UNEXPECTEDLY, amazingly, veteran star Michael Douglas? career is on a renewed role. Just when he was thought to be an over-the-hill actor limited to cameo grandfather roles, he?s bounced back this year with two attention-calling films ? and then some.

First to hit the screens is Oliver Stone?s ?Wall Street 2 ? Money Never Sleeps,? the sequel to the seminal ?financial drama? that was shown to great acclaim in the ?80s. Douglas plays an older Gordon Gekko, the ruthless and cold-blooded financial genius who is proud to be the epitome of Greed.

The sequel is even more cautionary than the original film, because the recent global economic meltdown showed that investors should mistrust not just avaricious individuals like Gekko, but huge banks themselves.

To help the film connect with young-adult viewers, the sequel also topbills Shia Lebeouf as a young trader. It?s expected that the new production will do even better at the tills, because victims of the economic meltdown want to know more, much more, about the convoluted financial machinations they should watch out for and avoid from here on in.

Douglas? second film for 2010, ?A Solitary Man,? is even more remarkable due to its topical pertinence and acting challenge. In the film, the veteran actor plays a D.O.M. who?s already a grandfather but still lusts after young women.

He?s fighting a losing battle against age and the law of gravity, but he still tries to pass himself off as a dynamic and virile ?player.?

His big comeuppance comes when he gets an unexpected reminder of his mortality that forces him to adjust his view of life and death.

The film is a combination of comedic and dramatic scenes that should give mature viewers ?fast food for thought,? but it should also click with younger viewers, especially the randy males out there, with its cautionary tale of unbridled macho behavior ? and its inevitable consequences and aftermath.

As Liberace?

Douglas? starrers this year are remarkable enough, but they pale in comparison to the shock value and acting challenge provided by his third new starrer, in which he has agreed to portray Liberace!

That bit of ?surprise? role assignment is the casting coup of the year in Hollywood, and insiders are excited about the delicious prospect of seeing the macho Michael Douglas ?flaming? to the max as he portrays the psychedelically florid gay pianist and entertainer.

Of course, many other macho actors have gone gay on the big and small screens. But, with Douglas on tap to play Liberace, we can expect the impersonation to be more than just freaky fun. In fact, when the film is shown next year, the actor could be up for an acting award ? or three!