Michael Douglas was third choice to play Gordon Gekko in Wall Street

Michael Douglas didn't realise he was the third choice for the role of Gordon Gekko in Wall Street.

The 81-year-old actor played the iconic character in the Oliver Stone-directed crime drama film, which was released in 1987 - but Michael subsequently found out that two actors rejected the role before he was even approached for the part.

Speaking at the TCM Classic Film Festival New York Pop-up x 92NY event, Michael explained: "I must say, we were talking just before, while doing a little preparation for this, since I have not seen the movie fully in about 40 years ... but I saw an article recently that said that Oliver first went to Warren Beatty, who passed on it, and then to Richard Gere, who passed on it.

"I didn't know any of that because you always like to think you were the one."

The acclaimed movie served as a sharp critique of greed and excess in the US in the 80s. And Michael was acutely aware that it was a great career opportunity for him.

He said: "I was really happy, excited to bring the heart. You don't get many good parts in your life."

Michael thinks Oliver Stone recognised that he was particularly well-suited to the role, too.

The movie star explained: "I guess when Oliver was asked, he was looking for an actor that had some business acumen and because I was also a producer, and because I did grow up in New York City, went to Allen Stevenson School, and then I went to prep schools.

"So I had a familiarity with the East Coast and that kind of life. And I had friends that I met from early school who were into Wall Street, so I wasn't closely familiar with it, but I understood the lifestyle. I guess that's why he chose it."

Meanwhile, Michael previously accused tech firms of "dumbing down" the movie business.

The actor has enjoyed a decades-long career in the film industry - but Michael bemoaned some of the changes he's witnessed in recent years, suggesting that so-called big tech is having a detrimental impact on movies.

He said at the Red Sea Film Festival in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia: "The biggest change in my lifetime and career has been digital.

"It’s gone the other way in terms of both studios or in this case streaming services and now this latest chapter is the advent of Silicon Valley dumbing down and just taking over what we thought was this big industry."