Platon Instagram – kirk douglas. “Kirk Douglas was my first portrait subject in America. I was working with John Kennedy Jr. and his magazine ‘George.’ I arrived at his mid-century modern home to set up. It was a mini Metropolitan Museum of Art. Picasso’s – Matisse’s – Irving Penn portraits, this was a temple of good taste. Kirk Douglas had recently had a stroke and his mouth was a little slanted, his speech – blurred, yet the fire burned brightly in his eyes. As he sat down in front of my lens, I felt I was facing history. ‘I can’t believe I’m about to photograph the man who played Spartacus’ I said. He leaned forward and replied, ‘I didn’t play Spartacus – I AM SPARTACUS!’ Kirk Douglas, rest in peace.”