Michael Keaton

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Michael Keaton (2013)
Michael Keaton (2002)

Michael Keaton (* 5. September 1951 as Michael John Douglas in Coraopolis , Pennsylvania ) is an American actor .

Life

Keaton was born into an Irish-Scottish family, the youngest of seven children. His father, George A. Douglas, was a surveyor and his mother, Leona Elizabeth, was a housewife. He grew up in a large Catholic family and attended high school in Pennsylvania . Before embarking on his film career, he studied drama and linguistics at Kent State University in Ohio for two years .

At first, Keaton tried stand-up comedy without much success . He then worked as a cameraman for a television station in Pittsburgh before making his first appearances on some television programs. Soon after, Keaton moved to Los Angeles , where he hoped for better opportunities as an actor. In fact, he got his first roles in television productions, including the sitcom Maude . Since there was an actor by the name of Michael Douglas in the Screen Actors Guild , he was not allowed to use his family name as an actor; so he chose the name Keaton as a token of his admiration for the actor Buster Keaton.

In 1979 he played one of the leading roles in the comedy series Working Stiffs alongside James Belushi ; The film comedy Nightshift followed in 1982 - the morgue completely freaks out . In the following years, the talented comedian Keaton was seen in other film comedies. In 1988 he starred in Tim Burton's horror comedy Beetlejuice , which earned him positive reviews and made him a sought-after actor.

Soon after, he was hired again by Burton to star in the 1989 film Batman , the comic book hero created by Bob Kane . At first it was doubted whether Keaton, who had been acting as a comedian until then, was the right cast for the role, but his tragic and serious portrayal of the title character won over the audience. The film became a huge hit and Keaton's ultimate breakthrough. He also works on the album Batman by Prince with which the actor in four songs movie quotes KRIWET sampled . In 1992, Keaton took on the role of Batman again in the sequel to Batman Returns . When Burton was replaced by Joel Schumacher as director for the next film Batman Forever , Keaton, who was slated for the lead role again, got out of the project and was replaced by Val Kilmer .

Over the next several years, Keaton starred in many film projects of various genres, including Much Ado About Nothing (1993), My Life for You (1993), Speechless (1994) and Jack Frost (1998). In the two Elmore Leonard films Out of Sight and Jackie Brown , he played the role of Ray Nicolette. In 2002 he was nominated for a Golden Globe for his performance in the war drama Live from Baghdad . In addition to acting, he also made a name for himself as a producer of various films.

Keaton was married to Caroline MacWilliams, also an actress, from 1984 to 1990. With her he has a son. Michael Keaton had numerous relationships, including with Michelle Pfeiffer and Courteney Cox . He owns several ranches (for example in California and Montana ) where he keeps horses and dogs. In February 2012 he stated in an interview that he would be available for a possible return as a Beetlejuice in a second part.

The high point in Keaton's acting career so far came in 2015 with Alejandro González Iñárritu's feature film Birdman or (The Unexpected Power of Cluelessness) . In the tragic comedy he can be seen as a former superhero actor who expects a new professional success from a Broadway production. This earned him numerous film awards in 2014/15, including a Golden Globe for best comedy actor and nominations for an Oscar and the British BAFTA Award .

Keaton's standard German speaker since the first Batman film was Joachim Tennstedt ; in the six previous, mostly smaller films of his career between 1982 and 1988 he was z. B. spoken by Ulrich Gressieker (Beetlejuice) .

Filmography (selection)

Awards

  • 1982: Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Nightshift - The Morgue Goes Freaky (Best Supporting Actor)
  • 1989: National Society of Film Critics Award for Beetlejuice and Addict (Best Actor)
  • 2009: “Lifetime Achievement Award” from the Zurich Film Festival
  • 2014: Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Birdman (Best Actor)
  • 2014: Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Birdman (Best Actor)
  • 2014: Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Birdman (Best Actor)
  • 2014: Detroit Film Critic Society for Birdman (Best Actor)
  • 2014: Florida Film Critics Circle Award for Birdman (Best Actor)
  • 2014: Gotham Award for Birdman (Best Actor)
  • 2014: Hollywood Film Award ("Career Achievement Award")
  • 2014: Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Birdman (Best Actor)
  • 2014: Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award for Birdman (Best Actor)
  • 2014: National Board of Review Award for Birdman (Best Actor)
  • 2014: Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Birdman (Best Actor)
  • 2014: San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Birdman (Best Actor)
  • 2014: San Francisco Film Critics Circle Award for Birdman (Best Actor)
  • 2014: Utah Film Critics Association Award for Birdman (Best Actor)
  • 2014: Washington DC Area Film Critics Association Award for Birdman (Best Actor)
  • 2015: Golden Globe Award for Birdman (Best Actor - Comedy / Musical)
  • 2015: "Modern Master Award" of the Santa Barbara International Film Festival
  • 2015: Oscar nomination for Birdman (Best Actor)

Web links

Commons : Michael Keaton  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ "Beetlejuice": Keaton and Ryder confirm continuation. In: Cinema.de. Retrieved March 16, 2019 .
personal data
SURNAME Keaton, Michael
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Douglas, Michael John (real name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION US-American actor
DATE OF BIRTH 5th September 1951
PLACE OF BIRTH Coraopolis , Pennsylvania