️⃣7️⃣th Birthday 🍻🎁🎈🎂

Many Happy Returns to Michael Douglas, who today turns both the sevens, 7️⃣7️⃣ years of age! 😄👌 Have a great day, Michael, and a happy, healthy year ahead.

Peak height - 5ft9.5; today - 5ft8.

🎂🎈🎁🍻🎂🎈🎁🍻🎂🎈🎁🍻🎂🎈🎁🍻

Sree Smith said on 21/Sep/21
Rob,Michael Douglas can look around .5 inch taller than Jack Nicholson who is 5ft 9.5.

Sree Smith said on 19/Sep/21
Peak height was 5ft 10. Now around 5ft 8.5

Canson said on 12/Aug/21
I’m with Rising. Weak 5’8 or 5’7.5 during said timeframe till now

Rising174cm said on 11/Aug/21
Michael has been under 5'8" for close to a decade now. The fact that Alan Arkin is a decade older and visibly taller proves this and there's a much better chance that Arkin was as tall as 5'9.5" in his prime. Douglas has done some great films, but he's lucky if he's 5'7.5" these days. He was clearly shorter than 5'8ish Kiefer Sutherland by age 64. In his prime, he was about 5'9" flat, but is well known to have worn lifts on screen and even on talk shows. Below, you can see a full shot of him offscreen with Sharon Stone in 1992 and he's barely taller tip-toeing on one foot. The most I could buy is something like 5'9.25" in the Streets of San Francisco days if he had shrunk a fraction by the time he was a movie star in his 40s and 50s.

Frank Col said on 1/Aug/21
Well if 5ft 9.5 was his full height in Streets of San Francisco he is no more than an inch and a half shorter than Karl Malden. This would put Malden at no more than 5ft 11 at 60 which he looks in the episode, less than his 6ft 1 listing on here. In the pilot episode the guest star was Robert Wagner who looks barely taller than Doulglas which confirms he has never been much over 5ft 10. Those old TV shows are great for height watching..

Sinclair said on 5/Jul/21
I’m going to retract my previous guess of 5’10”, he certainly looked over that in A Perfect Murder but 5’9.5” is more realistic for his actual height. Douglas was pretty much the same height as 5’9.5” listed George Dzundza in Basic Instinct. In The Star Chamber, he can even seem two inches shorter than 5’11” listed James Sikking! Furthermore, Douglas was only a tad taller than Andy Garcia in Black Rain. Today, Douglas could very well be under the 5’8” mark, as he was noticeably shorter than Alan Arkin in The Kominsky Method.

Jjanes said on 6/Jun/21
I saw Michael years ago crossing the same street at the same time as me. He was shockingly short. I'm 5'9 and he was at least 3 inches shorter than me.

MaskDeMasque said on 17/May/21
He looks like a solid 5'9 guy in falling down, footwear looked normal too. 5'9.5 peak is fair.

ALEXIZ/180cm said on 14/Apr/21
Peak 175 cm
Today 171 cm

Rising174cm said on 5/Mar/21
@jordi: Yeah, there's no question Michael wore lifts as Stallone's old shoemaker DiFabrizio confirmed he also made elevator shoes for Michael. He really did look about the same height as 5'10.5"-5'11" Viggo in A Perfect Murder, but check out this clip with Sean Penn from The Game a year earlier: Click Here and check out the still of Michael and 5'8.5"-5'9" Dennis Miller from 1994's Disclosure in my post on 10/Jan/21. How else could Michael go from the same height as Miller and perhaps an inch taller than Penn to the same height as Viggo? Also, note the full pic of Michael and 5'8" Sharon Stone from 1992 in that same post. Michael has about half an inch less footwear, but he's also tip-toeing on his back foot, yet he looks only about half an inch taller.

Seeing Michael barely any taller than Stone off screen at the time of Basic Instinct is significant for anyone who remembers that Michael looked noticeably taller in the film. Not surprisingly, it looks like MIchael wore elevator boots in the film: Click Here Note the thick heel, but especially the angle of the boot and how disproportionately long his lower legs look and how high his knees are. In this other shot, the bottom of the boots are cut off by the frame, but these also look like elevator boots to me: Click Here and the height of his knee leaves little doubt. I spotted Michael wearing what looked like elevator shoes to me on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson that same year: Click Here and Rob did say there certainly looked to be a chance Michael had lifts in his boots there.

Michael has looked 5'7.5" max for several years now, which may be why it appears he's still worn lifts on occasion in recent years. Here in August 2019, both the high cut footwear and the position of his ankle lead me to believe he may have been wearing lifts: Click Here For Romancing the Stone, he wore a pretty big 2" type cowboy boot whether or not he had an extra lift inside: Click Here Michael was probably 5'9" flat in the 90s and it's possible he was as tall as 5'9.25" back in the Streets of San Francisco days, but that's the tallest he could have been, imo and that assumes he had lost 1/4" by the 90s. By age 60, Michael really didn't look taller than 174 cm and by 64, he looked more like 172 with Kiefer Sutherland, Sean Penn and a 72 year old Jack Nicholson, and at that same age, he certainly doesn't look taller than 5'8" next to Sharon Stone in high heels: Click Here The combination of typical height loss between 60-65 and Michael mostly abandoning lifts and even wearing thin shoes like loafers made him suddenly look short after years of looking average.

jordi said on 17/Feb/21
obvious lifts in "a perfect murderer", I think he doesn't pull off the height
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Terry said on 12/Feb/21
178 peak including his hair.

Rising174cm said on 10/Jan/21
I don't see 177 as possible. Some perceived him taller due to lifts. 176 max peak, imo.

1992 with 5'8" Sharon Stone in a low 1.5" range heel: Click Here Note Michael tip-toeing on one foot.

49 year old Douglas with 5'8"-5'9" range Dennis Miller: Click Here

60 year old Michael and 58 year old 5'9" max Sly Stallone in golf shoes: Click Here Click Here

From these pics, I'd have guessed never taller than 5'9", though I could see 176 back when he was starring on The Streets of San Francisco. Interestingly, Sly always managed to look taller than him. 1991: Click Here Also interesting that Sly and Michael went to the same shoemaker for elevator shoes.

slim 6'1 said on 9/Jan/21
177 peak is possible

Rising174cm said on 25/Dec/20
This old pic with 5'8" Sean Penn further suggests that Michael was never more than 5'9" flat peak: Click Here That's similar to the difference between them in The Game when Michael was only 52.

This is how a 64 year old Douglas looked with Penn: Click Here Click Here Click Here

And this is a 74 year old Douglas with an 84 year old 5'8" listed Alan Arkin: Click Here Click Here

Whether I'm right that Michael needs at least 1/4" and more like 1/2" downgrade peak, it seems indisputable that he's 5'7.5" max at age 76. He may have still scraped 5'8" a decade ago, but he looks 172-173 cm range in those 2009 photos with Penn.

Rising174cm said on 28/Sep/20
This is a case of Michael fooling everyone with lifts. No chance he was 177-178 peak. 176 if he was lucky. 5'7.5" is the most he could be today considering Alan Arkin was clearly taller than a 74 year old Douglas and Michael is now 76. Now that we know there's a good chance Kiefer Sutherland is only 5'8"-5'8.25" range and may have never been taller than 5'8.25", it's worth revisiting how he looked with Douglas.

58 year old Michael Douglas and Kiefer looked about the same height: Click Here Click Here
Michael was also 58 when he and Kiefer filmed The Sentinel and Michael does not look taller from stills: Click Here Click Here Click Here
Kiefer looked clearly taller than a 64 year old Douglas: Click Here

Had Michael lost more than a full inch by age 58? Doubtful, here's Michael going up on one foot next to 5'8" Sharon Stone, who has small 1.5" range heels back in 1992: Click Here He's certainly nothing more than 5'9" there and if Michael had lost anything by age 47, it was likely not more than 1/4".

Miss Sandy Cowell said on 25/Sep/20
🎁🎂 Birthday Greetings Michael! 🎂🎁

Many Happy Returns to Michael Douglas who today celebrates his 76th Birthday. Coincidentally, it's also his wife's, Birthday as well! 😄👍

Peak height - 5ft10
Today - 5ft8.5

🎊🎈🎁🎂🎊🎈🎁🎂🎊🎈🎁🎂🎊🎈🎁🎂

Sinclair said on 8/Aug/20
Douglas gets a flat 5’10” from me. In my opinion, Douglas easily edged out Charlie Sheen in Wall Street and many sources indicate Sheen being 5’10”, although like many of you, I think Sheen was under 5’10”. Douglas even sometimes edged out Viggo Mortensen in A Perfect Murder! Maybe lifts were involved. In The Streets of San Francisco, Douglas typically looked a legitimate 5’10”. Today however, I agree Douglas has lost height and is probably rather close to 5’8”.

Dmeyer said on 26/Jul/20
in perfect murder dosnt look a mm under About 5-11 viggo so lifts

berta said on 13/May/20
never under 176 peak and never over 178. i think legit 177 could be spot on

Miss Sandy Cowell said on 28/Mar/20
😂😂😂 I've just been laughing at the thought of the peeing scene in 'The War of the Roses', when he urinates in the specially prepared meal that his wife has prepared for her guests! Yes, Michael can turn his acting skills to humour as well as serious, AND he had a hand in the making of 'One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest'!

5ft9.5 peak;
5ft8.25 today. 😄👍

Fabrizio said on 2/Jan/20
Douglas era 176 m, con.gli anni ne h persi tre ora e'173 cm

Rising174cm said on 9/Oct/19
Turning 75 would be a good time to drop Michael below 5'8", especially since he's not only now looked clearly shorter than Alan Arkin at multiple events, but he was looking about an inch shorter at the more recent event, so even 172 cm would be too generous now to have Michael looking 5'7" flat and I have proof of Michael wearing elevators as recent as August: Click Here That's from August. That type of shoe can easily fit a lift over an inch, but his ankles are obviously high. I have to say that even 172 cm seems too high now. 5'7.5" max. That's what he'd look even if Arkin were still 5'8.5" at 85, but Rob has listed his current height 5'8" flat for a while now and it's clear that Douglas can't be as tall as Arkin.

