DOUGLAS
Michael

• 1. Early life
• 2. Career
• 2.1. 2014–present: Career resurgence
• 2.2. Upcoming
• 3. Personal life

Michael John Douglas is an American actor. He is best known for portraying the DC Comics superhero Bruce Wayne / Batman in the films Batman (1989), Batman Returns (1992) and the upcoming The Flash and Batgirl (both 2022), as well as Jack Butler in Mr. Mom (1983), Betelgeuse in Beetlejuice (1988), and Adrian Toomes / Vulture in Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) and the upcoming Morbius (2022).

His breakout role was as fast-talking schemer Bill "Blaze" Blazejowski in the 1982 film Night Shift (which was also Ron Howard's second job as a director). He later appeared in a variety of films ranging from dramas and romantic comedies to thriller and action films, such as Clean and Sober (1989), Much Ado About Nothing (1993), The Paper (1994), Multiplicity (1996), Jackie Brown (1997), Herbie: Fully Loaded (2005), The Other Guys (2010), Spotlight (2015), The Founder (2016), Dumbo (2019), The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020) and Worth (2021). He has also provided voices for characters in animated films such as Porco Rosso (1992), Cars (2006), Toy Story 3 (2010), and Minions (2015). In 2021, he starred in the limited series Dopesick on Hulu.

In 2014, Keaton garnered critical acclaim for his performance in Alejandro González Iñárritu's black comedy film Birdman, winning a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor—Motion Picture Musical or Comedy and receiving a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor. He had previously received a Golden Globe Award nomination for his performance in Live from Baghdad (2002) and five Screen Actors Guild Award nominations, which ultimately yielded three wins for his performances in Birdman (2014), Spotlight (2015), and The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020).

Keaton was honored with a Career Achievement Award from the Hollywood Film Festival. On January 18, 2016, he was named Officer of Order of Arts and Letters in France. He is also a visiting scholar at Carnegie Mellon University.

Early life

Michael John Douglas, the youngest of seven children, was born at Ohio Valley Hospital in Kennedy Township, Pennsylvania, on September 5, 1951. He was raised between McKees Rocks, Coraopolis and Robinson Township, Pennsylvania. His father, George A. Douglas, worked as a civil engineer and surveyor, and his mother, Leona Elizabeth (née Loftus), was a homemaker, and came from McKees Rocks. Keaton was raised in a Catholic family. His mother was of Irish descent, while his father was of Scottish, Scotch-Irish, German and English ancestry, and was originally from a Protestant family. Keaton attended Montour High School in Robinson Township, Pennsylvania, and studied speech for two years at Kent State University, where he appeared in plays, and returned to Pennsylvania to pursue his career.

Career

2014–present: Career resurgence

Keaton starred alongside Zach Galifianakis, Edward Norton, Emma Stone, and Naomi Watts in Alejandro González Iñárritu's Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014), playing Riggan Thomson, a screen actor, famous for playing the iconic titular superhero, who puts on a Broadway play based on a Raymond Carver short story to regain his former glory. He won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy for his portrayal of Thomson and received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. In 2015, Keaton appeared as Walter V. Robinson in Tom McCarthy's Academy Award-winning film Spotlight, and in 2016, he starred as businessman Ray Kroc in the biopic The Founder. On July 28, 2016, Keaton was honored with the 2,585th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his contributions to film. The star is located at 6931 Hollywood, Blvd.

In 2017, Keaton played the supervillain The Vulture in Spider-Man: Homecoming; while making this film, Keaton was unable to reprise his role as Chick Hicks for Disney/Pixar's Cars 3 and was replaced by Bob Peterson. Keaton later portrayed Stan Hurley in American Assassin. In 2019, he played the villain in Disney's live-action adaptation of Dumbo directed by Tim Burton, co-starring with Colin Farrell and Eva Green. In 2020, Keaton played U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark in The Trial of the Chicago 7, a legal drama directed by Aaron Sorkin about seven anti-Vietnam protesters charged with inciting riots in 1968. In 2021, Keaton starred as American lawyer Kenneth Feinberg in the Netflix biographical drama film Worth.

Upcoming

It has been reported that Keaton will star in Goodrich, a film about a man whose second wife suddenly leaves him, forcing him to take sole care of their nine-year-old twins. Directed by Hallie Meyers-Shyer, filming was set to commence on October 1, 2019. He will also appear in the film Morbius, scheduled to be released on January 28, 2022. In June 2020, Keaton entered talks to reprise his role as Batman/Bruce Wayne in the DC Extended Universe's upcoming superhero film, The Flash, which is scheduled to be released on November 4, 2022, after last playing the role in 1992. In August 2020, it was reported that Keaton would be reprising his role as Bruce Wayne/Batman, though Keaton disputed these claims on October 21 and again on March 22, 2021, stating that it was not confirmed. However, on April 19, 2021, Keaton's talent agency, ICM Partners, officially confirmed his involvement with the film when production had officially begun. He will also reprise the character in Batgirl film starring Leslie Grace set for a release on HBO Max.

Personal life

Keaton was married to Caroline McWilliams from 1982 to 1990. They have a son, Sean, born in 1983. He had a relationship with actress Courteney Cox from 1989 to 1995.

Keaton, a longtime Pittsburgh resident and fan of its sports teams, negotiated a break in his Batman movie contract in case the Pittsburgh Pirates made the playoffs that year, although they ultimately did not. He also wrote an ESPN blog on the Pirates during the final months of their 2013 season.

In the 1980s, Keaton bought a ranch near Big Timber, Montana, where he spends much of his time. An avid fisherman, he is often seen on the saltwater fishing series Buccaneers & Bones on Outdoor Channel, along with Tom Brokaw, Zach Gilford, Thomas McGuane and Yvon Chouinard, among others.

Keaton endorsed Hillary Clinton for President in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, and Joe Biden in the 2020 U.S. presidential election.

In 2019, he appeared in a PETA ad campaign, asking tourists not to visit operations that exploit animals, such as roadside zoos which sometimes offer the opportunity to get selfies with wild animals.