Michael Keaton's ticket to global fame was, without a doubt, the bio-exorcist ghost Beetlejuice, in Tim Burton's successful supernatural horror comedy. Notably, the actor has just over 17 total minutes of screen time. Now, that's making an impression.
Nearly four decades later, Michael Keaton returns to the world that made him and Winona Ryder '90s icons, now joined by Tim Burton's latest collaborator, Jenna Ortega. In Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, Keaton plays the bio-exorcist as if not a day has passed since he and Burton immortalized him on screen.
The superhero movie genre would not be what it is today without Tim Burton's Batman films, and Michael Keaton is at the center of it all. Aside from the comedic Beetlejuice, this is the role that defined his career, for better or worse: it cemented him as an actor capable of dramatic and action roles, though he has remained somewhat under its shadow ever since (to the point of reprising it in The Flash, released in 2023).
Keaton remained active throughout the '90s and 2000s with moderately successful roles that gradually eroded his public presence. That's why his resurgence is quite ironic: in Birdman, by Mexican filmmaker Alejandro González Iñárritu, he plays an actor who gained fame as a superhero but is now obsessed with staging a prestigious play, a desperate attempt to save a declining career and regain credibility. In the real world, it worked: Keaton won a Golden Globe, was nominated for an Oscar, and has maintained a steady dramatic career since then.
Although Spotlight features an ensemble cast with names like Mark Ruffalo and Rachel McAdams, Michael Keaton not only stands out but also honors the film's complex and tough theme. Here, he plays the editor of The Boston Globe's Spotlight team, investigative journalists who uncovered the systematic child abuse case covered up by the Boston Catholic Church for decades.