Remember, Michael was 5'8" flat before his 65th birthday as you can see from the following photos, all of which were taken in 2009. Here's 64 year old Michael in dress shoes looking a good couple of inches shorter than 5'8" Sharon Stone in heels: Click Here and clearly shorter than 5'8.5" Kiefer Sutherland: Click Here and 72 year old 5'8"-5'8.5" Jack Nicholson also looked to edge out 64 year old Michael: Click Here

Imo, there's plenty of evidence showing Michael was never taller than 5'9" so 176 cm peak would be a much safer listing, but it's much more obvious that his current height needs to be updated. This current height was literally accurate a decade ago, but Michael wasn't even that tall anymore by the time of the 2013 photos above.

Miss Sandy Cowell said on 25/Sep/19
🎉🎂🎁 Happy Birthday Michael! 🎁🎂🎉

Today Michael celebrates his three-quarters of a century Birthday. Congratulations go his way BIG TIME! I wish him a very happy time with his family and friends.

5ft9.5 peak; 5ft8 now.

🎉🎂🎁🕯️🎉🎂🎁🕯️🎉🎂🎁🕯️🎉🎂🎁🕯️

viper said on 16/Sep/19
Wow he has shrunk a ton.

Was 5-9 minimum peak

Rising174cm said on 14/Sep/19
While I've been outspoken about my belief that Douglas was likely more like 5'9" flat and that 176 cm would be a safer listing, I understand Rob's conservative approach. However, there's just no way he's still 5'8" and I'm frankly kind of shocked to see him still at that figure currently since the photos above are a 68-69 year old Douglas looking clearly 5'7.5"-5'7.75" and Michael is now 74. 85 year old Alan Arkin is currently listed at 5'8" himself, but in addition to the Golden Globes photos of the two I posted on 19/Apr/19 from January of this year, these more recent photos from June leave no doubt that Arkin is taller than Douglas: Click Here Click Here Click Here The first full pic is an excellent one and to give Douglas the benefit of the doubt, I'm ignoring that he's slightly closer to the camera, may be standing straighter and may have thicker shoes, yet Arkin looks a good inch taller! The same is true in the second photo and then we have that third full photo where Arkin is leaning and Michael's camera advantage seems more pronounced yet Arkin is still a half inch taller! A hint is that in each photo, the bald Arkin would still be taller even if you included Michael's hair! Honestly, Michael looks more like 5'7" flat or arguably even a weak 5'7" in the first 2 photos and the first photo is clearly the best of the 3, but even if you go with the 3rd as the most representative, that still puts Michael at no taller than 5'7.5" these days. Unless Arkin needs to be upgraded back to 174 cm, these photos make me believe the ship has sailed for even a 172 cm Douglas.

@Spencer: Back when Garcia was still listed at 5'9.25" and before I considered footwear, I thought Douglas looked pretty much bang on 5'9.5" in that film as listed, but Garcia has since been downgraded to 5'9" flat and Douglas had a footwear advantage with some fairly thick heeled boots so while he looked at least 176 cm alongside Garcia if Garcia is 175 range, I believe they'd have been basically the same height barefoot back then, much like Douglas was the same height as Charlie Sheen in behind the scenes and promo photos for Wall Street and never managed to look as Stallone from '91 to present, much less taller. Of course, all 3 are listed 5'9" flat.

Spencer said on 18/Aug/19
Looked about 5'10" next to Andy Garcia in Black Rain.

179cm guy said on 5/Aug/19
Rob, what are your thoughts on a quarter-inch downgrade for both Michael's peak and current height given what the average guess is at?

Sean Day said on 7/Jul/19
Same height as now-listed 5'7.5" De Niro, shorter than generously listed 5'8" Sean Penn.
5'7" now.

Rising174cm said on 30/Apr/19
@Rob: The only thing I'd say about a 5'9.25" listing for Mel is I think it would at least require a 5'9.25" peak listing for Anthony Hopkins too, although I think that's actually fairly plausible since I really don't recall Hopkins looking under 5'9" from the 60's through the 80's and he could in fact look 5'9.25"-5'9.5" in some of his films from that time so I think listing both at 176 would actually make quite a bit of sense. Obviously, my guess remains 5'9" flat for all 3, but Michael generally looked more 5'9.5" than 5'9" flat with Malden, iirc.

Rising174cm said on 19/Apr/19
@Rob: Yeah, I actually have Douglas and Gibson at the same height peak at 5'9" flat, but I can see a much better chance of Douglas peaking at 176 because with Gibson, being shorter than 5'9"-5'9.5" range guys like Kurt Russell, Geoffrey Lewis and Anthony Hopkins or at best, the same height as the 5'9" flat Hopkins is pretty conclusive to me while with Douglas, I haven't seen anything as conclusive showing him clearly shorter than guys in that range. In the comparisons to Stallone, lifts could account for the '91 pic and Douglas could have lost half an inch by the '04 golf photos and Kirk could look taller than Michael in some pics even when he was about 70, but lifts could explain this and Michael was taller in other pics at the same time. Similarly, Michael is the same height as Charlie Sheen in some behind the scenes Wall Street pics, but could look to edge Charlie at other times. Also, 176 range is generally what Michael looked with Karl Malden on Streets of San Francisco and Douglas wasn't wearing 2"+ heels on the show, though as a known lift wearer, I suppose I can't rule out the possibility of internal lifts, especially with a co-star over 6 feet like Malden. I personally don't believe Michael was taller than Stallone, his father or Sheen and I don't believe any were over 5'9", but again, Michael didn't look a full 4" shorter than Karl Malden to me, though I don't know if Malden had lost a fraction by his early 60's.

Btw, you can see Michael (in lifts) was pulling off closer to Alan Arkin's height at the Golden Globes than the previous event: Click Here Click Here Click Here Click Here Click Here The first few pics with them side by side still seem to show Alan edging out Michael despite footwear further confirming Michael is under 5'8", but he certainly looks taller than he has in a while. This is also evident seeing how much better he measured up to Catherine in heels compared to those 2013 Oscar pics even though they're 6 years earlier: Click Here Click Here Click Here Click Here Click Here You still have to watch Catherine bending her knees, but that's the best Michael has measured up to Catherine at a red carpet event in years so there's no doubt in my mind he wore lifts to these past Golden Globes.

Btw, I watched Wall Street 2 recently and 5'8.75" Shia Labeouf was clearly taller in the film and by clearly, I mean the difference was pretty consistently close to or around an inch. So 5'8" flat would indeed seem accurate for Michael when that was filmed almost a decade ago when Michael was 65, but now at 74, I have no doubt 172 is the most Michael would measure and based on probability and some recent appearances, I suspect 5'7.5" might even be a safer bet by now, though I haven't seen enough to rule out 172 yet.

Johnson said on 15/Apr/19
He has pictures with Donald Trump when they both were younger

Rising174cm said on 6/Apr/19
@Rob: So you're still convinced of 5'9.5" peak? I wasn't sure because I remember you commenting on Stallone being taller in pics, presumably the series of full pics in golf shoes taken in 2004, though Sly was also clearly taller in the 1991 photo of them. Similarly, I also remember you commenting on the 1992 photo where Michael was on his toes and still barely edging Sharon Stone in low 1.5" range heels. Personally, I think the average guesses are both completely spot on and I think Michael has lost more like 1.5", which is pretty normal for a 74 year old, but I don't see a 2" height loss and I think it can seem that way because Michael stopped regularly wearing lifts off screen at the exact time his height loss was becoming quite noticeable making the effect somewhat exaggerated. You can see Michael's footwear was normal at most events from 2009 until last year. I'd guess he lost his first half inch around his late 50's or 60, which is how old he was in the golf pics with Stallone so I'd guess 5'8.5" at that time, especially since Michael was the same height as Kiefer Sutherland the next year in 2005. I think he held on to 174 cm for a few years at least, but he had a knee replacement in 2009 and this was when he was clearly looking just 5'8" flat as he was clearly shorter than Kiefer by this time and you can see in this photo where Sharon Stone in heels had at least a couple of inches on Michael: Click Here So I'd certainly say Michael lost a full inch by that time, but then I've wondered if Michael suffered any bone loss due to his chemotherapy in late 2010 because he was looking clearly under 5'8" within a few years as can be seen in the photos above, both of which were from 2013 and while Michael is at least 1.5" shorter than Catherine in heels in that 2013 Oscar pic, she bent her knees quite a bit in photos taken that day and could even look at least a couple of inches taller in others: Click Here In fairness, Michael's loafers that night would give more 0.7" as opposed to a full inch, but we saw enough of Michael with De Niro to know those two were within a tiny fraction, if not the same height and I've previously posted a photo from 2014 where Michael looks over an inch shorter than Stallone in dress shoes. It's possible he could have still been 172 at that time and it's not obvious if Michael has lost much more height the last 5-6 years, but he now strikes me as being shorter than Malcolm McDowell and Jackie Chan currently are.

Of course, 5'9" flat peak(the same height as his father) and 5'7.5" current are my guesses, but I can see a decent case for 176 cm peak, though it's abundantly clear Michael is no longer a full 5'8". Interestingly, I remember watching Black Rain some years back and thinking Michael seemed 5'9.5" compared to a 5'9.25" Andy Garcia, but since Garcia has since been downgraded to 5'9" flat, that would make Michael more 5'9.25" and I also hadn't considered Michael wore some fairly thick-heeled boots that gave him an advantage over Garcia: Click Here and wore a thick sneaker/boot in other scenes: Click Here so with footwear in mind, I now doubt Michael was any taller than Garcia.

