Michael Keaton has had a long successful acting career in Hollywood, and it’s no surprise he has become a household name with his work in superhero movies like Batman and Spider-Man: Homecoming. His quirky demeanor and inventive acting style are evident in his several Box Office hits starring alongside other top Hollywood actors. The super-talented and versatile actor has had various roles in film and television.
There’s a growing list of actors who have starred in both DC and Marvel Comics-based movies, even playing both heroes and villains. DC enthusiasts from the late 80s and early 90s would remember Keaton from playing Batman, while Marvel audiences know Keaton from playing the supervillain in Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) and the mid-credits scene in Morbius (2022). To know more about the actor, here are 10 things you didn’t know about Michael Keaton.
1. The Movies You Know Michael Keaton From
Different movie audiences recognize Michael Keaton from different decades, as the actor has appeared in several popular movies. In the 80s, Keaton appeared in his first starring role in Night Shift. Keaton played Bill Blazejowski in the 1982 comedy movie. By 1989, Keaton became Bruce Wayne/Batman, reprising the role in 1992 Batman Returns.
In 2005, Keaton played Ray Peyton Sr., father to Lindsay Lohan’s character in Herbie: Fully Loaded. Keaton was Riggan Thomson/Birdman in Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance). Then, Keaton’s performance of Vulture in Spider-Man: Homecoming cannot go unnoticed.
2. How Michael Keaton Got Started In Television
Everyone has got to start somewhere; for Michael Keaton, it was on TV. Keaton’s first appearance on TV was in Where the Heart Is and 1975 Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. Keaton is credited as a volunteer in Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood and can be remembered for playing one of the Flying Zookeeni Brothers. For additional income, Keaton performed stand-up comedy in different shows.
3. Why Michael Keaton Chose To Use A Stage Name
Michael Keaton was born Michael John Douglas in Kennedy Township, Pennsylvania, on September 5, 1951. After appearing on several TV programs in Pittsburgh, Keaton moved to Los Angeles to pursue a professional career in acting. When he discovered there was already an actor and TV host with different representations of his name, he chose to settle for a stage name. Deciding to keep his first name, Keaton looked up a last name in a phone book. Moving to names under the letter “K,” he stopped at Keaton. The rest is history.
4. Michael Keaton Breakout Roles in Film
Michael Keaton had several breakout roles that slowly threw him into the limelight. His role in Night Shift (1982) was the first role that threw him into the limelight. Playing fast-talking, funny Bill Blazejowski helped give Keaton the attention his career needed. It helped land him a lead role the next year as Jack Butler in the comedy film Mr. Mom (1983).
1988 was the transforming point of Keaton’s career as he starred in two movies that raised his status in Hollywood. Keaton starred in Tim Burton’s fantasy horror comedy Beetlejuice as Betelgeuse. That same year, he played the lead role of Daryl Poynter in Glenn Gordon Caron’s drama Clean and Sober. With his Hollywood A-list status cemented, it was no surprise, he was chosen to play Bruce Wayne/Batman in Tim Burton’s Batman (1989).
5. Michael Keaton’s Top 3 Highest-grossing Movies
Not many actors have had super successful movies like Michael Keaton. According to IMDb ranking for Keaton’s highest-grossing movies, his third top earner is the sequel of his first Batman movie. Keaton reprised his role as Bruce Wayne/Batman in the 1992 sequel Batman Returns. The movie earned $266.8 million at the Box Office.
Keaton’s second highest-grossing movie was his first Batman film in 1989. Batman was critically and commercially successful, earning $411.6 million at the Box Office. Keaton’s highest-grossing movie is the MCU’s Spider-Man: Homecoming. Playing the movie’s antagonist, the movie earned $880.2 million in worldwide Box Office earnings.
6. Other Movies Michael Keaton Was In
Besides playing hero and supervillain in superhero movies, Michael Keaton has starred in several other popular movies. Keaton played President John MacKenzie in First Daughter (2004) and played his first voice role in the Japanese animated adventure-fantasy Porco Rosso (2005). Keaton was the voice of Porco Rosso. Some other notable Keaton movies are Need for Speed (2014), Minions (2015), American Assassin (2017), and The Protégé (2021).
7. The Nominations & Awards Michael Keaton Has Received
Michael Keaton has been nominated for several awards in major and other associations. He was nominated once for an Academy Award and a BAFTA Award in 2015. Keaton received three Golden Globe Awards in 2003, 2015, and 2022, winning his nomination in 2015 and 2022.
Keaton has been nominated twice for a Primetime Emmy Award, winning his nomination in 2022 for his performance in Dopesick. In his six SAG Awards nominations, Keaton has won four of them. He won his last four nominations in 2015, 2016, 2021, and 2022.
8. Other TV Shows Michael Keaton Was In
Michael Keaton’s first main cast role in television was Hulu’s drama miniseries Dopesick. Keaton played Dr. Samuel Finnix. In the past, Keaton has appeared as a guest star and in recurring roles in several TV shows. Keaton was in an episode of 2001 The Simpsons as Jack Crowley, The Company (2007), and 30 Rock (2011). Keaton has hosted Saturday Night Live twice, in 1982 and 2019.
9. Michael Keaton Has Dated Career Co-workers
In 1982, Michael Keaton married his first and only wife, actress Caroline McWilliams. The couple had a child, Sean, in 1983 and divorced in 1990. Caroline McWilliams died on February 11, 2010, from multiple myeloma. In 1990, Keaton began a relationship with actress Courteney Cox. They stayed together for five years, separating in 1995.
10. What Michael Keaton Is Doing Next
Michael Keaton would reprise his Bruce Wayne/Batman role in the upcoming Andy Muschietti’s The Flash. It will be the third time Keaton will be donning the Batman suit. The movie’s plot centers around its main character, The Flash. Barry Allen travels back in time to stop his mother’s death. Allen has to live with the consequences of his actions.
The Flash will be released in the United States on June 16, 2023.
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