Michael Keaton

Michael John Douglas (born September 5, 1951), known professionally as Michael Keaton, is an American actor, producer, and director. He first rose to fame for his roles on the CBS sitcoms All's Fair and The Mary Tyler Moore Hour and his comedic film roles in Night Shift (1982), Mr. Mom (1983), Johnny Dangerously (1984), and Beetlejuice (1988). He earned further acclaim for his dramatic portrayal of the title character in Tim Burton's Batman (1989) and Batman Returns (1992). He is also known for playing The Vulture in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, beginning with Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) and in the upcoming Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019).

Since then, he has appeared in a variety of films ranging from dramas and romantic comedies to thriller and action films, such as Clean and Sober (1988), The Dream Team (1989), Pacific Heights (1990), Much Ado About Nothing (1993), My Life (1993), The Paper (1994), Multiplicity (1996), Jackie Brown (1997), Herbie: Fully Loaded (2005), The Other Guys (2010), Robocop (2014), Need for Speed (2014), Spotlight (2015), The Founder (2016), and has also provided voices for characters in animated films such as Cars (2006), Toy Story 3 (2010), and Minions (2015).

Keaton's lead performance in Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014) earned him a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy, the Critics' Choice Award for Best Actor and Best Actor in a Comedy, and nominations for the Screen Actors Guild Award, British Academy Film Award, and Academy Award for Best Actor. He previously received a Golden Globe Award nomination for his performance in Live from Baghdad (2002) and a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for The Company (2007). Keaton was awarded a Career Achievement Award from the Hollywood Film Festival.

On January 18, 2016, he was named Officer of Order of Arts and Letters in France. He is also a visiting scholar at Carnegie Mellon University.

Early life
Michael John Douglas, the youngest of seven children, was born in Coraopolis, Pennsylvania, on September 5, 1951. He was raised between Coraopolis and Forest Grove, Pennsylvania. His father, George A. Douglas, worked as a civil engineer and surveyor, and his mother, Leona Elizabeth (née Loftus), a homemaker, came from McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania. Keaton was raised in a Roman Catholic family, and is of half Irish descent through his mother. His father was of English, German, Scottish and Scotch-Irish descent and was originally from a Protestant family. He attended Montour High School in Robinson Township, Pennsylvania, and studied speech for two years at Kent State University, where he appeared in plays, before dropping out and returning to Pennsylvania.

1975–1988
Keaton first appeared on TV in the Pittsburgh public television programs Where the Heart Is and Mister Rogers' Neighborhood (1975). For  Mister Rogers he played one of the "Flying Zookeeni Brothers" and served as a full-time production assistant. (In 2004, after Fred Rogers' death, Keaton hosted a PBS memorial tribute, Fred Rogers: America's Favorite Neighbor.) Keaton also worked as an actor in Pittsburgh theatre; he played the role of Rick in the Pittsburgh premiere of David Rabe's Sticks and Bones with the Pittsburgh Poor Players. He also performed stand-up comedy during his early years in order to supplement his income.

Keaton left Pittsburgh and moved to Los Angeles to begin auditioning for various TV parts. He popped up in various popular TV shows including Maude and The Mary Tyler Moore Hour. He decided to use a stage name to satisfy SAG rules, as there was already an actor (Michael Douglas) and daytime host (Mike Douglas) with the same or similar names. The claim that Keaton selected his new surname due to an attraction to actress Diane Keaton is incorrect. Keaton's film debut came in a small non-speaking role in the Joan Rivers film Rabbit Test.

His next break was working alongside Jim Belushi in the short-lived comedy series Working Stiffs, which showcased his comedic talent and led to a co-starring role in the comedy Night Shift directed by Ron Howard. His role as the fast-talking schemer Bill "Blaze" Blazejowski earned Keaton some critical acclaim, and he scored leads in the subsequent comedy hits Mr. Mom, Johnny Dangerously and Gung Ho. He played the title character in Tim Burton's 1988 horror-comedy Beetlejuice, earning Keaton widespread acclaim and boosting him to Hollywood's A list. He originally turned down the role, then reconsidered like most of the cast. He now considers Beetlejuice his favorite of his own films. That same year, he also gave an acclaimed dramatic performance as a drug-addicted realtor in Clean and Sober.

1989–1999
Keaton's career was given another major boost when he was again cast by Tim Burton, this time as the title comic book superhero of 1989's Batman. Warner Bros. received thousands of letters of complaint by fans who believed Keaton was the wrong choice to portray Batman. However, Keaton's performance in the role ultimately earned widespread acclaim from both critics and audiences, and Batman became one of the most successful films of that year.