Rising174cm said on 18/Mar/19
I'm surprised that Michael's current listing has stayed at 5'8" with current heights being updated more the last few years since he's looked clearly under 5'8" to me for since at least Last Vegas. Here's an 84 year old Alan Arkin, who is listed at 5'8" himself with a 74 year old Michael a few months ago: Click Here Click Here Click Here Click Here Click Here Click Here Click Here Michael looks 5'7" flat at this event! I don't think he's 5'7" flat, but I certainly stand by my 5'7.5" guess and am more certain that 172 cm is the most he's been for 5-6 years now. Funny enough, Arkin has the same peak and current listings of 5'9.5" and 5'8", respectively, though I find it more plausible in his case. Having seen Michael in the 80's and 90's with many listed at 5'9" flat such as Stallone, Van Damme, Charlie Sheen, Andy Garcia, his father and others, I still think 5'9" flat was probably all he ever was.

What also surprised me is Michael is back to wearing elevators and lifts. One example being the Golden Globes 2 months ago: Click Here Click Here Click Here This is after quite a few years where Michael's shoes regularly looked normal and he consistently looked 5'7.5" range so I know he hadn't been wearing lifts a lot, but these not only look like clear elevators to me, but identical to the kind Michael wore in the early 2000's as you can see in my post on 20/Oct/18.

Fabrizio said on 16/Nov/18
Michael Douglas da giovane era 176,5 oggi e'174,5

Rising - 174 cm said on 24/Oct/18
Kirk doesn't have a peak height because he's long retired from acting. He'd probably be no more than 5'5" these days, if that, though he still looked at least that tall in 2012 if Michael was already 5'7.5" range as I suspect: Click Here Click Here Click Here and arguably 5'5.5" in 2009 with a presumably still 5'8" Michael: Click Here I bet Michael and Kirk were just about the same height at their respective peaks. I think it may have been the chemo in late 2010 along with age that knocked Michael down to his present 5'7.5". No idea if he's shrunk more, but he's looking clearly shorter than Banderas recently: Click Here Click Here

Greatman said on 23/Oct/18
Kirk needs a peak height as well. Michael is clearly taller than him.

Rising - 174 cm said on 20/Oct/18
I'd say he was about 5'8.5" from 2004-2006, then maybe shrunk slightly more around '07-'08 and finally after his knee replacement in 2009, it was clear he was no more than 5'8" flat. That may have been why he didn't seem to be wearing lifts to events that year, though he did wear them for scenes in Wall Street 2. He's looked under 5'8" for years now, probably since he underwent chemotherapy in late 2010 and looked more like 5'7.5" by 2013 as shown in the pics above, though I'm not sure he's shrunk that much more since. His exact height depends on whether Catherine actually is a full 5'7", but wearing some sort of lift or elevators to the big events seems to have been pretty typical when he was younger.

The 2001 Golden Globes are another example: Click Here Click Here and he once again looked about an inch or so taller than Catherine in heels: Click Here Click Here Click Here

2004 Oscars: Click Here Click Here but that was enough to keep him 1"-1.5" taller than Catherine in heels: Click Here Click Here Click Here

Rising - 174 cm said on 1/Oct/18
Yeah, nowhere near 5'10" barefoot. 5'9.25" would be the absolute most I could see, but I think he was 5'9". His father was never more than 5'9" himself yet he could still look as tall or taller at times into his late 60's/early 70's. As I mentioned, he had some pretty big lifts in his boots for Basic Instinct: Click Here Click Here You can see this from how disproportionately long his legs are below his knees and the angle of the boot. I bet his shoes in A Perfect Murder were similar. That's why he looked convincingly taller in the film yet had to go on his toes a bit at the premiere with Sharon in a low 1.5" heel. Here's some interesting photos from 2003 with De Niro and solid 5'10" Albert Brooks: Click Here Click Here That might have been right around the time Douglas started losing height as he was 58 and still looks near 5'9", but he started looking 5'8.5" over the next few years.

Paul Wood said on 26/Sep/18
He way always shy of 5ft 10in, even at his peak height. I'd say his peak height could have been 5ft 9.25in.

Rising - 174 cm said on 3/Aug/18
Was Hal Holbrook listed 6'0.5" peak here fairly recently? I watched the Star Chamber some months back then looked up Holbrook on this site after and concluded Douglas looked about 5'9.5" in comparison, but if that was based on a 3" difference then I guess Douglas looked 5'9". If so, Douglas probably had normal shoes in those scenes, but looked to have a bit extra heel/possible lift in others. I also watched some of Basic Instinct again recently and while Douglas wore massive lifts for some scenes with Sharon Stone, I don't think he did with 5'9.5" George Dzundza because they looked consistently close, though I'd say Douglas looked a bit shorter in general.

Rising - 174 cm said on 25/Jul/18
As I said, a 49 year old Douglas was about the same height as Dennis Miller: Click Here I was surprised when I couldn't find Miller listed on this site. He'd be a good reference for Robert Downey Jr. back in the 80's. @SD(172cm): He could look 5'10" or even a bit taller like in A Perfect Murder, but that was because he wore lifts. The photo of him going up on his toes at Cannes in '92 to look taller than 5'8" Sharon Stone(who only has a low 1.5" heel) is a good indicator he was nowhere near 5'10". 5'9" barefoot, but I'd say more solid 5'9"-5'9.25" than weak 5'9".

Benny said on 23/Jul/18
If the guy says he's 5'10, who are you to argue.

Mark Harrison said on 5/Jul/18
Michael Douglas was 5'8.5", half an inch taller than his father. Today he is 5'7".

He always wore lifts in movies.

Rising - 174 cm said on 4/Jul/18
@MattW: Great find. Always wondered what he'd claim. I'm sure he was 5'10" in most shoes at his peak, but he's not even 5'9" in shoes anymore. It's not uncommon to see actors continue claiming the height they always did even when it's clear they've shrunk at least an inch.

SD(172cm) said on 4/Jul/18
In this video(when promoting Antman and The Wasp Click Here @1:45-1:50 he says "5'10'
It looks like a pretty honest answer considering he did look 5'10 and some change when he was younger.(I could be wrong though)

MattW said on 3/Jul/18
He says here that he's 5'10 for whatever that's worth:

Click Here

Rising - 174 cm said on 27/Jun/18
Here's Dennis Miller with 5'8" Bill Maher in the 90's: Click Here Miller has a camera advantage, but he definitely looks taller. I looked at an old appearance on Politically Incorrect, but Miller didn't stand straight enough to guess. I doubt he was more than 5'9" even back then, but certainly taller than 5'8".

Rising - 174 cm said on 16/Jun/18
@Rob: Thanks. He could have easily been about 5'9" in that case since he's 64 now and was clearly taller than Bill Maher in the 90's.

Rising - 174 cm said on 15/Jun/18
How tall is Dennis Miller? I didn't see him listed here and I don't want to mention his internet listing originating from another site because those can literally come from nowhere. I was watching Disclosure(1994) and Miller and Douglas look pretty much identical in height. There's also a full shot of Michael and Donald Sutherland side by side in an elevator where you can see Sutherland towers Michael by at least 6". I don't know if Sutherland was a flat 6'3" by 59 years old or if he was still the 6'3.5" he's listed at here. They also shot Michael's scenes with Dylan Baker to minimize the difference making them not look that different from a few angles, but you can see Baker is more than 2" taller, perhaps even 3", though I'd say roughly 2.5". I don't know whether Michael's shoes were normal or an elevator shoe.

MAD SAM said on 8/May/18
I love his acting, though I saw his photo with Michelle Pliffler for ant man and wasp shooting and both were barefoot, surprisingly Michelle was taller to Doug and if Michelle is like 170 cm then Doug should be 168-169 right now

berta said on 29/Apr/18
i think peak is right. BUT douglas doesnt have the biggest bones and muscles and looks like a guy that will loole little more thn average guy in height. he really dont look taller than 171-172 today. I think legit 171 lost almost 5 cm

Rampage(-_-_-)Clover said on 24/Apr/18
Douglas and DeNiro both look sub-5ft8 today

Rising - 174 cm said on 31/Jan/18
Flat 5'9" in his prime without the lifts, but he's now shorter next to Sly Stallone than 172 cm listed Jackie Chan is so not only would I agree he looks 5'7.5" at times, but I'd go farther and say he rarely, if ever, looks over it. He was looking nothing more than a flat 5'8" by the time he did that Wall Street sequel.

Charlie Evans said on 16/Jan/18
He's a lot shorter than 5 ft 8. I'd put him at 5'6 easy maybe even 5'5. Hes the same height as Robert De Niro. Kevin Kline towers over Michael by about 6 inches. and he about 5'11 today.

Mister lennon said on 3/Jan/18
Douglas was a strong 5'9 peak. Now, he is in the weak 5'8- strong 5'7 range.

borntrip said on 3/Jan/18
jack lemmon was not below 5 f 8 inches in china syndrome... no way.... one doesn t normally get shorter to a visible extent in his early fifties....perhaps only 0,5 cm. if we accept a crazy sense of detail...

Anonymous said on 28/Dec/17
rob in this pic Michael douglas looks 5 foot 7 next to chris pine and 5 foot 10 Cranston looks 5 foot 9 next to 6 foot chris pine and I think cransotn needs 176 downgrade and douglas 5 foot 7 Click Here

James said on 26/Oct/17
Jack Lemmon was below 5'8" when "The China Syndrome" was filmed in 1977-78.

Rising - 174 cm said on 19/Oct/17
Michael really didn't seem much taller than 5'7" Jane Fonda in the China Syndrome. Obviously, Jane had the advantage with platform wedges I'd guess around 3.5", but Michael had those type of platforms that don't have the heel in the back and they looked to me like they'd add 1.75" range. Michael was taller than Jack Lemmon, but then Lemmon had more 1" range footwear, bad posture and it's unclear to me exactly where Lemmon was in the 5'8"-5'9" range, particularly at this point as he looked very similar to Wilford Brimley, who doesn't have a page here, but was noticeably shorter than a 60-61 year old Charles Bronson a few years later.

