In an interview with a British newspaper, the actor husband of Catherine Zeta-Jones opens up about having 'ongoing conversations' with Dylan and Carys about addiction.

• Nov 24, 2018

AceShowbiz - Michael Douglas fears his teenage children will inherit the "addiction gene" he and members of his family have struggled with.

The 74-year-old actor has previously been to rehab for alcohol and drug addiction, his eldest son Cameron Douglas has battled a heroin addiction, and his half-brother Eric Douglas died aged 46 in 2004 from an accidental overdose.

In an interview with British newspaper The Mirror, Douglas, who shares son Dylan Douglas, 18, and daughter Carys, 15, with his wife of 18 years, actress Catherine Zeta-Jones, 49, admitted he has "ongoing conversations" with his younger children about addiction.

"You have to be careful, so you learn about genetics," he confessed. "It's on both sides of my family - so with my younger ones, they keep a much closer eye on it."

"I was in rehab in 1991, probably more alcohol but drugs were a part of it. I lost my brother and my eldest boy spent seven and a half years in federal prison for a non-violent drug offence - now he is fine, doing really well," he said of his son, who is a father of one and is working as an actor.

The "Wall Street" star has previously admitted that he blamed himself and his pursuit of a successful career in Hollywood for the now 39-year-old's issues.

"I've taken blame about being a bad father - if being a bad father is working your butt off trying to create a career at one time," he told "Today" in 2010. "You finally end up with who you choose to hang out with. In Cameron's position, he took a lot of lowlifes and he was a very attractive target to hang out with, and I don't think that helped, either... I'm willing to take the hit."

Meanwhile Douglas is still enjoying his work, and can be seen on Netflix in his latest role as an acting coach on series "The Kominsky Method".

"The odds are so tough as it is, but if you have that passion, that joy," he told ET recently. "Look (at) me! I'm in my seventies now and it's so great."