According to Les Daniels's reference book Batman: The Complete History, Keaton was not surprised when he was first considered as Batman as he initially believed the film would be similar to the 1960s television series starring Adam West. It was only after he was introduced to Frank Miller's comic book miniseries, The Dark Knight Returns, that Keaton really understood the dark and brooding side of Batman that he portrayed to much fan approval. Keaton later reprised the role for the sequel Batman Returns (1992), which was another critically acclaimed success. He was initially set to reprise the role again for a third Batman film, even going as far as to show up for costume fitting. However, when Burton was dropped as director of the film, Keaton left the franchise as well. He was reportedly dissatisfied with the screenplay approved by the new director, Joel Schumacher. According to the A&E Biography episode on Keaton, after he had refused the first time (after meetings with Schumacher), Warner Bros. offered him $15 million, but Keaton steadfastly refused and was replaced by Val Kilmer in Batman Forever (1995).

Keaton remained active during the 1990s, appearing in a wide range of films, including Pacific Heights, One Good Cop, My Life and the star-studded Shakespearean story Much Ado About Nothing. He starred in The Paper and Multiplicity, and twice in the same role, that of Elmore Leonard character Agent Ray Nicolette, in the films Jackie Brown and Out of Sight. He made the family holiday movie Jack Frost and the thriller Desperate Measures. Keaton starred as a political candidate's speechwriter in 1994's Speechless. 

2000–2014
In the early 2000s, Keaton appeared in several films with mixed success, including Live From Baghdad (for which he was nominated for a Golden Globe award), First Daughter, White Noise and Herbie: Fully Loaded. While he continued to receive good notices from the critics (particularly for Jackie Brown), he was not able to re-approach the box-office success of Batman until the release of Disney/Pixar's Cars (2006), in which he voiced Chick Hicks. On New Year's Day of 2004, he hosted the PBS TV special Mr. Rogers: America's Favorite Neighbor. It was released by Triumph Marketing LLC on DVD September 28, 2004. In 2006, he starred in Game 6, about the 1986 World Series bid by the Boston Red Sox. He had a cameo in the Tenacious D short film Time Fixers, an iTunes exclusive. The 9-minute film was released to coincide with Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny. Keaton reportedly was cast as Jack Shephard in the series Lost, with the understanding that the role of Jack would be a brief one. Once the role was retooled to be a long-running series regular, Keaton withdrew. The part was then given to actor Matthew Fox. The show ran for six seasons, with the Shephard role continuing throughout.

Keaton starred in the 2007 TV miniseries The Company, set during the Cold War, in which he portrayed the real-life CIA counterintelligence chief James Jesus Angleton. The role garnered Keaton a 2008 Screen Actors Guild nomination for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries. Keaton provided the voice of Ken in Toy Story 3 (2010). The film received overwhelmingly positive acclaim and grossed over $1 billion worldwide, making it one of the most financially successful films ever. He announced in June 2010 his interest in returning for a Beetlejuice sequel. He played Captain Gene Mauch in the comedy The Other Guys. In 2014 he played the OmniCorp CEO Raymond Sellars in the RoboCop remake as a more active antagonist, taking Robocop's wife and child hostage making Joel Kinnaman's character struggle to overcome the 4th directive.

2014–present
Keaton starred alongside Zach Galifianakis, Edward Norton, Emma Stone, and Naomi Watts in Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014), playing Riggan Thomson, a screen actor, famous for playing the iconic titular superhero, who puts on a Broadway play based on a Raymond Carver short story to regain his former glory. He won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy for his portrayal of Thomson and received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. In 2015, Keaton appeared as Walter V. Robinson in the film Spotlight, and in 2016, he starred as businessman Ray Kroc in the biopic The Founder. On July 28, 2016, Keaton received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, located at 6931 Hollywood Boulevard.

In 2017, Keaton played the supervillain The Vulture in Spider-Man: Homecoming and Stan Hurley in American Assassin. He is also set to portray the villain in Disney's live-action adaptation of Dumbo, co-starring with Colin Farrell and Eva Green. In 2018, it was reported that Keaton would reprise his role as Adrian Toomes/The Vulture in Spider-Man: Far From Home.

Personal life
Keaton was married to Caroline McWilliams from 1982 to 1990, a marriage which produced one son, Sean in 1983. He had a relationship with actress Courteney Cox from 1989-95. Keaton, a longtime Pittsburgh resident and fan of its sports teams, negotiated a break in his Batman movie contract in case the Pirates made the playoffs that year, although they ultimately did not. He also wrote an ESPN blog on the Pirates during the final months of their 2013 season.

In the 1980s, Keaton bought a ranch near Big Timber, Montana, where he spends much of his time. An avid fisherman, he is often seen on the saltwater fishing series Buccaneers & Bones on Outdoor Channel, along with Tom Brokaw, Zach Gilford, Thomas McGuane and Yvon Chouinard, among others.

Keaton endorsed Senator Bernie Sanders for President in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

Honorary degrees

 * Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Kent State University in 2018
 * Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree from Carnegie Mellon University in 2017