Between Batman and Birdman: Top 20 Michael Keaton Roles

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

On September 5, the actor turns 67 years old. The life hacker recalls his career, as well as famous heroes with wings.

Michael Keaton's real name is Michael Douglas. However, at the beginning of his career in Hollywood, everyone already knew a person with that name. And then the young actor took the name of the famous comedian Buster Keaton. We recall the best films with his participation: from the first comedies and collaboration with Tim Burton to the triumphant return after a lull.

1. Night shift

• USA, 1982.
• Comedy.
• Duration: 108 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 5.

Quiet guy Chuck and his buddy Bill work in the morgue. One day they find out that a prostitute of their acquaintance had a pimp killed. Friends decide to intercept the business of the deceased, not really assessing the risks of this enterprise.

Michael Keaton's first big screen role shaped his future for the next few years. Funny Bill, constantly coming up with solutions to all the problems in the world, made the actor a favorite of comedy directors.

2. Dangerous Johnny

• USA, 1984.
• Comedy, crime.
• Duration: 90 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 5.

A humble newspaper boy Johnny goes to work for the gangster Josco Dundee to pay for his mother's treatment. Johnny himself is honest by nature, but time after time circumstances force him to continue to engage in criminal activities. And one day he himself becomes the elusive boss of the mafia.

3. Enthusiast

• USA, 1986.
• Comedy.
• Duration: 111 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 2.

Hunt Stevenson convinces the Japanese concern to open a large car plant in his city, for which all the townspeople are very grateful to him. But then the Asians decide to hire the same Hunt to put things in order in their own Japanese manner.

4. In a sober mind and firm memory

• USA, 1988.
• Drama.
• Duration: 124 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 7.

Real estate broker Daryl Poynter is addicted to alcohol and drugs. After he discovers a woman who has died of an overdose in his bed, Daryl is sent to the clinic for rehab. And gradually he begins to understand that he is exactly where he belongs.

Michael Keaton's first dramatic role. The image of a daring drug addict allowed the actor to move away from the comedy role, as a result of which more serious directors became interested in him.

5. Beetlejuice

• USA, 1988.
• Mysticism, black comedy, horror.
• Duration: 92 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 5.

A young couple of ghosts hires Beetlejuice, a "living exorcist," to expel the occupants from their home. However, there are more problems than benefits from this specialist.

This role was a real breakthrough in Keaton's acting career. He has repeatedly returned to collaborate with, and fans are still waiting for the continuation of Beetlejuice's adventures.

6. Dream team

• USA, 1989.
• Comedy.
• Duration: 113 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 5.

Four patients of a mental hospital under the supervision of a doctor are sent to a baseball game. The doctor becomes a witness to the crime, he is attacked and beaten in the head. The doctor is being taken to the hospital, and the patients are now left to their own devices, in addition, the police are looking for them, suspecting of a crime.

7. Batman

• USA, 1989.
• Superhero action movie.
• Duration: 126 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 5.

After the death of his parents at the hands of a robber, young Bruce Wayne decides to devote his life to fighting crime. Many years later, he already terrifies the mafia, hunting them at night in a bat costume. But he has to face the main enemy - the insane boss of the underworld Joker.

After Beetlejuice, Tim Burton undoubtedly took Michael Keaton to the lead role of Batman, proving that he could be reincarnated as a superhero. Moreover, he was paired with the magnificent Jack Nicholson.

8. Resident

• USA, 1990.
• Thriller.
• Duration: 102 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 4.

A young couple is buying a house. But to settle with the bank, they have to rent the first floor to a stranger. At first, he seems sweet and pleasant, but soon he begins to terrorize the owners, trying to take away their housing.

9. Batman returns

• USA, 1992.
• Superhero thriller, fantasy.
• Duration: 126 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 0.

Batman continues to defend Gotham from criminals and corrupt cops. But he has a new opponent - Oswald Cobblepot, raised by penguins. Meanwhile, the quiet secretary Selina Kyle transforms into a daring catwoman.

This film has been criticized by many for its gloominess. Burton at that time was carried away by gothic, and the studio wanted to release more vivid and positive pictures of Fr. Therefore, the director, and along with him and Keaton, left the franchise after the second part.

10. My life

• USA, 1993.
• Drama.
• Duration: 117 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 8.

