Michael Keaton’s 10 most iconic roles

The range and presence needed to be a leading man in Hollywood for an extended period of time is hard to quantify and even harder to maintain. Nobody can argue that finding your way on screen is difficult, especially if you have a few movies or shows that don’t get the reception you’re used to. It’s true that it takes a big break to get you in front of more people, but to maintain that success takes a rare breed of skill and choosing the right projects. Michael Keaton is someone who has melded that so well.

The Pennsylvania native has gone from a young breakthrough actor to arguably the biggest name in Hollywood to someone who enjoyed a career renaissance 30 years after he began. He has had consistent work for the past four decades and earned himself a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He’s played heroes, villains, actors, executives, doctors, and more. He’s won countless awards and been nominated for an Oscar.

With his latest movie, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, coming to theaters soon, it’s time to look back at his career and highlight some of the most important roles. Below, we take a dive into Michael Keaton’s filmography and see how we got back to Beetlejuice.

1 Night Shift (1982)

It’s about two guys trying to make the most of a tough work shift

Keaton’s big break came when he was cast alongside Henry Winkler in Ron Howard’s Night Shift. Prior to that, Keaton had bit parts on shows like Maude and The Mary Tyler Moore Show as well as Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. In Night Shift, he starred as Bill Blazejowski, a new worker on the night shift at the city morgue in New York. He uses his entrepreneurial spirit and willingness to succeed to start a prostitution service from the city morgue. That doesn’t sit too well with the already established prostitution services in the city and hilarity ensues. The movie went on to be a critical success and started Keaton’s career in comedy films.

2 Mr. Mom (1983)

A classic gender norms switch film set in the early 1980s

What happens when a dad has to take over watching the house and a mom has to go to work? That may not seem so far-fetched now but it is the basis for Mr. Mom, the 1983 comedy starring Keaton and Teri Garr. Keaton plays a motor vehicle executive who is laid off and must hold down the fort at home while his wife goes to work. The comedy film featured a fun switch up of the then gender norms. Critics didn’t love the film, but audiences did, as it raked in $64.8 million against a budget of $5 million. This, along with Night Shift, set Keaton on the path of many comedy films in a row, including:

• Johnny Dangerously
• Gung Ho
• Touch and Go
• The Squeeze

3 Beetlejuice (1988)

Our first foray with the ghost with the most

In his first film with director Tim Burton, Keaton portrayed arguably one of the wackiest characters to ever be seen on the big screen in Beetlejuice. He plays the titular ghost who must help a recently dead couple by chasing away the new inhabitants of their home. The film is iconic, as the wild set design, ridiculous costumes, and memorable scenes make it an incredibly quotable film. Keaton starred alongside Geena Davis, Alec Baldwin, Winona Ryder, and Catherine O’Hara. The film was a box office hit and rose Keaton to the top of Hollywood’s A-list, where he remained, thanks to his performance in the next film.

4 Batman (1989)

The first caped crusader iteration on the big screen

Batman was the first time that fans got to see Bruce Wayne/Batman on the big screen and it did not disappoint. Keaton’s stardom vaulted into the stratosphere by portraying the titular character. Directed by Burton and starring Jack Nicholson as The Joker, the film made $411.6 million dollars at the box office. It spawned a number of sequels and series. It won the Academy Award for Best Art Direction as well. It is arguably the role that Keaton is known for the most.

5 Batman Returns (1992)

Two times the villains for the sequel

Batman Returns is the sequel to Batman and brought back Keaton and Burton for a second go-around. The film was much darker than the original, which partly explains why it didn’t do as well at the box office, earning only $266.8 million. The new villains this time around were Michelle Pfeiffer’s Selina Kyle / Catwoman and Danny DeVito’s Oswald Cobblepot / The Penguin. Keaton was set to reprise his role for a third time but Warner Bros. decided to move on from Burton and Keaton dropped out as well.

This led to a period of Keaton’s career that featured performances in good to mediocre films and his starring days started to go by the wayside. Films such as The Paper, Multiplicity, Jackie Brown, White Noise, Jack Frost, First Daughter, Herbie: Fully Loaded, and Live from Baghdad all gave him more credits but did little to raise his star again. He then starred in Cars for Disney and Pixar before taking up another Pixar film that revitalized him a bit.

6 Toy Story 3 (2010)

Before Ryan Gosling, there was Michael Keaton

Toy Story 3 is seen as arguably the best of the Toy Story films and follows toys who must deal with being donated after their original owner goes to college. The original cast of Tom Hanks and Tim Allen were back along with returning favorites Joan Cusack, Wallace Shawn, John Ratzenberger, and Jim Varney. Keaton joined the cast as the voice of Ken, a Ken doll that is at the daycare. The film won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song while raking in $1.06 billion at the box office.

7 Birdman (or The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014)

The Keaton renaissance is in full bloom

A film about a man that previously played a superhero in multiple films who is trying to make a comeback by writing, directing, and starring in his own Broadway show seemed almost too on the nose when it was announced that Michael Keaton was starring in it. But Birdman was a revelation, as Alejandro González Iñárritu deftly directed this Oscar-winning film. Keaton was lauded for his performance and he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor. The film won Best Picture and marked a true triumph for Keaton and the rest of the cast, which featured Edward Norton, Emma Stone, Naomi Watts, and Andrea Riseborough.

8 Spotlight (2015)

Back-to-back Oscar wins for Keaton

Following up Birdman, Keaton starred in Spotlight, a film based on true events of the Boston Globe staff that tracked down the allegations about the sexual abuse scandal of the Catholic Church and won a Pulitzer Prize for its coverage. Keaton starred as Walter Robby Robinson, the editor of the “Spotlight” investigative team. Other cast members included Mark Ruffalo, Brian D’Arcy James, Liev Schreiber, and Rachel McAdams. The film won the Academy Award for Best Picture and continued to show Keaton’s weight as a serious actor.

He followed this with other dramatic roles in The Founder, American Assassin, The Trial of the Chicago 7, Dumbo, Worth, The Protégé and others.

9 Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)

Keaton as a villain really worked

Keaton, having been a mainstay in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) from his days as Batman, made his debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) as Adrian Toomes / Vulture in Spider-Man: Homecoming. The twist involved with his character proves to be a terrific turning point for the film as he matches his wits and abilities with Tom Holland’s Spider-Man.

Keaton also had a cameo as Toomes in Morbius, the critically maligned film starring Jared Leto. He again dipped his toe into superhero films when he played Bruce Wayne / Batman again in The Flash in 2023.

10 Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024)

A sequel nearly 40 years in the making

There had been talks of doing another Beetlejuice right after the original premiered. But then Keaton and Burton decided to take on Gotham City and it got pushed to the wayside. The sequel is premiering September 6, as Keaton, O’Hara, and Ryder all reprise their roles from the original. Jenna Ortega plays Ryder’s daughter and Monica Bellucci plays Keaton’s ex-wife. There is sure to be more mayhem, hijinks, and ridiculous gross-out gags. Justin Theroux and Willem Dafoe round out the cast. It is being called Burton’s “most joyful movie in years.”