Michael Keaton

Michael Keaton has built a career on the sense that he might change the temperature of a scene at any moment. He can be quick, funny and nervy, but that energy has also served darker characters, dramatic leads and villains. That range has kept him difficult to pin down—and much more interesting for it. Born Michael John Douglas in Coraopolis, Pennsylvania, on September 5, 1951, Keaton studied speech at Kent State University and appeared in plays before returning to Pennsylvania to pursue acting. His early screen work included Pittsburgh public television programs Where the Heart Is and Mister Rogers’ Neighbourhood, where he also worked as a production assistant. After moving to Los Angeles, he adopted the surname Keaton because performers named Michael Douglas and Mike Douglas were already established. Comedy first brought his screen presence into focus. Night Shift gave him a breakout role as fast-talking schemer Billy Blaze, while Mr. Mom helped establish him as a leading man. Keaton then sharply complicated that image in 1988, playing the title character in Beetlejuice and a drug-addicted realtor in Clean and Sober. Those contrasting performances made clear that his comic unpredictability and dramatic intensity came from the same place. His casting as Bruce Wayne in Batman initially drew fan objections, but his performance earned acclaim, and he returned for Batman Returns. Across the 1990s, his work ranged from Much Ado About Nothing and The Paper to Jackie Brown and Out of Sight, in which he played Agent Ray Nicolette twice. Keaton also became a distinctive voice performer. Please Rewind readers will find him in Toy Story 3, voicing Ken with just the right mix of vanity, theatricality and comic insecurity. His later career brought major dramatic roles in Birdman, Spotlight, The Founder and Dopesick. Birdman earned him a Golden Globe and an Academy Award nomination, while Dopesick brought Screen Actors Guild and Primetime Emmy wins. He has also returned to two defining parts, playing Batman again in The Flash and the title character in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. Few actors move between comedy, menace and wounded pride with quite his particular rhythm.