EPisodeWorld "Michael Keaton"

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Michael Keaton

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When he realized he needed to change his name, he remembered an article he had read with a nice picture of Diane Keaton. He chose her last name with the intention of changing it later. However, the name stuck. Years later, he phoned her and thanked her. The two have never actually met. Dated Courteney Cox. His hobbies are fly-fishing and riding horses at his California ranch. Tim Burton cast him in the title role of Batman (1989) 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 TV show "Batman" (1966). Attended Montour High School. Is the fourth actor to play Batman. Has one son with Caroline McWilliams. He couldn't keep his name when he began acting because there was already a Michael Douglas in movies and a Mike Douglas in Broadcasting. He has never legally changed his name to Michael Keaton. Began his work on television on the popular children's TV show "MisteRogers' Neighborhood" (1968). One of only two actors to reprise the role of Batman in major, live-action films (Batman (1989)/Batman Returns (1992). Adam West did only one movie (Batman (1966)) as Batman (along with the live-action TV series "Batman" (1966) and voice-work) and Kevin Conroy has only done voice-work as Batman. Christian Bale is the second and most recent actor to play the role more than once with (Batman Begins (2005) followed by (The Dark Knight (2008). Plays "Agent Ray Nicolette" in Jackie Brown (1997), the same character he plays in Out of Sight (1998). Started his career as a stagehand in "MisteRogers' Neighborhood" (1968) (he operated "Picture, Picture"), and in 2004 he produced a documentary on Rogers, Fred Rogers: America's Favorite Neighbor (2004) (TV). Turned down the role of the ill-fated mad scientist Dr. Seth Brundle in David Cronenberg's remake The Fly (1986). The part eventually went to Jeff Goldblum. Is a Pittsburgh Steelers fan. Is a Second City alumni - a member of the Los Angeles branch. According to Mike Myers on "Revealed with Jules Asner" (2001), Keaton saw the comic actor 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" (1975) when Keaton was guest host. His son Sean plays keyboard for a band called The Hatch. Was originally slated to play Jeff Daniels character in Woody Allen's The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985) and actually did film some scenes, but Allen decided it wasn't working and replaced him with Daniels. Appeared with the late Christopher Reeve in Speechless (1994). Keaton and Reeve played DC Comics two most iconic characters, Batman and Superman, respectively. He was originally going to play the role of Dr. Jack Shephard in the TV show "Lost" (2004), with the understanding that the character would be killed off early on in the show. Keaton had to turn down the part the creators decided not to kill off the doctor, and Matthew Fox ended up playing the character. Was parodied by Matthew Perry on "Saturday Night Live" (1975). Was considered for the role of Dr. Curtis McCabe in Vanilla Sky (2001). Was considered for the role of Jack Crawford in The Silence of the Lambs (1991). Was considered for the role of Capt. Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003). Was considered for the role of Lt. Col. Kazinski in Jarhead (2005). An avid Pittsburgh Steelers football fan, he grew up about five miles from present Steelers coach Bill Cowher's hometown of Crafton, Pennsylvania. Lived in his '63 VW Bug for 2 nights in California while trying to become an actor.