Michael Keaton may live a private life, but practically everyone knows who he is.
After all, he has been the leading man in several iconic films throughout history, such as Batman , Batman Forever , Beetlejuice , and Birdman .
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He also has another major accomplishment; he has got one hot son. We dug deep for these other 10+ random facts about the actor.
1. His real name is Michael Douglas:
He changed it to Keaton once he started acting since Hollywood already had a Michael Douglas.
When asked if he ever told the actor that he stole his name, he shared a funny story with The Guardian .
“Kinda! Once we got something mixed in the mail, something from one of the [acting] unions, and I had to return it to him and we talked about it then,” he said.
“He’s a really nice guy, Michael, but it’s not even their name, I think?”
2. He used to do stand-up comedy:
This was back in the 1970s when Keaton was just another struggling actor.
He eventually landed series regular roles on two TV series: The Mary Tyler Moore Hour and Working Stiffs .
3. He has a son:
The 34-year-old named Sean is often referred to as ” Michael Keaton’s hot son .” One look at him and we can see why.
Keaton had Sean with his ex-wife and fellow actor, Caroline McWilliams.
4. He refused to film *Batman 3* when Tim Burton wasn’t hired as director:
“[The film] just wasn’t any good, man,” he told The Guardian .
“I tried to be patient, but after a certain point, I was like, I can’t take this any more, this is going to be horrible.”
Passing on the role also meant passing on a lucrative $15 million salary.
Val Kilmer ended up taking the role.
“I used to say no to almost everything, because I thought, I’ve got enough dough, I know what I want to do, and I know what I’m capable of,” Keaton told Variety .
5. He once took a 16-year break from Hollywood:
This happened after he filmed the movie, Out of Sight .
He told The Guardian that he wanted a normal life. He also grew bored of acting and waiting for roles to come to him.
“So I may have lost interest, combined with a whole lot of people not knocking on my door. It wasn’t just me,” he continued.
“But I also consciously started to slowly change things internally, and it worked.”
6. He didn’t think *Birdman* would end up working out:
He’s definitely eating his words now since the film won several prestigious awards, including the Oscar for Best Picture.
“But I also thought, even if it doesn’t work, I want to be a part of this kind of creativity. I want to be around this,” he told The Guardian .
7. He has a close friendship wth Tim Burton:
Michael and the famous director have worked together on several films, such as Beetlejuice , Batman , and Batman Returns .
“Michael is always on, he has an intensity of discipline. He doesn’t follow any traditional path. He refuses,” Burton told Esquire .
8. He doesn’t care about fame:
“I really frankly don’t but at the end of the day but I can’t act like, aren’t I so groovy,” he told Deadline .
“If you’re walking down the street and people walk up to you and pay you these amazing compliments… anybody who tells you ‘I hate that,’ they’re full of [expletive].”
9. He grew up Catholic:
He has since left the religion as an adult.
“Many, many years ago, I lost faith in the Catholic Church for all the reasons that I think one should lose faith in the Catholic Church. I’m still not a fan of the institution.”
10. He worked on *Mister Rogers Neighbourhood*:
It was always a beautiful day in the neighborhood when he worked on the show. He played one of the Flying Zookeeni Brothers.
He also helped produce the show.
Michael called the host, Fred Rogers, one of the “nicest” people he had ever met.
“I’m pretty sure I dressed up as Black and White Panda,” he laughed .
“Fred was really a nice man, and really a great sense of humor.”
“It was kind of great. Built-in audience, you know? A lot of love, people kissing you and playing with you, beating you up all the time, wrestling with you.”
But there were some downsides, too, like the family not being able to afford to go the movies since there were so many kids.
11. He is the youngest of seven children:
His family originally had nine siblings, but two sadly died as babies. The family lived in Pennsylvania where his father worked as a civil engineer and his mother was a homemaker.
Keaton told NPR that he loved having so many siblings.
12. The movie *Night Shift* was his breakout role:
In the movie, which was directed by Ron Howard, he starred opposite Henry Winkler and Shelley Long.
“In Night Shift he makes one of the best entrances in the history of film—his first entrance. Nails it,” Bill Hader told Esquire about Michael’s performance.
