Ringside Report Puts the Spotlight on Actor Michael Keaton

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By Geoffrey Huchel

The famous line “I’m Batman” is just a piece of Michael Keaton’s long and versatile career, which began in television from the late 1970s into the early 80s, before making the transition to film. He landed his first feature film role in Ron Howard’s NIGHT SHIFT (1982). From there, he went on to play the stay-at-home dad in the comedy, MR.MOM (1983) opposite Teri Garr. In the few years following, Keaton was featured in 6 more films including, SHE’S HAVING A BABY (1988) and CLEAN AND SOBER (1988). The end of the 1980s brought Keaton two of his most memorable film roles- a sleazy and vulgar ghost in Tim Burton’s BEETLEJUICE (1988), with Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis, and Batman/Bruce Wayne in Tim Burton’s BATMAN (1988), starring alongside Jack Nicholson and Kim Basinger. Keaton’s portrayal of The Dark Knight is my personal favorite.

Keaton re-teamed with Burton for a third time, returning to his iconic role as Batman/Bruce Wayne in BATMAN RETURNS (1992), starring Michelle Pfeiffer, Danny DeVito and Christopher Walken. In 1993, Keaton co-starred with Nicole Kidman, playing a terminally ill man preparing for his death in the drama MY LIFE. Keaton then went on to tackle the works of Shakespeare in MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING (1993), with Emma Thompson and Kenneth Branagh. He collaborated for a second time with Howard for his next role, New York City tabloid Editor, Henry Hackett in THE PAPER (1994), sharing the screen with legends Glenn Close and Robert Duvall.

Keaton followed-up with roles in two romantic comedies- SPEECHLESS (1994), with his BEETLEJUICE co-star Geena Davis, as a political speechwriter who falls in love with someone from the opposing side, and MULTIPLICITY (1996), as a man who is offered the opportunity to duplicate himself. Keaton’s next film appearance was in the acclaimed American crime thriller, JACKIE BROWN (1997), written and directed by Quentin Tarantino, and starring Pam Grier, Samuel L. Jackson, Robert Forster and Robert De Niro.

Throughout the 2000s and 2010s, Keaton has appeared in a variety of films, lending his voice for animated films CARS (2006), TOY STORY 3 (2010) and MINIONS (2015). In recent years Keaton has turned in wonderful performances in BIRDMAN or (THE UNEXPECTED VIRTUE OF IGNORANCE) (2014), which earned him a Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture-Comedy or Musical, SPOTLIGHT (2015), and THE FOUNDER (2016). In 2017, he starred in the action/thriller AMERICAN ASSASSIN and returned to the comic book world as Vulture in SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING. Keaton is set to reprise the character in the upcoming sequel. Keaton reunited with Burton for a fourth time to work on the live action DUMBO remake, being released in 2019.

With myriad of amazing performances under his belt, Keaton has become one of the most likable, well respected and multifaceted actors working today.

Essential Keaton:

BEETLEJUICE 1988
BATMAN 1989
BATMAN RETURNS 1992
THE PAPER 1994
JACKIE BROWN 1997
SPOTLIGHT 2017

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