If you want to understand the raw power of a dynasty, you don't look at royal portraits. You look at the 2003 film It Runs in the Family. It’s a messy, loud, occasionally awkward, and deeply sentimental comedy-drama that shouldn't have worked, yet it stands as a historical anomaly. Why? Because the It Runs in the Family movie cast is essentially a Douglas family reunion caught on 35mm film.
It is one thing to see a famous actor on screen. It is an entirely different beast to watch three generations of the same bloodline grapple with fictional versions of their own reality. Kirk Douglas, Michael Douglas, and Cameron Douglas play three generations of the Gromberg family. They aren't just acting; they are navigating decades of public and private baggage in front of a lens. Honestly, seeing Kirk and Michael trade barbs feels less like a script and more like a transcript of a Thanksgiving dinner gone sideways.
The Douglas Dynasty: Casting Reality
The sheer weight of the It Runs in the Family movie cast rests on Kirk Douglas. At the time of filming, Kirk was in his mid-80s, still recovering from the effects of a 1996 stroke. He plays Mitchell Gromberg, a fierce, stubborn patriarch who refuses to accept the limitations of age. It’s a meta-commentary on Kirk’s own life. Michael Douglas, playing his son Alex, takes on the role of the middle-aged man squeezed between a demanding father and a wandering son.
Then there’s Cameron Douglas. Playing the third generation, Cameron’s role as Asher Gromberg felt tragically prophetic, given his well-documented real-life struggles with addiction that followed the film's release. When you watch these three interact, the tension is palpable. It’s not just the writing by Jesse Wigutow; it's the DNA.
Michael Douglas actually produced the film through his Further Films banner. He spent years trying to find the right project for his father. They had looked at dozens of scripts, but most were too saccharine or too focused on "old age" cliches. They wanted something that felt jagged. Something that felt like a real family.
Diana Douglas: The Most Surprising Addition
People often forget that the It Runs in the Family movie cast included a very specific piece of Douglas history: Diana Douglas. She plays Evelyn Gromberg, Mitchell’s wife. In real life, Diana was Kirk’s first wife and Michael’s mother. They had been divorced since 1951.
✨ Don't miss: Who was the voice of Yoda? The real story behind the Jedi Master
Think about that for a second.
Working with your ex-husband after 50 years of separation to play his wife on screen is a level of professional maturity most of us can't wrap our heads around. Michael Douglas has frequently mentioned in interviews that having his mother on set was the "glue" that kept the production from devolving into a pure ego-clash between the Douglas men. Her presence brought a soft, genuine warmth to the Gromberg household that prevented the film from becoming too cynical.
Rory Culkin and the "Other" Famous Family
While the Douglas family is the headline, the It Runs in the Family movie cast sneaks in another heavy hitter from a different dynasty: Rory Culkin. Playing the youngest son, Eli, Rory was already establishing himself as the "serious" actor of the Culkin clan after his breakout in You Can Count on Me.
Rory’s performance provides a necessary anchor. He is the observer. While the Douglas men are shouting and posturing, Rory’s Eli is the one navigating the quieter anxieties of being a kid in a high-pressure family. It's a fascinating parallel. You have the Douglas family playing themselves, and a Culkin playing the kid trying to find his own identity. The symmetry is almost too perfect.
Bernadette Peters and the Outside Perspective
You need a powerhouse to stand up to the Douglas men, and Bernadette Peters was the perfect choice for Sarah Gromberg. As Alex's wife, she is the one who has to manage the fallout of the Mitchell-Alex dynamic. Peters brings a Broadway-honed sharpness to the role. She doesn't let Michael Douglas's character off the hook, and she doesn't treat Kirk's character like a fragile relic.
🔗 Read more: Not the Nine O'Clock News: Why the Satirical Giant Still Matters
She's the audience's surrogate. We look through her eyes as we see this family tear itself apart and stitch itself back together. Without her, the movie would feel like a closed-door family meeting that we weren't invited to. She invites us in.
Why the Critics Were Split (and Why They Were Wrong)
When the film hit theaters in April 2003, critics weren't exactly kind. Roger Ebert gave it a lukewarm review, noting that while the chemistry was fascinating, the plot felt a bit scattered. The movie earned roughly $7 million against a $35 million budget. By traditional Hollywood standards, it was a flop.
But looking back at the It Runs in the Family movie cast now, the "plot" feels secondary. We don't watch this movie for the legal subplots or the romantic mishaps. We watch it to see Kirk Douglas—one of the last titans of the Golden Age—pass the torch to Michael. We watch it to see the genuine love and friction that only exists between people who share a surname and a history.
The film tackles things people don't like to talk about:
- The resentment of a successful son living in a legendary father's shadow.
- The fear of a patriarch losing his autonomy.
- The way generational trauma (or just generational habits) trickles down to the grandkids.
The Legacy of the 2003 Production
Kirk Douglas passed away in 2020 at the age of 103. Diana Douglas passed in 2015. This makes It Runs in the Family a rare time-capsule. It is the only time these three generations of Douglas men appeared together in a feature film.
💡 You might also like: New Movies in Theatre: What Most People Get Wrong About This Month's Picks
In terms of E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness), film historians often point to this movie as the bookend to Kirk Douglas's career. It wasn't his final film, but it was his final significant statement. It was his way of saying, "This is who we are."
If you are a fan of Hollywood history, the It Runs in the Family movie cast represents a moment where the "business" of acting became a secondary concern to the "act" of being a family. It’s raw. It’s flawed. It’s human.
How to Appreciate the Film Today
If you're planning to revisit this movie or watch it for the first time, don't look at it as a standard studio comedy. Instead, follow these steps to get the most out of the experience:
- Watch the body language: Pay attention to how Michael and Kirk stand when they are in the same room. There is a specific physical tension that you cannot teach in acting school. It’s the posture of a son who is still trying to prove himself to a 86-year-old man.
- Look for the "Diana" effect: Notice how the energy changes when Diana Douglas is on screen. The male aggression in the scenes softens. It's a masterclass in how casting real-life relationships can alter the chemistry of a scene.
- Read Cameron Douglas's memoir: If you want the full story behind the It Runs in the Family movie cast, read Long Way Home by Cameron Douglas. He talks extensively about the filming process and the pressure of living up to the Douglas name while battling his own demons during that era.
- Compare it to The Lusty Men or Spartacus: To see the full arc of the Douglas legacy, watch one of Kirk's early "tough guy" films and then watch It Runs in the Family. The vulnerability he shows in 2003 is a radical departure from the invincible image he built in the 1950s.
Ultimately, the film serves as a reminder that no matter how much money or fame a family has, the fundamental "stuff"—the arguments, the reconciliations, the quiet moments of understanding—remains the same. It really does run in the family.