Eldergays, please tell me you didn't buy Michael Douglas as a sex symbol back in the 80s and 90s! If you did...why?!

I blame all the cocaine.

I think he hits that middle ground where he's not too attractive so he doesn't freak out the straight men and the women...well, I very rarely understand what they find attractive anyway.

No, never did as a sex symbol. He didn't hit his stride with me till he played smarmy and amoral.

I haven't thought about him in a "sexy" way for decades. So let's see: he was handsome, and he has a great voice. Very seductive timbre, and he had great hair. Also, if you were "into Hollywood" in those days (1970s and 80s) he was at the epicenter. As a youngster I rather enjoyed a dissolute experience myself so maybe his was exponentially awesome. He was part of that trinity of Lotharios along with Jack Nicholson (never attractive) and Warren Beatty (just creepy on every level). Also, remember that in the 1970s Woody Allen, Richard Dreyfuss, and Alan Alda were sex symbols so the pickings were slim.

Amazing how things were in pre-Intenet days. Not every ho was showing his dick on IG back then.

He was hot in the days of The China Syndrome, and especially a little seen movie from 1980 with Jill Clayburgh called It's My Turn. He's way sexier with a beard and long hair.

By the time of Fatal Attraction, he was a dumpy, middle age guy strictly for the frau set.

Not as hot as his Dad in Spartacus.

Streets of San Francisco (mid-'70s) Michael Douglas was sexy.

Romancing the Stone (1984) Michael Douglas was still a bit sexy but had some miles on him.

Fatal Attraction (1987) Michael Douglas was past it.

Never got the appeal myself. Ditto Mel Gibson. They look like every other neighborhood dad. You can practically see them vacuuming the pool and swilling scotch in a bitter bitter fashion.

He was cute in 'Streets of San Francisco'.

Once I saw his flat pancake azz in Basic Instinct I never thought of him as sexy

Fraus loved him. No one else.

No, didn't find him sexy. He had nice hair though.

No, I never understood that. The whole Basic Instinct thing was a joke.

I don't think Douglas was ever a physical sex symbol. I thought he was believable as someone who could have an attractive wife (e.g., Fatal Attraction) due to not being bad looking, having confidence, having money. While Basic Instinct is supposed to be a "sexy" thriller, he's not supposed to be a sex symbol because of it. Stone's character wants to play around with him; fuck with him - she's not hopping in the sack with him because she thinks he's sexy. I never bought him as a sex symbol because he wasn't really being sold as one.

Middle aged women seemed to think he was sexy at the time. Don't know why he appealed to that group.

He does have a nice voice and is a really interesting actor. Talent can be sexy. I do always believe him when he's on screen even if I've never thought he was the best part of any movie. I did love him in A Perfect Murder as the insanely jealous husband.

He has cold dead eyes and a flat monotone voice.

Eldergays adored those roided-out freaks like Arnold, Van Damme, Stallone and Segal. More disturbing, I must say.

R8 Him and Mel Gibson were sexy simply BECAUSE they looked like every neighborhood dad. That was their sex appeal, just like most male sex symbols back then (see Burt Reynolds). Back then male sex symbols were not the hairless submissive twinks that they are today. They were supposed to remind you of your best friend's hot dad.

Still, MD wasn't a sex symbol in the vein of Burt Reynolds, was he?

I'm 33 and I watched Basic Instinct in my high school years. I masturbated to Basic Instinct several times over the span of like 3 years.

There's an actor, Shea Whigam who sort of resembles a hotter Michael Douglas.

At one point he had a nice face (Jewel of the Nile period) but he always had a saggy ass, spindly legs and a disappointing body. He wouldn't have gotten away with that today.

You need to visit an optometrist ASAP R22.

He had a nice ass in Fatal Attraction.

I was in my teens during his peak popularity and just did not see the appeal, either. I assumed he was getting acting work and PR because of his famous dad.

Hollywood also kept pushing this group of guys like Kiefer Sutherland, Charlie Sheen, Emilio Estevez, Michael J. Fox, Matthew Broderick, and so on, at me and it just wasn't working for me. So I continued buying Gene Kelly, Cary Grant, and Paul Newman movies on VHS. Sigh.

R26, you have good taste. The 80s were so weird. Michael Schoeffling was treated like an afterthought, while Michael J. Fox was put on a pedestal.

I was 11 and I thought he was sexy. I rented the Fatal Attraction VHS just so I could see his naked ass. I found him hot.

He was very sexy in both Fatal Attraction and Basic Instinct but even hotter in Coma and Romancing the Stone. He did look weathered on BI but I think that was part of the character.

r25 That was a butt double, not even close to his age.

I don't get it, either, OP, but have you ever interacted with Hollywood producers at all? They're an odd kind of guy. At least 10-20 years ago when my job involved working with the TV industry, there were so many smarmy, greasy old men who were Trumplike in a way. Longish hair, brushed back like Don Jr.'s, often with a dicky flip like Don Sr. Overly tanned, shirt collars unbuttoned too low for an old man, or else a tee shirt under a blazer. Bill Maher sort of looks like one of them. And I think these dudes just have a really fucked up idea of what's attractive and cast accordingly, maybe because they watched too much Ron Jeremy porn or something. Anyway, yeah, "sexy" guys in 80s movies were often not sexy at all. Nowadays they all cast generic looking bodybuilders and keep them mostly naked on set, so I guess guys and girls are pretty equal in Hollywood now. Starve, pump up, take your clothes off, brighten those teeth, spray that skin.

R30 makes a really good point. Also, he should go to the celebrity gossip post and share some memories of his time in television.

Michael Douglas was not my cup of tea. In fact I find him unpleasant and without charm.

I can't say I thought of him as any kind of sex symbol, but I was a fan. I found his movies interesting. At least his character was. I liked the fact that he was not afraid to play flawed people or even the bad guy. He was deliciously evil, and he was a good actor. He also played characters with a sense of humor. His personal life was often a train wreck, but he has always been a favorite of mine.

I thought he was kind of cute in Romancing The Stone. And the sex scene in Disclosure was hot. But Basic Instinct was hilarious and the v-neck didn't help.

I found him very sexy in the 1970s. After that, no thanks.

He was adored by fraus. Not gays.

This was the decade where shoulder pads and perms were considered attractive. It was a different time.

Maybe he was like the White Everyman, sort of generic? Not too handsome, not too sexy, but most people could relate to him.