Definitely no more than 5'9", but you can also see he's clearly taller than 5'8" from this film.

James said on 14/Oct/17
Michael Douglas was 5'8" at his peak. He is 5'7" today at 73.

Rising - 174 cm said on 10/Oct/17
@berta: Yeah, 176 cm absolute max and I believe more 175. I don't think he was taller than Stallone at all, much less a half inch. Look at the two in full shots in 2004: Click Here Click Here Michael is only 2 years older than Sly and really shouldn't have been much below his peak height at that time. Nowadays, Sly looks a good inch taller so it's hard for me to believe Michael was noticeably taller. Both men wore lifts and even had the same shoemaker, but it's not like Michael ever pulled off looking taller than we've seen Sly pull off.

He was never near 5'10" except with shoes, but definitely over 5'8", at least until his 60's. Here's Douglas at I believe, the same event with Paul Michael Glaser who Rob has at 5'10" and is actually a year older than Douglas: Click Here Michael looked about 5'8.5" to me by age 60 so I'd assume he lost about a half inch.

berta said on 8/Oct/17
i think he never was taller than 176 peak . dont really now if a guy like him could haven been half inch taller than stallone. today he looks 172. kline was way taller than him and is down to 185 these days

Rising - 174 cm said on 7/Oct/17
@James: How do you know this? We both know Douglas has worn lifts, but that doesn't mean he wore them in every film. Here's a clip of Douglas and Penn from the film: Click Here Douglas looks about 5'9" so I doubt he was wearing lifts with Penn. An example of Douglas wearing lifts would be the following year when he looked cloe to Viggo Mortensen's height. If Douglas was able to look like that in lifts, it seems almost impossible he'd be in lifts when looking not much taller than a 5'8" man like Penn. But a real 5'10" man like Kevin Bacon looked noticeably taller next to Penn in Mystic River than Douglas did and that was with Penn wearing some thick boots in Mystic River.

Mister lennon said on 7/Oct/17
Strong 5'9 peak. Close to 5'10.

James said on 5/Oct/17
You have to remember Douglas was wearing lifts in "The Game".

Vibram said on 4/Oct/17
No more than 5'8.25 peak. 5'7.25 today. Look at falling down and you see lifts.

Rising - 174 cm said on 30/Sep/17
Just watched The Game and Michael was just barely taller than 5'8" Sean Penn -- an inch at most -- so definitely a flat 5'9" guy, imo. Amazing Michael goes from looking not much different than Sean Penn to not much different than Viggo Mortensen a year later.

@Parker: True. There are many examples. Even Sly Stallone's son Sage looked at least a couple of inches shorter than him.

Parker said on 29/Sep/17
Rising - 174 cm said on 22/Sep/17
hardly among the more surprising father/son heights. Donald and Kiefer Sutherland, Clint and Scott Eastwood, Robert Downey Sr. and Jr. etc. are all much more noteworthy

Don't forget Daniel Radcliffe and his Dad.
Click Here

Anonymous said on 29/Sep/17
Rising - 174 cm said on 22/Sep/17
hardly among the more surprising father/son heights. Donald and Kiefer Sutherland, Clint and Scott Eastwood, Robert Downey Sr. and Jr. etc. are all much more noteworthy

Don't forget Daniel Radcliffe and his Dad.
Click Here

James said on 29/Sep/17
It's not surprising if a son isn't as tall as his father. King George V was shorter than his father King Edward VII.

Rising - 174 cm said on 22/Sep/17
A 64 year old Michael looking up a bit to a 72 year old Jack Nicholson in 2009 @ about 49 seconds and around 8:09 in the video: Click Here

Same night and he looks clearly shorter than 5'8.5" Kiefer Sutherland, although we can't see their feet: Click Here

Considering Michael didn't look anything above this listing 8 years ago, but still doesn't really look under 5'7.5" to me even today, I don't think he's really losing height rapidly like I originally thought. Seems like pretty normal height loss for his age. There are actually still times he can pass for near 5'8", imo despite that being the tallest he looked to me 8 years ago.

Rising - 174 cm said on 22/Sep/17
My father was a little over 6 feet yet I wound up about 4 inches shorter. Michael and his father topping out at about 5'9" is hardly among the more surprising father/son heights. Donald and Kiefer Sutherland, Clint and Scott Eastwood, Robert Downey Sr. and Jr. etc. are all much more noteworthy.

Anonymous said on 19/Sep/17
I'm shocked he is the same height as kirk douglas.Usually fathers always have tall 6 foot sons,perhaps genetics do play a part in height even for women.

Rising - 174 cm said on 9/Sep/17
@James: In that case I agree. I do have him an even 5'9", but I could see under rather than over and I was just watching the episode of Streets of SF called "The Set-Up". He could look only 3" shorter than Karl Malden at times, but Malden could have shrunk below 6'1" by his 60s and I also suspect Douglas may have had lifts at times. Footwear seems pretty normal here for instance: Click Here but even though Douglas didn't have big heels for the time in the episode I watched last night, he did have an ankle boot, so a hidden lift is never impossible in a boot and Douglas wore boots a lot in general in his prime, such as these: Click Here Other times, he wore cowboy boots quite often back in the 80s. The boots he wore on Carson in particular in '92 looked like elevator boots to me based on the lace area and his high ankle. But imo, it's hardly necessary to prove Douglas may have worn lifts often as I'm sure he was liftless a fair amount based on the fact I can show Douglas struggling with 5'9" numerous times in the 80s and 90s.

James said on 6/Sep/17
His peak height should be downgraded as even 5'9" is a stretch. He was already wearing lifts in "The Streets of San Francisco".

Rising - 174 cm said on 4/Sep/17
@anon176: I disagree. I believe that's the highest you could make a case for. In fact, I think there's more evidence Douglas wore elevators than Pitt, including the shoemaker who made elevators for Stallone, Burt Reynolds and many others naming Douglas, although he could have just been referring to films for all I know because the same shoemaker did specifically name Shatner, but referred to Star Trek so movies vs off screen aren't going to be distinguished by the shoemaker. Lifts aren't exclusive to action stars, though Douglas did play a fair amount of action and tough guy roles and was the leading man in erotic thrillers in other famous roles. Plus, he grew up seeing his father wear lifts so it'd be pretty natural to not think much of wearing them himself. To me, the '92 Carson photo looks clearly like lifts in his boots and I know Rob thought there was a good chance. I see that as better evidence than any that exists for Pitt wearing lifts, though I don't rule out the possibility of Brad wearing them as well.

I actually am not sure he even wore lifts for Wall Street. He's no taller than Charlie Sheen in some behind the scenes photos and at least one pair of his shoes I saw looked normal. But I'm certain he wore them in Basic Instinct, not just how one of his pairs of boots looked, but when you see him promoting the film at Cannes in '92, Douglas is on his toes struggling to look half an inch taller than Sharon Stone who only has low 1.5" heels. Going on your toes alone suggests being height conscious. He suddenly looked a flat 5'8" at best around age 64 and I believe that's because it's when he stopped wearing lifts, boots and other bigger footwear for the most part, along with a typical height loss for a man that age.

I don't see him any taller than 5'9" peak and 5'7.5" current. I became more convinced of this seeing how short he's gotten the last decade(even before the cancer) and when I looked back, he really didn't seem taller than 5'9" to me to begin with, except for when he had cowboy boots or some other dodgy footwear. If you watch Black Rain, I don't think Douglas wears lifts, but he does have boots that give him an advantage over 5'9" Andy Garcia, yet he's only slightly taller. I thought Douglas was 5'9.5" back when I thought Garcia was 5'9.25" and I hadn't looked at footwear so it stands to reason I'd become more sure of both being a flat 5'9" now. I think it's a mistake to read too much into who seems the "lift type." Rob was surprised to learn his neighbor tried elevators at one point and I think this man was 5'10.5".

anon176 said on 3/Sep/17
@Rising - 174 cm
I'd buy the idea of elevator shoes just for script purposes ("Basic Instinct", "Wallstreet", "A Perfect Murder...") but to me he doesn't seem the typical Hollywood lift-wearer guy like Sly, Cruise or Pitt. Even without appearance and average height he'd be charismatic. His roles didn't "live" from height. Out there's no single pic that shows clear evidence of lifts!
IMO Peak 5ft 9.25 / Current 5ft 7.75 ( the lowest you could make a case for )

Rising - 174 cm said on 2/Sep/17
On second thought, a 69 year old Michael is looking much shorter than Mario Lopez, who I've said many times I doubt is over 5'8.5", but even give him 5'9" here: Click Here Michael has considerably better posture throughout the interview as well. I don't know what to make of that except I'm surprised.

Rising - 174 cm said on 2/Sep/17
I agree with 175 cm peak, but 170-171 today seems a bit harsh, imo. Under 5'8", but I think 5'7.5" is fair. He could look both shorter and taller than De Niro a few years ago, though I think De Niro may have even lost another fraction since and is around 170-171 today, imo. Last I saw, Douglas still seemed slightly taller than a flat 5'7" Michael Pena and about 4" shorter than 5'11.5" Jimmy Fallon. Although one thing I forgot to mention about Douglas struggling with 5'9" over 20 years ago with Val Kilmer here: Click Here is while I doubt he had his lifts that night, from some angles, those boots look to give him a decent enough boost: Click Here

Anonymous said on 2/Sep/17
175 cm Max barefoot in his younger days. Not more.

170 o nearly 171 cm nowadays. He seems shorter than De Niro who is around 171 cm today amazing!

Rising - 174 cm said on 1/Sep/17
New name, James? Anyway, my question remains, based on what was Douglas only 5'8" peak and 5'7" flat today? Lifts don't mean he was 5'8". Lifts are why he could go from struggling with 5'9" to suddenly eye to eye with a 5'10.5" minimum Viggo Mortensen.

