To avoid confusion with actor Michael Douglas, he decided to use the pseudonym "Michael Keaton", borrowing the surname from his favorite actress, Diane Keaton.
Michael Keaton (real surname is Douglas) was born on September 5, 1951, in Pennsylvania, USA. His father, George Douglas, was a civil engineer. His mother, Elizabeth, was a housewife. The actor is the youngest of seven children in the Keaton family. After school, Michael studied at the University of Kent for several years. However, he later dropped out of school and moved to Pittsburgh, where he started working as a cameraman for a local TV station.
After a while, he found himself on the other side of the camera. He started his career by appearing in several television programs for a while. Also at that time, Michael was performing on the stage of the Pittsburgh Theater.
Michael John Douglas (born September 5, 1951), known professionally as Michael Keaton, is an American actor. He is known for his leading roles in a wide variety of genre films. He has received numerous accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award and two Golden Globe Awards, in addition to nominations for an Academy Award and a BAFTA Award. In 2016, he was named Officer of Order of Arts and Letters in France.
In addition to working as a cameraman, Keaton has worked as a model, security guard, and bartender. After a certain point, this job turned into the actor's profession. Michael Keaton has made efforts to realize himself as a stand-up comedian and theater actor. However, it did not achieve great success.
Then he decided to change everything and moved to Los Angeles at the age of 24. Here he attended theater courses and started attending various auditions every day. To avoid confusion with actor Michael Douglas, he decided to use the pseudonym "Michael Keaton", borrowing the surname from his favorite actress, Diane Keaton.
Starring movies
Michael Keaton started his acting career by taking small roles in commercials, television programs, and American TV series. Keaton got his first serious role only at the age of 31, playing one of the main characters in the comedy "Night Shift (1982)". Despite the modest budget, the film was a success at the American box office. Therefore, Michael Keaton first gained popularity thanks to this movie. For a few years after that period, he took part in comedy films such as "Mr. Anne" (1984), "Johnny Dangerous" (1984), "Curious" (1986) and Bluff (1987).
Michael Keaton and Tim Burton
In 1988, Michael Keaton starred in legendary director Tim Burton's fantasy comedy "Beetlejuice". At that time, this movie became a real hit. In this way, Michael Keaton became a national star. The actor also received his first Saturn Award nomination for his role as Beetlejuice. A year later, Tim Burton again chose Keaton to star in his new project, the superhero action movie Batman, which also starred Jack Nicholson, Kim Basinger, and Jack Palance. Michael Keaton proved that he was very successful in this movie.
In 1992, a sequel to the movie "Batman Returns" was released, for which Michael Keaton received an MTV Movie Award nomination. The actor was supposed to play the main character in the third film, but after leaving the project, Tim Burton refused to shoot due to dissatisfaction with the new script.
In the 2000s, Michael Keaton accepted offers to star in films of a wide variety of genres. ; His portfolio includes dramatic films such as My Life (1993)”, “Silence (1994)”, “Jackie Brown (1997)” and “Desperate Measures (1998)”. It also expanded into romantic comedies: “First Daughter (2004)”, “School of Graduate Survival”. The actor was also offered the role of Jack Shepard in the popular TV series Lost (2004-2010), but he rejected it due to the rapid death of this character in the original version of the script.
A striking project of his filmography was the film “Live from Baghdad (2002)”, which earned him a Golden Globe nomination. He also gained fame due to Keaton's participation in the films “The Merry Gentleman (2009)”, “Cops in the Deep Stock (2010)” and “Complete the Story (2013)”. Three films were released with his participation in 2014, and this period was productive for the actor. These; are “Robocop”, “Need for Speed” and “Birdman”.
Michael Keaton – Birdman
Michael Keaton has gained new popularity after starring in Alejandro González Iñárritu's black comedy "Birdman." The film, which raised 100 million dollars with a budget of 18 million, won 4 Oscars, 2 Golden Globes, and 2 Sputnik awards. It has also been successful, receiving many more awards and nominations. Michael Keaton received the Best Actor award in the movie. Apart from this, it also received the Golden Globe Award for Musical or Comedy. It was also nominated for a BAFTA and Oscar.
In 2017, the blockbuster “Spider-Man: Homecoming,” a reboot of the Spider-Man franchise, was released. The main role in the film was played by Tom Holland and he was accompanied by Robert Downey Jr, Jon Favreau, and Marisa Tomei. Michael Keaton essayed the role of the villain of the picture and his character appeared again.
Personal life
In 1982, Michael Keaton married actress Caroline McWilliams. This marriage lasted eight years. During this time, the couple had a son, Sean. Following the divorce, Keaton had a relationship with Friends star Courtney Cox for five years. In the following period, no information about the actor's personal life appeared in the press.
Interesting facts about Michael Keaton
Michael Keaton lent his voice to the popular cartoons Cars (2006) and Cars 2 and Toy Story 3 (2010).
The actor was offered the role of Jack Shepard in the popular TV series Lost, but he refused because this character in the original version of the script died quickly.
In July 2016, Keaton received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Michael is a baseball and football fan.
His real surname is Douglas, but he took the name Keaton in honor of Diane Keaton to avoid confusion with the actor Michael Douglas.