Michael Keaton
Michael Keaton
Michael John Douglas, known professionally as Michael Keaton, is an American actor, comedian, producer, & director. Keaton first rose to fame for his comedic film roles in Night Shift, Mr. Mom, Johnny Dangerouslyand Beetlejuice, and he earned further acclaim for his dramatic portrayal of Bruce Wayne / Batman in Tim Burton's Batmanand Batman Returns. 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,...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionMovie Actor
Date of Birth5 September 1951
CityRobinson, PA
CountryUnited States of America
To make extra money, my parents would sell eggs and chickens. I was very little. I remember a chicken's head being chopped off with the chicken running around. I wasn't sure if my imagination was running away with me or if it really happened. It really happened.
I remember my mom threatening me, half-serious: 'You know what? I should take you to Pittsburgh and put you in dance lessons just to keep you occupied.' Well, that brought everything to a screeching halt. 'Jeeze, dance lessons.' In retrospect, it would have been awesome, but then, 'Ugh, dancing - dancing's for sissies.'
I'm the seventh child of George and Leona Douglas, and I don't ever remember a time when my father didn't work two jobs. When my mother was going to the grocery, or going to Mass, or trying to take care of seven kids in a run-down farmhouse.
To say directing was a long-stewing ambition doesn't cover it. If you cut me open, you'd see it.
I didn't go to church all the time, just 'cause I was an antsy kid.
I didn't do it to say I wanted to do something for my child. ... If I didn't think it was good, I wouldn't have done it.
I don't know - sometimes I catch myself being dark, and it's annoying. I think, 'Get over it.' I bore myself. But sometimes, like everybody, I'm sure I am obsessive.
I come from a background where you don't really talk about yourself much.
My limited theater experience was when I was a kid starting out: two or three plays. I was good in one and mediocre in the other. My problem is that I have other interests.
My first manager, he had left Germany when he was five, but he would joke about the Nazis. And I'd laugh, but I'd look at him, and he was the first one who told me, 'You know, funny is a powerful thing; it's a wonderful weapon.'
One thing my mother had a nose for was inauthenticity.
I guess I'm probably a Method actor; I don't know... I just think of it as staying in the zone.
Chris Nolan is great, but I've never seen any of the 'Batman' movies all the way through. I know they're good. I just have zero interest in those kinds of movies.
I have a lot of energy, and I move around a lot in my club act.