Richard said on 31/Aug/17
Douglas was 5'8" in his 20s, and 5'7" today. Like his father he always wore lifts.

Rising - 174 cm said on 30/Aug/17
Based on what? But I will say Douglas was no taller than that at an age where anything more than a 1" height loss was highly improbable. A 64 year old Douglas consistently looked shorter than Sean Penn:

Click Here
Click Here
Click Here
Click Here
Click Here

Michael did not look that different by that point as he did in the 90s. He did not look unhealthy nor did he have an injury history to account for a potential unusual height loss. There are plenty of occasions Michael looked 5'9" at best when he was in his prime, so it's much more likely Michael pretty suddenly appeared 5'8" at best in his mid 60s because it's also the time he seemed to wear lifts much less frequently. Nowadays, 172 cm would be the absolute most I could buy. I think he's lost a pretty typical amount of height for his age(72)

James said on 22/Aug/17
Michael Douglas was 5'8", the same peak height as his father.

Rising - 174 cm said on 3/Aug/17
They may have both been the same height at 175 cm peak. When Kirk was Michael's current age, he definitely looked taller to me than the 5'7.5" Michael currently looks, but you're right, Kirk was never 177 cm, he may have even been 174, but seeing him in his early 70s still look around Michael's height, I'm more convinced he was 175 now.

1988 People's Choice Awards when Michael was 43 and Kirk was 71: Click Here Click Here The first pic is a nice full one, Michael looks 1 cm taller at best, but they could look the same there.
In this one, Kirk at 73 and Michael at 45: Click Here Michael with better posture only looks about an inch taller. They'd look close again with the same posture.
Here's Michael in his early 40s and Kirk over 70 again in Beverly Hills looking around the same height: Click Here

Both wore elevators and heeled boots for years: Click Here Kirk seemed to maintain his height decently until his helicopter crash and back surgery. Michael often wore lifts until his mid 60s, then he hasn't really seemed to wear them since, but seemed to lose a good half inch since that time as well. I can see a slim possibility Michael is still 172 cm, but he really doesn't look that tall to me anymore. Still a flat 5'8" back around 2009-2010.

Looking back, Glenn said Michael was 5'8" in 1993! Frank2 said he was still 5'10" in 2003! In fairness to Frank, while there's no chance Michael was even 5'9.5" in 2003 if he was ever that tall, he still could have looked 5'10" if he had lifts in 2003, but I don't know how Glenn saw him 5'8" in 1993 considering he thought himself 5'8", except for a combination of pavement and posture.

Battle of the lift wearers in 2002. 5'8" Antonio Banderas wins this round: Click Here Of course, it's not a full pic so it doesn't prove anything, but I do think they could have been close at that time with Antonio about 173 cm and Michael perhaps already down to 174.

RichardSpain said on 3/Aug/17
Sorry Michael was 1 cm taller than his father

Michael 176cm in peak.
Kirk 175 cm in peak is perfect! not more. I think 177cm i said before to Kirk Douglas is too much to him

Rising - 174 cm said on 2/Aug/17
I think it's pretty reasonable to say Michael was still about peak height in 1997 considering he looked taller than ever in A Perfect Murder. But look how Karl Malden at 85 could still look about 3 inches taller than Michael: Click Here

Here's half a dozen pics from that same event: Click Here Michael really doesn't tower over his 80 year old father and keep in mind, this was years after the helicopter accident and back surgery Kirk claimed took 3 inches off his height so to say he was still even 5'6" would be generous, but even if that's the case, Michael can struggle with 5'9" at times. Similarly, Jack Nicholson was 5'9" max by age 60 and certainly looks no shorter than Michael, arguably even a bit taller. Rob Reiner may or may not have still been 6'2" at 50, but certainly wasn't standing at it in many pictures towers over Michael.

I posted one of these pics some months ago, but now I found a series of full pics of Michael with Sly Stallone both in golf shoes in 2004: Click Here But Michael has probably lost an inch since then as this recent photo with Sly suggests if you remove the tilt: Click Here

I'm really surprised at how often I still see posters on this site who believe Michael was 5'10". Seeing him with Stallone and Kiefer Sutherland, it's pretty fair to say he was about 5'8.5" by age 60 and didn't look like he'd have lost much and certainly not 1.5", which is more likely what he's lost now in his early 70s.

Btw, I'm unsure if Tom is Frank2 or James, but if it's Frank2 it's very interesting since it'd be quite a 180 from a decade ago to now be wondering if Michael was always 5'8" and wore lifts like his father, though that sounds more like something James would say, as he said virtually the same comment just below my post. Now Steve on the other hand, I'm about 90-95% sure was Frank2.

Richardspain said on 2/Aug/17
Michael Douglas
176cm in peak
173cm nowadays
((Kirk Douglas)))
177cm in peak
Under 170cm today he has nearly 101 years old +bad posture.

Rising - 174 cm said on 28/Jul/17
As I posted on JCVD's page, I was surprised to see Michael posing with Van Damme in the 90s: Click Here Unfortunately, that's the only pic, but I'm sure they were close in height as neither was taller than 5'9", imo and I don't think either could have been far from it, especially Michael.

As for more recently, there are plenty of good comparisons with Paul Rudd, who I believe is a weak 5'9", possibly 5'8.5".

@Hollywood Walk of Fame 2015 (age 70)
Video: Click Here
Full pic: Click Here I'd say Rudd looks about 1.5" taller, though he clearly has thicker footwear. Btw, that's 5'9" Adam Scott on the right.

@Comic Con 2014 (age 69)
Video: Click Here
Full pic: Click Here Michael looks shockingly short as Rudd looks to have him by perhaps a couple inches!

@Ant-Man New York premiere 2015
Full pic: Click Here Looks about 1.5" there. Maybe 3 cm considering the tilt, but seeing pics without a tilt, I still see about the same difference: Click Here

Ant-Man London premiere (Age 70)
Full pic: Click Here I see a 3 cm difference or at least an inch.

@James: You're right that that both Kirk and Michael wore lifts, but I think 5'8" flat is really pushing, at least before his mid 60s. But I do think this previous comment of yours is more reasonable.

James said on 5/May/17
Douglas was 5'8.5" in the 1980s, he's about 5'7" today.

Personally, I think Michael looked tall enough regardless of lifts that he probably scraped 5'9". For instance, Michael managed to look close in height to weak 5'11" Viggo Mortensen in A Perfect Murder. However, I'd definitely say he was only 5'8.5" by age 60 since Sly Stallone was clearly taller with both in golf shoes and Michael was identical in height to Kiefer Sutherland. He still looked a lot like his young self so he probably hadn't lost much by then. Nowadays, it's clear his days of being 5'8" are behind him since he still often stands pretty well for a 72 year old, especially compared to someone like De Niro. 172 cm would be the absolute most I could see, but if you look above, if Catherine Zeta Jones is 5'10" in heels, Michael is lucky to still hit 5'8.5" in shoes. If you consider Michael was just a fraction taller than 5'9" Andy Garcia in Black Rain and had thicker boots, it certainly suggests he was a flat 5'9" guy in the 80's and if he had a lift in his boot, you'd probably be right. If Sharon Stone was only 5'8" flat then Michael does look a 5'8.5"-5'9" at Cannes in '92 and he did also look similar to Kiefer the year before, but we couldn't see footwear.

James said on 27/Jul/17
Douglas was never any taller than 5'8". Like his father, he always wore lifts in films and in real life.

Rising - 174 cm said on 20/Jul/17
How much height do we really think he lost by 65?

With Sharon Stone: Click Here Looking at Michael there, he doesn't look much over 5'8", yet seeing him standing well and looking at his torso, does it really look probable he'd have lost more than 1 inch, much less the 2 he'd need to have lost to have ever been 5'10"?

Same age with weak 5'9" Shia Labeouf: Click Here

For other scenes, he was still putting lifts in his boots: Click Here Click Here Though Shia definitely didn't have lifts in some of his shoes, like these: Click Here

Check out this video, Douglas at 69 and De Niro at 70 both seem below 5'8": Click Here

And same year. Watch @ about 30 seconds, Graham Norton looks about an inch taller than Douglas: Click Here

Rising - 174 cm said on 20/Jul/17
No taller than 5'9" flat Charlie Sheen here: Click Here Click Here

Video of the '88 Oscars: Click Here I'm not sure if Michael has lifts or not. His walk is a bit funny and stiff, but then how tall is he with Marlee Matlin, who claims to be 5'2"?
If Cher's head ends around her headband then I'd say 1"-1.5" difference: Click Here Though I can't see the size of heels. Pretty steep angle, but not a thick enough front for much more than 3".

Btw, the video of Michael on Carson in '92 was removed, so here it is again: Click Here Too bad we don't get to compare Michael to Johnny, but we do get to compare him to Liz Taylor, if you can figure out where Taylor's head ends with all that hair and account for Michael slouching with her. I wouldn't guess Michael in elevator boots less than 6" taller than Taylor in heeled boots, but how much over 5'2" could Taylor have been at 60?

RisingForce said on 13/Jul/17
Never 5'10" or any more than 5'9", imho. Bening was described as 5'7" in the 80s and I think that could be more accurate, especially if Douglas really was that much taller without tricks. Sharon Stone is also listed here at 5'8", but look at Douglas without the elevator boots he used in Basic Instinct and Sharon in simply a low 1.5" heel: Click Here Douglas only has half an inch less footwear and is just barely taller by half an inch or less even though you can see he's on his toes and has better posture! He struggles to look 5'10" in shoes there as Rob confirmed Sharon's heel wasn't more than 4 cm and also noticed Douglas on his toes.

