Behind the Candelabra, a 2013 HBO movie directed by Steven Soderbergh starring Matt Damon and the Ant-Man 3 actor Michael Douglas delves into the romance between the real-life famous pianist Liberace, portrayed by Douglas, and his lover Scott Thorson, played by Damon. The film is based on Scott Thorson’s 1988 memoir, offering an inside look into the luxurious lifestyle of the performer and his world.
As the two actors portrayed lovers on screen, there’s no doubt that the pair shared an ample amount of time romancing each other on screen. Consequently, Michael Douglas was inevitably asked about his experience of kissing Matt Damon, to which he had a very funny response.
Michael Douglas Revealed What Was Kissing Matt Damon Like
In an interview with Maclean’s the actor, Micheal Douglas replied to the inevitable question with a knowing smile. He addressed the question about kissing Matt Damon with good humor and candidness. He said,
A kiss is just a kiss. I mean, we’d have our fun. You know, “Matt, what flavour lip gloss would you like me to wear today?”
And then further continued to praise both the story and Matt Damon for making the chemistry on-screen feel so seamless and believable. He also further made comments referencing the homosexual nature of the relationship and how beautifully the director Steven Soderbergh captured the essence of it. He said,
“You know, it doesn’t matter, does it, if it’s a man or a woman. It’s a kiss. We had to show affection in some places, love, passion in other places.— When I see the movie I’m so proud that a few minutes go by and I forget that it’s Matt and I, and halfway through I forget it’s two guys. The arguments sound the same as arguments a guy has with his wife.”
Despite having fun on set, the stars remained fully committed and determined to do justice to the project, especially considering they were portraying a real-life legendary figure people know and love.
Why Wasn’t Behind the Candelabra Getting Picked Up by Any Studio?
The film featuring Matt Damon and Michael Douglas as gay lovers initially wasn’t being picked by any studio and was being shoved around for quite some time, until HBO greenlit it. Speculating the reason being homophobia, Doughlas candidly shared how the matter pertained to economics more than homophobia. He revealed,
“No, I think it’s just pure economics. They think, “This is a picture that will only appeal to a gay audience, so what’s the population?” I can’t blame them. I can blame them for being very narrow-sighted and wanting to put all their energies into enormous sequels or action pictures. They are just not bothered with smaller pictures, although I know Jerry Weintraub is getting a great degree of satisfaction now as these studios have called and said, “Boy, did we make a mistake.”
Nobody seemed willing to take a gamble on it until HBO came into the picture. The film’s subject matter further might have painted it as unconventional and risky, especially back in the day. The movie ended up being a huge hit bringing 2.4 million eyeballs to the cable network.
Behind the Candelabra is available on Max to stream.
Source: Maclean’s
