Michael Keaton

When he realized he needed to change his name to join the union, he was in the Ks for surnames and thought it inoffensive so chose Keaton. It is a misconception that it was after Diane Keaton.

Was in a relationship with Courteney Cox from 1989-95.

Has a home in Pacific Palisades plus ranches in Santa Barbara and Montana. The 1000-acre Montana ranch, where he grows hay and raises cattle, features a four-bedroom cedar-and-stone ranch house.

Tim Burton cast him in the title role of Batman because he thought that Keaton was the only actor who could believably portray someone who has the kind of darkly obsessive personality that the character has. There was a great deal of fan anger over his selection, forcing the studio to release an advance trailer both to show that Keaton could do the role well and that the movie would not be a campy parody like the television series "Batman" .

Attended and graduated from Montour High School in Robinson Township, PA.

Is the youngest of seven siblings. Has three brothers and three sisters.

Has one son with ex-wife Caroline McWilliams : Sean Douglas .

Decided to change his name when he began acting because there was already a Michael Douglas in movies and a Mike Douglas in broadcasting. While he uses a stage name, he has never legally changed his name to Michael Keaton.

Was the first of only three actors to reprise the role of Batman in major, live-action films ( Batman / Batman Returns . Adam West did only one movie ( Batman: The Movie ) as Batman (along with the live-action TV series "Batman" and voice-work) and Kevin Conroy has only done voice-work as Batman. Christian Bale is the second actor to play the role more than once with ( Batman Begins followed by The Dark Knight and for a third time in The Dark Knight Rises ). Most recently, Ben Affleck has appeared in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice , Suicide Squad and Justice League .

Has played Agent Ray Nicolette in Jackie Brown and again in Out of Sight .

Started his career as a stagehand in "MisteRogers Neighborhood" (he operated "Picture, Picture"), and in 2004 he produced a documentary on Rogers, Fred Rogers: Americas Favorite Neighbor .

Turned down the role of the ill-fated mad scientist Dr. Seth Brundle in David Cronenberg s remake The Fly . The role eventually went to Jeff Goldblum.

Is a Second City alumnus - a member of the Los Angeles branch.

According to Mike Myers on "Revealed with Jules Asner" , Keaton saw him perform at Second City Toronto. After the show ended, Keaton went to personally congratulate Myers and said, "Keep up the great work." Myers would soon work with Keaton on an episode of "Saturday Night Live" when Keaton was guest host.

His son, Sean Douglas , plays keyboard for a band called "The Hatch".

Has appeared with the late Christopher Reeve in Speechless . Keaton and Reeve played DC Comics two most iconic characters, Batman and Superman.

He was originally to play the role of Dr. Jack Shephard on the television series "Lost" , with the understanding that the character would be killed off early on in the series. Keaton later had to walk away from the role when the creators decided not to kill off the doctor. Matthew Fox ended up playing the character.

Was parodied by Matthew Perry on "Saturday Night Live" .

Was offered the role of either Peter Venkman or Egon Spengler in Ghostbusters but turned down both roles, which went to Bill Murray and Harold Ramis , respectively.

An avid fan of the Pittsburgh Steelers, he grew up about five miles from former Steelers coach Bill Cowher s hometown of Crafton, PA.

Enjoys snowboarding, golf, mountain biking, fly-fishing and riding horses on his California and Montana ranches.

One of his favorite hobbies is fly-fishing, a hobby he shares with his Night Shift co-star Henry Winkler.

Was 40 years old when filming Batman Returns , which made him the oldest actor at the time to play Batman in a live-action film. He was later succeeded by Ben Affleck , who was 41 years old when cast in the role in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice .

Is the fourth--and shortest--actor to play Bruce Wayne/Batman.

His father had English, Scottish, Scots-Irish (Northern Irish), and German ancestry, while his mother was from an Irish family.

In an interview, he named Mr. Mom , Gung Ho , Clean and Sober , Beetlejuice , Batman , Much Ado About Nothing , The Paper and Live from Baghdad as favorite films of his own, with Beetlejuice as his top pick.

Almost reprised his role as Batman/Bruce Wayne in Tim Burton s unmade "Superman Lives", even though Val Kilmer had played the role in his place in Batman Forever .

When asked in an interview which historical figure he wished he could play, his choice was Hall of Fame baseball player Ted Williams.

Is an avid news junkie and at one point had considered a career in journalism. Has played a journalist in three films: The Paper , Live from Baghdad and Spotlight .

Has worked with three generations of actresses: Melanie Griffith and her mother Tippi Hedren in Pacific Heights , and Griffiths daughter Dakota Johnson in Need for Speed .

As of 2016 has appeared in three films that were nominated for the Best Picture Oscar: Toy Story 3 , Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) and Spotlight . Of those, Birdman and Spotlight are winners in the category.

He was directed by Ron Howard in three films: Night Shift , Gung Ho and The Paper . Same goes with Tim Burton : Beetlejuice , Batman and Batman Returns .

Has appeared with Geena Davis in Beetlejuice and Speechless , and had he accepted the lead role in The Fly , this would be their third film (and the first they would be making together).

As of 2017 he remains as the only living Bruce Wayne/Batman actor to not be directed by Terrence Malick. George Clooney appeared in The Thin Red Line ; Ben Affleck appeared in To the Wonder ; Christian Bale appeared in The New World and Knight of Cups ; and Val Kilmer is due to appear in Malicks upcoming film, which also stars Bale. Adam West , who played Bruce Wayne/Batman in Batman: The Movie and the 60s TV series, died 9 June 2017 without ever being directed by Terrence Malick.

