Michael Keaton

michael john douglas (born september 5, 1951), better known by the stage name michael keaton, is an american actor who became popular for his early comedic film roles, most notably his performance as the t-tle character of tim burton’s beetlejuice, and later gained international fame for his dramatic portrayal of bruce wayne / batman in tim burton’s batman and batman returns. he has appeared in various other films, including night shift, mr. mom, clean and sober, pacific heights and jackie brown, and has also provided voicework for pixar’s cars and toy story 3.
michael keaton’s career was given another major boost when he was again cast by tim burton, this time as the t-tular comic book superhero of the 1989 blockbuster batman. burton cast him 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 demands. warner bros. received thousands of letters of complaint by fans commenting that keaton was the wrong choice to portray batman, given his prior work in comedies and the fact that he lacked the suave, handsome features and tall, muscular physicality often attributed to the character in the comic books. however, keaton’s dramatic performance earned widespread acclaim from critics and audiences alike, and batman became one of the most successful films of the year.
according to les daniels’ reference book, batman: the complete history, keaton wasn’t surprised when he was first considered as batman as he initially believed the film would be similar to the 1960s television series starring adam west. it was only after he was introduced to frank miller’s comic book mini-series, the dark knight returns, that keaton really understood the dark and brooding side of batman that he portrayed to much fan approval. keaton later reprised the role in the sequel batman returns (1992), which was another critically acclaimed success, though also controversial for being darker than the previous film.

source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/michael_keaton