Michael Douglas is an actor with a career spanning 50+ years, and after winning Academy Awards and 5 Golden Globes, he is thoroughly deserving of his place in the Hollywood hall of fame.
Throughout the years his height isn't something that has been a topic of discussion, with him looking average both on and off the big screen. However, throughout investigating his height, it becomes obvious that he stands significantly shorter today than he did in his peak years.
So, on this page, we will investigate both his peak height and current height, through height comparisons, height claims, and a confession from a "special" shoemaker, all helping us to find out the height he stood at in his prime, and the height he stands at today.
What is Michael Douglas's Real Height?
As of today in the 2020s, Michael Douglas stands at 5'7.75" tall.
However, during his prime years, he stood significantly taller, waking up at around 5'9.75", falling down to 5'9.5" throughout the majority of the day, and going to bed at 5'9.25" at night. So, his peak height can be described as 5'9'.5" (176.5 cm) tall.
His Height Claim
In this video from 2018, where the ''Ant-Man and the Wasp" cast answers questions from popular Google searches, when it's Michael's turn to answer, one of the questions is "how tall is Michael Douglas", and he answers "I'm five feet ten".
This is the height he is regularly listed at, and he was also fairly close to this height in his peak years, so if he is not height aware or hasn't been measured in many years, it comes as no surprise he gave 5'10" the answer.
Compared To Celebs in Early Years
Suspicious Shoes
Like some other celebs, there are some instances where Douglas appears taller than he should, and I believe in his peak years he also wore shoes that gave him a little boost in height. In fact, Pasquale di Fabrizio, otherwise known as the "shoemaker to the stars", has indeed said that he made lifted shoes for Michael Douglas, amongst many other stars.
On this page however I have chosen situations for height comparison where I believe height boosting footwear is not being worn.
Sean Penn 5'8" (172.8 cm)
Penn looks taller than Douglas these days, but in peak years Douglas was comfortably the taller of the pair. When standing next to Penn in earlier years, he looks around 1.25" taller, and therefore his height when standing next to Penn looks to be around 5'9.25".
Kathleen Turner 5'8 (172.8 cm)
Kathleen Turner is his good friend and co-star of films such as "Romancing the Stone", and Douglas appears to be consistently 1.5 inches taller than her throughout the film and in photos of them together, putting him at 5'9.5" tall.
Compared To Celebs in Recent Years
Height Loss
As we age past 40, most of us will gradually lose height, at around 1cm per decade. If we compare Michael's height in his mid 70's to when he was in his 30's then he certainly looks anywhere from 1.5-2 inches shorter.
This could also be due to a combination of natural height loss through time, but also him wearing flatter shoes today than he did during his peak years. Regardless, he does seem significantly shorter these days than he did throughout his prime years.
Pull Rudd 5'9" (175.3 cm)
At the "Ant-Man" (2015) premier, Paul looks to be 1.5 inches taller than Douglas. He can appear slightly over or under these numbers at times, but the average difference of 1.5 inches seems to carry itself over the majority of other pics too. Therefore with Rudd, Douglas looks to be 5'7.5" tall.
Matt Damon 5'9.75" (177.2 cm)
Next to Matt Damon in recent years, such as in the film "Behind the Candelabra" (2013), and at other movie premiers and events, we can see clearly that Michael has lost height. In photos, he looks to be around 2-2.25 inches shorter on average. This places him at between 5'7.5"-5'7.75 inches tall.
The Results
In earlier years, Douglas ranges from 5'9.25-5'9.5" tall. In recent years, however, he appears to have lost around 1.75 inches of height, putting him anywhere from 5'7.5"-5'7.75" tall.
Conclusion
Today Michael Douglas stands at around 5'7.5" tall. In his prime years, however, I believe that he would wake up at around 5'10", then fell to 5'9.5" tall throughout a good portion of the day, dropping to 5'9.25 by the evening time.
Therefore Michael Douglas's real height during his peak years will be listed at 5'9.5" (176.5 cm) tall on this page.
Heights Linked to Michael Douglas
- Catherine Zeta Jones, Wife m. 2000, 5'7.25 (170.8 cm)
- Diandra Luker, Ex-Wife (1977-2000), 5'6" (167.6 cm)
- Diana Douglas, Mother, 5'7" (170.2 cm)
- Kirk Douglas, Father, 5'9 (175.3 cm)
- Carys Zeta Douglas, Daughter, 5'5" (165.1 cm)
- Dylan Michael Douglas, Son, 5'9" (175.3 m)
- Kevin Bacon, co-star Flatliners (1990), 5'10" (177.8 cm)