He was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6931 Hollywood Blvd. on July 28, 2016.

He was awarded Officer of the Order of Arts and Letters by French culture minister Fleur Pellerin on January 18, 2016.

A Democrat, he endorsed President Barack Obama for re-election in 2012 and Sen. Bernie Sanders for the Democratic nomination in 2016.

He was considered for the role of Harry Belafonte in When Harry Met Sally... , which went to Billy Crystal.

He was considered for the role of Andrew Beckett in Philadelphia , which went to Tom Hanks.

He turned down the lead role in Clean Slate in favor of My Life .

John McTiernan wanted him to star in The 13th Warrior , but the studio did not want him.

He was considered for the role of Jack Traven in Speed , which went to Keanu Reeves.

He turned down John C. Reilly s role in Kong: Skull Island due to scheduling conflicts.

He was considered for the lead role in Police Academy , which went to Steve Guttenberg.

He was offered the role of Chili Palmer in Get Shorty , which went to John Travolta. He would later play Ray Nicolette in Jackie Brown and Out of Sight , which were also based on Elmore Leonard books.

He turned down the role of Alan Bauer in Splash , which went to Tom Hanks.

He was considered for one of Jack Nicholson s roles in Mars Attacks! .

He was considered for the role of Jim Garrison in JFK , which went to Kevin Costner.

He was considered for the role of Roy Munson in Kingpin , which went to Woody Harrelson.

He was offered the male lead in Cutthroat Island , which went to Matthew Modine.

He worked on a Navajo reservation in New Mexico when he was age 21.

Is a huge fan of Katy Perry.

Has worked with all three of Tom Cruise s ex-wives: Mimi Rogers in Gung Ho as boyfriend and girlfriend; Nicole Kidman in My Life as husband and wife; and Katie Holmes in First Daughter as father and daughter.

Not only did he play Bruce Wayne/Batman in Tim Burton s Batman films, he has acted alongside all three actors to play mentor figures in Christopher Nolan s Dark Knight trilogy: Michael Caine (Alfred) in Quicksand ; Gary Oldman (James Gordon) in RoboCop ; and Morgan Freeman (Lucius Fox) in Clean and Sober .

He was considered for Dr. Ian Malcolm in Jurassic Park .

He was considered for Josh Baskin in Big .

He was considered for King Koopa in Super Mario Bros. .

In the 1980s, Keaton bought a ranch near Big Timber, Montana, where he spends much of his time.

Was considered for the role of Lt. Col. Kazinski in Jarhead .

During his appearance on the WTF Podcast with Marc Maron, he stated that he has never watched the completed version of Batman Returns . He went on to explain that he only took the role because he needed money for a real-estate deal.

He was considered for Connor MacLeod in Highlander .

Was considered for the role of Jack Crawford in The Silence of the Lambs .

He was considered for Alan Parrish in Jumanji .

He was considered for Phil Connors in Groundhog Day , but was deemed "too nice" for the role.

He was considered for Richard Gere s role in Internal Affairs .

He was considered for Martin Riggs in Lethal Weapon .

He was considered for many roles in Pulp Fiction - Vincent Vega (which went to John Travolta ), Mr. Wolf (which went to Harvey Keitel ) and Lance (which went to Eric Stoltz.

He was considered for Willy Wonka in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory .

He was originally cast in the role of Sean Devine in Mystic River and filmed some scenes but he and director Clint Eastwood had creative differences on the project and Keaton opted to leave the film.

Was considered for the role of Dr. Curtis McCabe in Vanilla Sky . Was considered for the role of Captain Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl .

He was considered for Axel Foley in Beverly Hills Cop .

Keaton is a Democrat. He endorsed President Barack Obama for re-election in 2012 and Senator Bernie Sanders for the Democratic nomination in 2016.

Was originally slated to star in The Purple Rose of Cairo and actually did film some scenes, but Woody Allen decided this was not working and replaced him with Jeff Daniels.

[comparing making Batman Returns (1992) to the first,Batman (1989) film] In some ways this one was harder, because I,felt like I was doing an impersonation of myself. Which, aside from,being nearly impossible, is really weird.

[on his decision not to reprise his role as Batman in,Batman Forever (1995) ] I was waiting in line for another movie,and just kind of poked my head in . . . watched about 10 minutes. I saw,enough to know that I made the right decision.

[2011, on Night Shift (1982) ] The character I invented was a,combination of some people I knew and some things I made up, and,afterward there [were other projects and offers] that would have meant,trying to repeat that over and over, to be the "glib young man",whatever that is, but that held no interest for me. I literally thought,the idea of all this, when you do it for a living, is to play a lot of,different things. If you do the same thing over and over, that will,eventually start to close in on you.

[on the backlash over his casting in Batman (1989) ] When they,hung me in effigy, that was, for me, harsh.

[on being asked if he got jealous when other actors played Batman] No.

I never really thought about being famous. I always wanted to be good.

There comes a point in your life when you realize how quickly time goes by, and how quickly it has gone. Then it really speeds up exponentially. With that, I think you start to put a lot of things into context; you start to see how huge the world is, and really, the universe.

I was raising a child full time, sharing the responsibility with his mom. He lived with me half the time, so I chose not to go away and make certain movies.