I will look for that scene in the film as I'm a Michael Douglas fan anyway, but I think it's most likely Bening was either the 5'7" she was described as or they used subtle tricks. There are plenty of 80s and 90s comparisons that show Michael at 5'9" max without his elevators and based on Michael looking no more than 5'8.5" by age 60, 5'8" flat by age 65 and now more 5'7.5" or so in his early 70s adds up better with Michael peaking at 5'9" flat. He may have been slightly taller than his father, who I suspect was only 5'8.5", but then again, here's Michael at about 22 years old looking up to his 50 year old father by more than an inch on set of Cast a Giant Shadow: Click Here

But never 5'10" except in shoes. If he were 5'10" then Michael in bare feet would be taller than Sharon Stone in those 1.5" low heels instead of just a hair taller in 1" shoes on his toes. And at 5'10", Michael wouldn't look so short with 5'11"-5'11.5" Val Kilmer here in the 90s: Click Here There's a series of pics from that night, much like with Sharon Stone at Cannes and they pretty consistently show the same thing. Kilmer is a big boot guy, but he didn't have boots that day.

The most I could see for Michael would be 176 cm peak and 172 now, but really I'm pretty sure he's 1/4". He didn't look any taller than 5'9" Charlie Sheen behind the scenes during Wall Street. Actually, I could see 5'7.75" as more likely for his current height than 5'9.25" for peak since his posture may make him look shorter nowadays.

tk said on 9/Jul/17
Just watched The American President again. He constantly seems an easy two inches above Annete Bening. It's not just camera tricks to make him look taller. There's a scene where he's in slippers and she's wearing flat shoes and the height difference is obvious.

I don't know if Bening is 5'8'' (as listed in Celebheights) but I find it possible that Michael Douglas could be around 5'10'' at the time. He's surely lost quite a lot in recent years though.

RisingForce said on 12/Jun/17
Incredibly, just like Kirk got described as a ridiculous 6 feet at times, Michael was described as 6 feet in 2 articles a decade apart.

4/11/1971 The Corpus Christi Caller-Times: "Six feet and soft-spoken, Michael Douglas is the first to admit that "being Kirk Douglas' son can't hurt an acting career."

Then in response to a reader question on 4/19/1981 in Florida Today: "Michael Douglas is exactly six feet tall"

This leads me to believe Michael's bio may have even had him at 6 feet back then! I hope he at least showed as much restraint as his father and only claimed 5'11"! I mean, we're talking about a guy who back at the 1991 Deauville film festival, looked basically the same height as Kiefer Sutherland! In fairness we couldn't see their feet and I do think Michael would have edged out Kiefer in his prime so Michael could have forgotten his lifts while Kiefer could have had cowboy boots. However, by age 60, Michael and Kiefer looked almost identical in height: Click Here

RisingForce said on 17/May/17
I think your post is reasonable as always and not far from my views, berta, though 176 cm is the highest I'd go. Don't remember with Owen Wilson, but 10 years ago, I give him 174 cm, a height I think he was at by age 60, but much more rapid height loss since as he seemed visibly shorter by 65. He looked pretty tall in Falling Down, but I suspect something and definitely trickery in Basic Instinct. Just look at Michael up on his back foot with Sharon Stone in just a low heel for the Basic Instinct premiere at Cannes: Click Here Yet if you watch the film, Douglas always seemed much taller. Among the tricks I'm convinced was elevator boots: Click Here Judging by the visible part of the boot and Michael's legs, I'd bet that's the case there. I'd say he'd lost 1 cm by age 60, held that for a while then accelerated as he was looking visibly shorter by age 65 and has kept shrinking. I think he mostly wound down the lift wearing in his late 50s and 60s other than spotting them for some scenes in the Wall Street sequel, which he filmed at age 65. That's when I started noticing his height loss more since he was noticeably shorter than Shia LaBeouf when he didn't have extra help and I'm certain Michael at his peak would be as tall, probably a bit taller since I think Shia probably falls a little shy of 5'9" and I'd actually guess may be more 174 cm.

berta said on 16/May/17
in my opinion i think he was a 176 cm guy at peak that sometimes liked to but something extra in his shoes. HIs height can be different from time to time. Wasnt he bassically the same height as owen wilson in a movie they did 10 years ago when he probably had lost 1 cm already. there is no chanse that he was that tall. 176 peak and could look 177--78 in big heels and today he is looking about 172 . about 4 cm losss

RisingForce said on 13/May/17
Certainly, it explains why Michael could look comfortably over 5'9" at times. Here's the video: Click Here Michael appears at the 31 minute mark. You can compare him to Elizabeth Taylor, who I would think wasn't much more than 5'2" barefoot at 60 years old, maybe 5'2.5".

RisingForce said on 10/May/17
Thanks, Rob. I guess it seems DiFabrizo wasn't lying about Michael. Not that I ever found it unlikely since I'd think that someone would be more likely to wear lifts if they saw their father doing it, especially if they're about the same height as their father.

RisingForce said on 7/May/17
Hey Rob, any opinion on Michael's shoes on the Carson appearance in my last post? For convenience, I'll include it again in this post: Click Here Height, lace area, ankle position and thickness all make it seem likely to me those could have been some of his elevators, but I only own lifts, not elevators so I have to defer to your opinion. Looking through the old comments, you and some others did suspect lifts in A Perfect Murder. James, that seems a half inch low for peak and current, imo. I'd give him the same height as Charlie Sheen and Andy Garcia at his peak.

James said on 5/May/17
Douglas was 5'8.5" in the 1980s, he's about 5'7" today.

RisingForce said on 4/May/17
Douglas looks no taller than 5'9" Charlie Sheen in this Wall Street behind the scenes photo with Oliver Stone, actually slightly shorter in this pic at least: Click Here I thought 5'9.5" was spot on when I thought Andy Garcia was 176 cm, but Garcia at more a flat 5'9" would make Douglas more 5'9.25" before factoring in Douglas had a thicker boot with a bigger heel than Garcia: Click Here Click Here I doubt Douglas was any taller than Garcia barefoot. Michael doesn't look over 5'9" here in the early 90s with 5'11.5" Val Kilmer: Click Here Click Here Or with Michael Bolton in 1993: Click Here We know Douglas was at least named as a lift wearer, but it was never really followed up on with pictures of his shoes. Certainly a lift is possible in the cowboy boots he wore for Romancing the Stone: Click Here And certainly shoes like the ones he wore on Carson in 1992 could conceal a decent lift: Click Here Douglas seemed to drop to 5'8.5" almost overnight by his late 50s/early 60s, an example is that he was the same height as Keifer Sutherland. Rather than losing 1" by that point, I think it's more likely he had stopped wearing lifts. If you look at them together from the 70s through the 90s, Michael and Kirk generally look similar in height and either can be taller. There's a good chance both were a flat 5'9" and wore lifts, though I think it's possible Kirk peaked at only 5'8.5", while I don't think that's likely with Michael. Certainly, it's likely Kirk was no taller than that in most photos with Michael as he's in his 60s and 70s in them.

mister_lennon said on 22/Mar/17
Peak: 176-177
today: 172-173

RisingForce said on 21/Mar/17
Certainly, I expect him in the 5'6" range even in his 80s and who knows how short if he reaches his father's age. I can say that Eli Wallach seemed near 5 inches shorter than me with a cane in his early 90s and he probably had been close to 5'7". Although women shrink more, my grandmother is 4.5 years older than Kirk and though it's impossible to tell, she may have lost half a foot in height at this point! I think when you get to that age, height is the last thing on your mind!

RisingForce said on 20/Mar/17
Seeing him at only 5'7.5" or so by age 70, I think he was only 5'9" flat peak. At first I thought he might have lost more than normal because he's had bad posture, but 2" is a lot for average height man who didn't do a lot of action films. Not as many celebs wear lifts as some people think, but Michael was one of the ones who did, like father, like son! A 60 year old Michael Douglas already looked shorter than a 58 year old Sly Stallone in golf shoes: Click Here Those two actually had elevator shoes made by the same shoemaker! I could also raise my estimates slightly and say Douglas could have been 176 cm peak and 172 cm now since bad posture could make him look as short as 170-171 cm, but I think this guy fooled me with lifts.

Realist said on 31/Jan/17
He was 5'9 now he's 171 cms.

Pierric said on 29/Dec/16
Rob what was his height near 1989-1991 ? (War of Roses; Basic Instinct )

meezemaker said on 21/Dec/16
Same height than his father. 174cm while he father lost maybe a half inch at the end of 80'

Click Here

meezemaker said on 21/Dec/16
By watching these photograph, i would say MD is at least 3 inches shorter than Carl Malden

Click Here

By considering they got same shoes, and Malden at 65 years is one inch shorter, we can suppose MD at 5'9 nearby.
But, guessing the smallest of the two striving to be a bit taller using "tips", I would say peak was 174cm for Mickael Douglas.

Ian C. said on 27/Oct/16
I just saw a brief scene in the movie China Syndrome, and in that one Jane Fonda, walking beside Douglas, seems slightly taller.

James said on 16/Sep/16
Douglas is 5'7" now. He was an OK actor but he was always the same from one movie to another.

Christian said on 2/Sep/16
Before I knew how tall he was I always thout MD was at around 180 cm. He used to have a great posture
and maybe lifts added to that impression. Terrific actor. One of my favorites.

Parker said on 12/Jun/16
Editor Rob: he has though lost noticeable height, at times he can look 5ft 7-8 zone now.

Bang on - He looked no taller than Lewis Hamilton on the Canadian Grand Prix podium.

Tom said on 9/Jun/16
He wore lifts.

Jug said on 18/May/16
I saw him today in New York. He didn't seem that short. I stood right next to him. I'm 6'2. I'd say he's 5'9. He could have been a solid 5'10 as a young man.

James said on 4/May/16
5'9" is more accurate for his peak height. I hope the rumours about his cancer returning aren't true.

