‘I felt like I was doing an impersonation of myself which, aside from being nearly impossible, is really weird.’
Michael Keaton is, quite frankly, one of the best and most diverse actors in Hollywood. His versatility and subtlety make him one of cult cinema’s most favourite stars. He has a career that spans over thirty years with almost forty titles to add to his name. What started off as an extensive and commendable career soon took a back burner so that the actor could raise his son. Now, his son is all grown up and fans are eagerly awaiting the arrival of the sensation that is the Michael Keaton lead role.
Born Michael John Douglas in Pennsylvania, 1951 and to the youngest of seven siblings, Keaton moved to LA in his early twenties to pursue acting. Many people forget, but Keaton was a comedic actor throughout his early career performing in stand-up and various cameos spots on television. After landing a role in Ron Howard’s Night Shift (1982), Keaton’s career took off and he soon appeared in a variety of multi-genre films.
Michael Keaton is best known for his roles as Beetlejuice and Bruce Wayne in Tim Burton’s acclaimed classics Beetlejuice (1988), Batman (1989) and Batman Returns (1992). Furthermore, he also gained recognition for his roles in Pacific Heights (1990), Jackie Brown (1997) and Toy Story 3 (2010). He now makes a tremendous leading comeback in Alejandro González Iñárritu’s Birdman. The film is already receiving profound acclaim with Keaton being hailed universally for his performance as a washed-up, former superhero actor.
Watch the trailer for Birdman here.
Birdman hits UK cinemas in the New Year and, once more, not only do we get to celebrate the highly awaited return that is Michael Keaton, today is also his birthday. Happy 63rd Birthday! From Batman to Birdman, we countdown our top 5 favourite Michael Keaton performances!
Night Shift (1982) Dir. Ron Howard
“We like drive around and pick up stiffs, or what?”
Night Shift marks one of Ron Howard’s earlier feature films and stars Happy Days (1974-84) Henry “Fonzie” Winkler. It was also Keaton’s breakthrough performance as Bill “Blaze” Blazejowski and put the actor on the Hollywood map in the 1980s. Winkler stars as Chuck; a former stockbroker who winds up working the night shift at a morgue. He soon meets Blaze (Keaton); an obnoxious, talkative wise guy who dreams of becoming rich by any means necessary. After meeting prostitute Belinda (Shelley Long), Blake conjures up his own prostitution service.
Night Shift is a clever little comedy with a hilarious breakout performance from Keaton. His character’s riotous arrogance is oddly appealing and, at the same time, subtle. Keaton gives a performance that clearly steals the show from Winkler and he received critical acclaim. His role in Night Shift led the actor to other roles in later comedies Mr. Mom (1983), Johnny Dangerously (1984) and another Ron Howard collaboration, Gung Ho (1986). The above scene from Night Shift really leaves audiences howling with laughter when Blaze decides to instruct a lesson on prostitution by explaining exactly what it stands for.
Beetlejuice (1988) Dir. Tim Burton
“I’m the ghost with the most, babe.”
Beetlejuice is perhaps one of the greatest comedies of the 1980s. Tim Burton’s wickedly weird tale opened audiences up to his bizarre imagination that he would later unfold to the world. One of his most acclaimed, and cult classics, is his 1988 dark comedy Beetlejuice. Michael Keaton stars in the title role as the bio-exorcist who gets resurrected by a recently deceased couple, Adam (Alec Baldwin) and Barbara (Geena Davis), in a bid to save their house.
Beetlejuice really is Michael Keaton’s film. Keaton improvised most of his scenes and is unrecognisable as the half-dead, egotistical exorcist. Ironically, Keaton first said no to the role of Beetlejuice claiming that could not pull it off. However, Burton’s persistence worked and he took on one of his most famous roles to date which culminated him into a mainstream star. Keaton delivers many memorable lines in Beetlejuice but the above scene really shows off the actor’s true, comedic talents. Keaton brands Beetlejuice as the favourite of all of his films and the role is of a stark contrast to Keaton’s next prolific role.