Michael Douglas - Wall Street

With Wall Street Michael Douglas established himself as an actor to be reckoned with and Oliver Stone proved that he was one of the premiere filmmaker of the 80's and early 90's.  The same could not be said for Charlie Sheen and Daryl Hannah, both of whom hindered the movie to a considerable degree.  That their peformances, particuarly that of Sheen's don't ruin the movie is a testament to the skill of Stone and Douglas. 

Michael Douglas gives the type of performance that Oscar eats up and its difficult to blame them.  Gordon Gekko is charsimatic, sometimes outlandish and sophisticated, he dominates every scene he inhabits.  Frankly, calling this a lead performance is a bit of stretch, but like Anthony Hopkins and Forest Whitaker in their Oscar winning roles Gekko's is so central to the lead's story, it's hard to think of him as not being the film's lead.  Gekko has gone on to embody the overindulgence of the 1980's (gotta love that big cell phone), and Douglas plays him without any apology.  Gekko really believes there is no other way to live, and lets the audience buy into that as well.  Michael Douglas' performance certainly belongs as one of the lasting moving characters of the 1980's.

Other Awards:
Golden Globe - Drama: Won
Kansas City Film Critics: Won
NBR Best Actor: Won