Tom said on 5/Apr/16
Douglas was clearly never 5'10", except with special shoes.

bandet said on 24/Mar/16
Always amazes me how inaccurate people are with heights.
Has he really shrunk that much? Two inches? Most people
lose significant height after their mid 70s. So I don't think he would have lost more than an inch. But what do I know.

Tom said on 7/Mar/16
Could Douglas have really been 5'8" like his father, and always worn elevator shoes?

James B said on 5/Mar/16
5'9.75 not impossible rob at his peak?

PortugueseGuy said on 18/Feb/16
Rob,could you try guessing this portuguese actor height for me? He is called Lourenço Ortigão, here is a picture of him and Michael Douglas: Click Here

Larry said on 25/Oct/15
Douglas was 5'8" at the height of his career in the 1980s.

George, Harrison Ford is not conservative - he's a left-wing Democrat like Michael Douglas.

MD said on 31/Jul/15
I was just going to argue a half-inch off the 5'9.5" listing. lol

MD said on 30/Jul/15
@Rob,

You're going to want to take off a bit more height for him, these days. He is not taller than Paul Rudd. I've seen some recent red carpets where Paul actually looks taller, but it's usually a footwear advantage, but what's clear is that he's not taller than Rudd.

martijndepro said on 23/Jul/15
Just saw Ant-Man, and in one scene a barefoot Paul Rudd was taller than a shoe-wearing Michael Douglas.

N said on 7/Jun/15
Looked the same height or possibly shorter (!) than 165cm Eddie Jordan at the Montreal F1

James C. said on 11/May/15
Was he still 5'9 1/2 in the in laws?

yeah right said on 7/Apr/15
Looked slightly shorter than bald Jon Cryer on Jimmy Fallon show, so 5'7 and 3/4- 5'8 seems to be right.

George said on 17/Mar/15
I always thought Michael Douglas was a tall man, around 5'11" to 6' but he is actually an average sized man, only 5'9". I always thought of Douglas as a poor man's Harrison Ford that portrayed edgier characters that the more conservative Harrison Ford would never touch. Interestingly Douglas identifies himself as Jewish, and Ford is technically Jewish because his mother was Jewish, but does not seem to identify with any religious group.

James B said on 17/Mar/15
could b e 5'7.75 now

Smoosh said on 5/Mar/15
People goin by movies for reference have to realise that actors wear lifts in their shoes in movies and they vary from role to roll, hence why their height looks different from movie to movie, so comparing them to other actors just from film is completely useless

Arch Stanton said on 3/Feb/15
Zeta Jones looks almost unrecognizable these days. Still stunning of course, but the face has undeniably been surgically altered. She looks more like Susanna Reid in the above photo, not that that's a particularly bad thing :-)

Arch Stanton said on 3/Feb/15
He really is shrinking fast like his dad!!

Arch Stanton said on 31/Jan/15
Rob can you add a photo and some more films like Traffic, The Sentinel, The American President, Wonder Boys, The War of the Roses, The China Syndrome, and Falling Down?

Arch Stanton said on 31/Jan/15
Looked virtually 5'10 in films like Wall Street. 177 is on the money for peak.

Spencer said on 29/Jan/15
He looks a strong 5'9 to me in Wall Street. I don't think a full 5'10,
but close.

Bruno said on 12/Dec/14
IN TSOSF looks 2'' lower than Karl Malden.

MaskDeMasque said on 23/Nov/14
5'8 now is fair. Looked the same height as De Niro in Last Vegas. 5'9.5 Peak.

Arch Stanton said on 22/Oct/14
He looked 5 ft 10 in Wall Street but he might have had on footwear advantage to make his character seem more imposing.

Arch Stanton said on 21/Oct/14
He looked taller than Charlie Sheen in Wall Street didn't he?

Brad said on 10/May/14
As listed. Wouldn't doubt 5' 10" peak walking those streets of San Francisco.

Arch Stanton said on 1/May/14
Wasn't Douglas taller than De Niro in Last Vegas though? I thought he looked about the same height as Mary Steenburgen in it though accounting for footwear and she's around 5'8".

Anon said on 30/Apr/14
Agree with RisingForce, Black Rain is a good movie. I think Douglas was a solid 5'10" in his prime.

Arch Stanton said on 30/Apr/14
Yeah that's my favourite Douglas period Rising, he was in a lot of great movies in the late 80s and 90s at his peak, although he was of course in earlier great films like The China Syndrome (when he was a bit chubbier looking) and Romancing the Stone etc.

Arch Stanton said on 30/Apr/14
In the pier scene briefly you see Duvall pointing a gun at Douglas from a distance and he looked noticeably shorter than Douglas to me.

Arch Stanton said on 30/Apr/14
Falling Down wasn't so great (at least from Douglas) towards the end (after the golf scene with his chat it started to go downhill and the plot with his daughter and that rather silly) but the first half especially was top notch I thought and quite Scorsese-like as Sam says. Great acting too, he managed to really look convincing as a no-sh*t nutcase on the loose. An enjoyable film.

RisingForce said on 30/Apr/14
Agreed, Falling Down is a great movie, Douglas did a lot of very good ones in the late 80's/early 90's, but I wouldn't necessarily go by that. Remember, Douglas was named as a lift wearer by the shoemaker who made elevators for Stallone and Burt Reynolds, plus, he was only the slightest bit taller than 5-9ish Andy Garcia in "Black Rain", which is another movie I liked quite a bit.

Lorne said on 30/Apr/14
"Peak Height was 5ft9.75in/177cm"
"Michael Douglas Height is 5ft8.25in/173cm"
That's the best compromise, Honestly he pulled off consistently looking solid 178vm, like 5ft10-10.25, I think he had to be close to 5'10. And what with the cancer, it's believable he's lost significant height at nearly 70...

Arch Stanton said on 29/Apr/14
In Falling Down, a great movie BTW, Douglas is described as taller than Rober Duvall. If they were the same height, why would they say that?

James B said on 17/Mar/14
I'd say peak 5'10. I would find it hard to believe a peak Michael Douglas being edged out by Richard gere.

Will said on 21/Feb/14
Michael Douglas is 5'8 1/2". Thought he was a bit taller, like 5'10".

Lorne said on 20/Feb/14
Yeah he was a producer long befor he became a star. In fact people gave Oliver Stone flack about casting him, and it turns out that he wins an Oscar!!! Yeah, he had been involved with a number of Iconic projects. A really under appreciated talent, if you ask me.

Christian said on 24/Jan/14
He is a tad taller than De Niro. I would say he´s 5'8.5 today.
Click Here
Click Here

Arch Stanton said on 19/Jan/14
Never knew that Douglas produced One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. I bet not many people know that! That was one the very best films of the 70s!

Arch Stanton said on 19/Jan/14
Thanks. I think Douglas was definitely at his peak (as an actor) from the mid 80s and early 90s. All of his films from that period were really very good. Romancing the Stone was the most enjoyable I think though. Although there's some earlier 70s ones I've been meaning to watch, The China Syndrome especially with him, Jack Lemmon and Jane Fonda is supposed to be very good. He's still got it though, I enjoyed Last Vegas even if most of the critics shunned it.

Arch Stanton said on 18/Jan/14
Well he was in his socks in Fatal Attraction James and he still looked 5'9 range.

Arch Stanton said on 18/Jan/14
Rob can you add Fatal Attraction? I think this is right for peak. The heaviest I've seen him look was in that film, he looked quite podgy in the face actually at that time.

Lorne said on 11/Jan/14
Looks taller than De Niro now, De Niro has to be down to 172cm now. As for Douglas, he looked 178-179 with Kathleen to me, though I haven't watched Romancing in years.(though did see War of the Roses semi-recently). I actually wouldn't be shocked if he measured 5ft8.25 today, at the Oscars Damon looked 4cm taller, but not entirely sure on Footwear. I'm sticking with 5ft9.75, I mean he isn't less than 5ft8 today, and if anyone has lost significant height in 60's, it's him.

Arch Stanton said on 2/Jan/14
Actually he does look between 1 and 2 inches taller than Kathleen Turner in RTS.

Arch Stanton said on 2/Jan/14
Mmm really doesn't look over 5'9" in Romancing the Stone.

Arch Stanton said on 31/Dec/13
He's about the same height as Mary Steenburgen and slightly shorter than De Niro in Last Vegas, 5'8 looks fine for today.

MD said on 31/Dec/13
But, Matt Damon is not 5'11". He's not even a full 5'10", which has been made pretty clear on his page.

dmeyer said on 29/Dec/13
Matt Damon looks 5'11 near douglas

James said on 28/Dec/13
Like his father, Michael was well known for wearing built up shoes in real life and in all his movies. He only looked 5'10" with lifts.

David said on 14/Dec/13
I reckon Douglas is now 5ft 8.Even in Basic Instinct i did not think he was that tall.But in Falling Down, one of my all time favourite films he strangely looked 6ft 1 and tall.Michael Douglas is a really good actor Kirk his father must be really proud of him.My father is 5ft 10 and a half in one inch shoes and has not lost any height at all and is 81.

MD said on 29/Oct/13
With Matt Damon:

Click Here

Click Here

Kal said on 21/Oct/13
In Basic Instinct he looks a solid 5'10" / 5'10.5". He looks a good height beside all the actors in that film.

Greyboy said on 10/Sep/13
Douglas on Graham Norton. Spot the lift.

Click Here

Teresa said on 8/Sep/13
Elmore Leonard says he wrote "Get Shorty" with Michael Douglas in mind instead of Danny DeVito because Douglas is so short...even though nobody can tell on screen. They used lots of tricks on screen to make him appear taller.

Splitting Hairs said on 29/Aug/13
"NW - I just saw him in person. I a female 5'4 and i was wearing 3 inch heels. I was towering over him. He is probably about 5'2 at best"

5'2"!!!!!! Good grief. Way to reinforce the concept of women being inferior at spatial recognition. He might be closer to 5'8" today, but Michael Douglas was always a solid 5'9" to 5'10" throughout his acting career.

