8 Most Iconic Kirk Douglas Roles

6. Jonathan Shields - The Bad And The Beautiful (1952)

Douglas returned to box office success with this intriguing melodrama. Douglas stars as Jonathan Shields, a film producer who has alienated himself from everyone around him.

The film begins with Shields attempting to pitch a movie idea to three of his former colleagues, a director, an actress, and a writer, each who feels wronged by Shields in some way. We then cut to the past and reveal his story with each of them, how he ruined their lives yet at the same time launched them to the top of their respective fields.

As can be seen throughout the years, Hollywood has always loved stories about Hollywood, a very recent example being in the form of La La Land (2016), and this movie is no exception. The film is said to be based upon many real life figures within the film industry at the time, and Douglas’ performance as a manipulative movie mogul was widely praised. The film won five Oscars at the 1952 Academy Awards, a record for the most awards won by a movie that was not nominated for Best Picture or Best Director, including a second nomination for Best Actor for Douglas himself.