Michael Douglas Narrowly Escaped Kidnapping Attempt During Height of Dad Kirk's Fame: 'I Was Hysterical'

Michael Douglas is opening up about a terrifying childhood experience that nearly ended in tragedy.

In his new memoir, One Helluva Ride, released on October 6, the actor recalled how two suspicious men chased him outside his family's apartment building, forcing him to run for his life.

He was just 8 years old while growing up in New York City. The Basic Instinct star, whose parents were Hollywood legend Kirk Douglas and actress Diana Dill, explained that growing up with a famous father wasn't always glamorous.

According to Douglas, his father's celebrity status "came with real danger," something he discovered firsthand during the frightening encounter.

Michael recalled playing outside his family's apartment building when he noticed a stranger watching him.

The actor explained that he was swinging around on the building's awning when he spotted a man standing suspiciously near the entrance. Moments later, he heard a car door slam across the street and noticed another man approaching him.

Sensing something was wrong, Michael immediately took off running.

"I reached the end of our building and dashed down a ramp to the basement," he wrote in his memoir. "As I opened the basement door, I turned back and saw they were chasing me."

After waiting for an opportunity to escape, Michael made a desperate dash toward the building's elevator.

Fortunately, it was already on the basement level. The actor quickly stepped inside and pressed the button for his family's apartment, hoping the doors would close before the men reached him.

"Just as the elevator started to climb, there was a thump against the door and the whole elevator shook," he recalled. “A man’s face pushed up against the porthole window. I was hysterical. That face, that moment, remains seared in my brain to this day.”

Looking back on the incident decades later, Michael said the experience taught him an important lesson about growing up in the spotlight.

"I mean, I was definitely scared," he admitted in an October 6 interview.

Fortunately, the actor explained that the incident didn't leave an overwhelming impression on him as an adult, even though he struggled to understand why he had been targeted. "It took me a long time to realize this was not my fault."

The father-of-three's memoir also explores his decades-long career, struggles with addiction, past relationships and battle with cancer.