Bentley said on 28/Aug/13
At his peak he was 5' 8.5". He's lost almost 2" due to age and illness so he's about 5'6" today

Lorne said on 13/Aug/13
Sorry, no way under 5ft10 peak. Average at age 70 is 3cms shrinkage, but some people lose 2 full inches by that age. I mean with cancer and everything, you don't think it's possible he's lost more height than average? I mean radiation,chemo, all that stress on the body. I understand downgrading based on current height, but a 70 year old man who had cancer should get the benefit of the doubt and keep his 5ft10 peak, since he honestly looked 179cm, tallish with boots!

MaskDeMasque said on 13/Aug/13
I'd say 176 maybe 177cm peak.

Kate said on 24/Jul/13
Met him. No taller than 5'7", if that. Very slight build.

Arch Stanton said on 23/Jul/13
Rob see the beginning

Click Here

He doesn't even look close in height to Graham Norton does he?

David said on 27/Jun/13
I recall reading an article on Michael Douglas in the sun newspater 24 years ago and in it a female journalist said he was 6ft 1. I thought that's a joke i mean i thought 5ft 10 was believable back then.Perhaps he stood 5ft 9 until his mid 60's then remaining 5ft 8 up to this day.I dpn't think Matt Damon is all that tall either.My guess for Damon would be 5ft 9 and a half up to 5ft 10 and that's with shoes on.The height for Douglas though is with his 1 inch shoes on (NO LIFTS)at 5ft 8.

Silent d said on 23/Jun/13
NW no way he is 5 foot 2. He is the same height as robert deniro in the last vegas photo I saw with him and kevin kline, morgan freeman and deniro. He never looked that short in his life. His wife is pretty tall too. He stands his ground with her. I think she is 5 foot 6-7 and she wears heels and he still looks taller. 5 foot 9.

BD said on 21/Jun/13
The man is no taller than 5'7". I was an extra on the movie The Game. I am 5'10" and I was a good 4" taller. He is very short.

Jack said on 10/Jun/13
5'8" at best nowadays.

jtm said on 31/May/13
i meant he was clearly shorter than damon at the behind the candelabra premiere.

jtm said on 30/May/13
i haven't seen behind the candelabra but he does look clearly shorter than damon who is listed at a very generous 5'10. damon was probably wearing lifts but that still makes douglas no more than 5'8 nowadays.

Theo said on 28/May/13
Damon's shoes in Candleabra were huge... still seems fishy if you look at pics from Cannes unless Damon is wearing high shoes there as well. Perhaps some chemo shrinkage?

Stiffelio said on 25/May/13
He looks at least 2 inches shorter than 5'10" Matt Damon in Behind the Candelabra. Many people even doubt Damon being that tall. So how come Douglas claims 5'9"? Someone please explain this to me.

NW said on 24/May/13
I just saw him in person. I a female 5'4 and i was wearing 3 inch heels. I was towering over him. He is probably about 5'2 at best

Lorne? said on 13/May/13
I agree shredder. Not to mention that Sheen is probably 176cm, and they're was over an inch between them.

Dc said on 9/Apr/13
Just saw him in a short interview clip on GMA. He was standing next to his 5' 7" wife and she was looking DOWN at him.

Diva Queen said on 8/Mar/13
Saw him in San Francisco in 1996 when he was shooting the game with Sean Penn. Walked into Balboa Cafe. I said "Oh my God, it's Michael Douglas" and my husband said "Oh my God, look how short he is." My husband is 5'9". Michael Douglas was 5'6" at best. He was within 6 feet of us, so there was no "guesstimating." The reason he looks taller and/or shorter than other actors is because of lifts and staging for various scenes.

dwerb said on 15/Nov/12
look at it this way most good musicians and actors are not very tall.it means nothing(or maybe it means being shorter and hearing all the stuff growing up makes shorter people better at things because they gain strength inside and more talent).only people who are insecure or ignorant will comment about your height in a negative way.have confidence in who you are and don't dwell on something you have no control over.none of us have control over height,race,where we are born or anything else like that.there will always be disrespectful dumb people out there,just think to yourself(well they are not very smart or insecure)if they say something about your height because its true.believe in yourself and you will have the right tall and short people drawn to you.there are good people every where tall and short.

Christian said on 30/Oct/12
In Black Rain he looks a tad taller than Andy Garcia. And I know you should not compare from movies, but I am just saying. Here are some pic of him and Garcia from 2011.
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I think Douglas and Garcia look like two solid 5:9;ners.

Woland said on 16/Sep/12
He looked 2 inches taller than 5'8" Gina Carano in Haywire. I say 5'9" minimum for Douglas at the age of 67.

Big Doug said on 22/Aug/12
I met Michael Douglas in Seattle when he came to visit my boss at our office while filming the movie Disclosure. The Seattle Times had just done an article on him and had listed him as 6' 1" tall. I'm 6' 1" tall so imagine my surprise when he walked into the office and I stood to shake his hand and found him to be 4 or 5 inches shorter than me. Just a guess but I would say that he is 5' 8" to 5' 9" tall and no taller.

the shredder said on 18/Aug/12
He looked 6'0 in cowboy boots next to a barefoot Turner in Romancing the stone , 5'10.5 peak .

Reaper said on 16/Aug/12
Easy 5-11" in Wall Street. Look at all the times he stood next to Sheen in that movie. Michael was clearly about 2" taller then Sheen whos listed at 5'9"

Dino said on 21/Jan/12
He looked an inch or two shorter than 5'10 Ewan McGregor in Haywire.

Pik said on 3/Jan/12
Douglas looked as tall as Viggo Mortensen in Perfect murder, and in dress shoes he looked 3 inches taller than barefoot Paltrow. Looked 5'10 in that time,1998. He also looked Sean Bean's height in Don't say a word in 2001.

Silent d said on 30/Dec/11
He has cancer. Does that make you lose height? He always looked 5 foot 8 to me. At least he's better now. Don't know how he was taller than shia in money never sleeps. Probably lifts. 5 foot 8.

maio said on 11/Dec/11
Peak height: 5 ft 9.5 in/177 cm
Current height: 5 ft 8.75 in/175 cm

AlexDC said on 3/Nov/11
I was standing next to him about an hour ago in Washington DC, 2 blocks from the White House ... I was struck by how short he is ... 5ft 6 in at the most. Confirmed

jake, 1.82 m said on 29/Sep/11
I think he was 5ft 9.5in peak and is 5ft 8.75in now

Seb said on 27/Sep/11
Whether Matthew McConaughey is wearing lifts in "ghosts of girlfriends past" I don't know, but Michael looks 4 to 5 inches shorter.

Spence said on 13/Aug/11
I think he was around 5'10 at peak. He looks a weak 5'10 in Wall Street, but he could have worn some lifts. I think 177 peak.

bane said on 19/Jul/11
5ft9 is perfect

PatB said on 3/Jul/11
When I lived in San Francisco I was watching a set up for "The Streets of San Francisco" down by Aquatic Park when this tiny guy pushed his way to the front. It was Douglas. I would have guessed then that he was about 5'6". I'm sure I'm wrong but it was quite startling. All the celebrities I have actually met in person like Gregory Peck and O.J. Simpson seemed smaller than expected except Bo Swenson whom I dumped into on the street in Rome - he was pretty drunk but not short.

Maybe it wasn't that Douglas was so short but that he was so frail. He looked like he was perhaps 135 lbs.

James said on 27/Jun/11
no higher than 178cm peak.

Brad said on 13/Jun/11
5' 8" now. Saw him in Aspen 35 years ago but he was in ski boots and easy 6 feet in them. Peak 5-10.

James said on 12/Jun/11
he could have been possibly a weak 5'10 when younger? We all know this guy likes to wear lifts a lot.

mike said on 7/Jun/11
much shorter than albert brooks in In-Laws. i think he never was 5ft10. in his youth he was 5ft9 tops and now somewere under that.

fu said on 15/May/11
I just watched Traffic and thought he looked 5'11 - 6'0. Was really surprised at seeing he was 5'10 and below. Maybe he just gives the impression of a tall guy

Kaneda said on 12/May/11
I saw Falling Down yesterday and he looks like a tall guy in it. You should look up ''drive by scene falling down'' on youtube. And look when he walks away. If I wouldn't know better, I would think he's like 6'1.

He was 49 when they shot that movie so I think, at the time, he was a good 5'10. He's taller than almost everybody in the film, although only slightly.

austrianguy said on 27/Feb/11
He looks short nowadays. Probably closer to 5ft 8in but it''s hard to tell because of his footware being more than suspicious

Mike S. said on 21/Feb/11
In Wall Street 2, next to his younger (overrated and poorly chosen) co-actor they look to be about the same height.

kevin said on 30/Jan/11
peak he was 177cm. today only 174cm max.

burby said on 30/Oct/10
I saw a recent photo, hope he gets better, yes looks very gaunt.

James said on 21/Jun/09
Moby is actually listed at 5'7 on this site. I was for McConaughey well he's at least 5'10.

Frank2 said on 21/Jun/09
Yeah, Burt really poked fun at Kirk during SEVEN DAYS IN MAY. In that film, Kirk wore huge lifts. Kirk was 5'8" peak height and today is about 5'5".

I've seen s couple of photos where today Michael Douglas looks 5'8". Here's one of them:

Click Here

I've seen Matthew McConaughey and he appeared to be 5'10". Douglas looks two inches shorter.

And her he appears to be the same height as 5'8" Moby:

Click Here

Maybe Douglas wore lifts the day I saw him and is indeed 5'8".

mcfan said on 19/Jun/09
Yes, during "Wall Street" he does look 5'10 for movies of the 70s and 80s. However, I think in the 90s he started to lose some height. By the time of "The Wonder Boys" (2000) he was definitely just 5'9...no way taller.