Kirk Douglas has been in films.
Part of the AFI 100 Years ... series , AFI 's 100 Years ... 100 Stars is a list of the top 50 greatest screen legends in American film history , which included 25 male and 25 female stars . Kirk Douglas . After an impoverished childhood with immigrant parents and six sisters , he had his film debut in The Strange Love of Martha Ivers ( 1946 ) with Barbara Stanwyck . Douglas became an international star through positive reception for his leading role as an unscrupulous boxing hero in Champion ( 1949 ) , which brought him his first nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor . He produced and starred in Lonely Are the Brave ( 1962 ) , considered a cult classic , and Seven Days in May ( 1964 ) , opposite Burt Lancaster , with whom he made seven films .