Bob's life is in full swing. He is quite young and very energetic, and his wife is pregnant. But then he learns that he has kidney cancer and has very little time left to live. Bob decides to film his life with a video camera so that his child can get to know his father even after death.

11. Newspaper

• USA, 1994.
• Drama, comedy.
• Duration: 112 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 6.

The film tells about one day of work of The New York Sun newspaper. Henry Hacket collects information about the murder, while the editor-in-chief prepares to publish an article on the front page accusing people not involved in the crime.

12. Jackie Brown

• USA, 1997.
• Crime drama.
• Duration: 154 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 5.

Jackie Brown works as a flight attendant and secretly transports cash into the country for an arms dealer. One day, federal agents do catch her. The FBI offers the heroine a deal: she can stay free if it reveals the customer. Jackie Brown decides to take the risk of deceiving both the agents and the arms dealer.

In the nineties, Michael Keaton rarely appeared in really bright and interesting roles. In Jackie Brown, he also only got a minor character. But everyone knows that there are no bad actors in films.

13. Cost of Victory

• USA, UK, 2000.
• Sports drama.
• Duration: 114 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 3.

The manager of a Scottish soccer team has to deal with several problems at once. His club has a new owner from America, problems in family life. And at the same time, his team must win the country's football cup.

14. Live from Baghdad

• USA, 2002.
• Drama.
• Duration: 108 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 4.

In 1990, an experienced journalist who has visited hot spots and his partner are filming sensational material in Baghdad just on the eve of the outbreak of war. Almost all correspondents leave the country, but the heroes are willing to take the risk to shoot really hot footage.

Michael Keaton's career was going through hard times at that time. The film "Live from Baghdad", where he played together with Helena Bonham Carter, came out very bright and emotional, but it was a TV project for the channel, and the tape did not go out wide.

15. For the last time

• USA, 2006.
• Thriller, drama, comedy.
• Duration: 96 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 2.

A harsh and cynical businessman, Ted hires a young clerk, Jamie. He soon realizes that he has fallen in love with the bride of his subordinate. Ted does not know what to do, because under the influence of emotions he loses his business acumen, but he remembers what it is like to be in love.

16. Merry master

• USA, 2008.
• Drama, crime.
• Duration: 110 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 6.

Kate Fraser sees a man with a rifle on the ledge of a building, about to commit suicide. She prevents him from doing this, but then it turns out that he is a contract killer, tired of life. The killer begins to chase Kate, and gradually the heroes learn that they have a lot in common.

17. Birdman

• USA, 2014.
• Black tragicomedy.
• Duration: 108 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 7.

The aging actor, who once played the popular comic book hero Birdman, wants to regain his popularity. He decides to take part in a Broadway production. But first, he needs to deal with the ghosts of the past and past glory that haunt him.

It's easy to see the irony in the plot of this film. The picture is largely biographical, because Keaton himself once played Batman, and after that for many years he did not have such successful roles. But the actor conquered both viewers and critics with his skill, for which he received many well-deserved ones.

18. In the spotlight

• USA, Canada, 2015.
• Drama, biography.
• Duration: 129 minutes.
• IMDb: 8, 1.

The plot tells about a real investigation by journalists of the newspaper The Boston Globe, during which a huge number of cases of pedophilia among representatives of the Catholic Church were revealed.

Each character in this film has a real prototype. After the release of the picture, Michael Rezendes, played by Keaton, said that he "stole" his identity. So the on-screen character with his behavior corresponded to the original.

19. Founder

• USA, Canada, 2016.
• Drama, biography.
• Duration: 115 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 2.

The biographical drama tells the story of the life of Ray Kroc, one of the most famous and successful businessmen in the world. It was Croc who once bought the rights from the McDonald brothers to their family restaurant and organized the largest fast food chain - McDonald's.

After his role in the film "In the Spotlight," the directors realized that Michael Keaton is great at getting used to the images of real people. And his role in the "Founder" is another confirmation of this.

20. Spider-Man: Homecoming

• USA, 2017.
• Superhero movie, science fiction, action.
• Duration: 133 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 5.

After meeting Tony Stark and Peter Parker, he tries to live the life of an ordinary schoolboy. But he is invariably drawn to heroic deeds. And soon he meets a real villain - the Vulture, who can destroy everything that is dear to Peter.

And again the irony: Michael Keaton again plays a hero with wings. True, this time he got a negative role. But he embodied the image of the Vulture perfectly, making this character no less memorable than Spider-Man himself.