When Tim Burton brought the Dark Knight to the big screen in 1989, he cast Michael Keaton to play Bruce Wayne. At the time, Keaton seemed like an odd choice. He was known for starring in comedies like Mr. Mom and Night Shift. It was like if Jonah Hill was cast as Batman today.
But against all odds, Keaton turned out to be the perfect man for the job. Plenty of other actors, from Adam West to Christian Bale, have given terrific performances as Batman, but Keaton is arguably still the cream of the crop. So, here are 10 reasons why Michael Keaton is still the best Batman.
10 He Nailed Batman’s Duality
The most fascinating thing about Batman as a character is the duality between Bruce Wayne and the Caped Crusader. Actors who take on the role have an obligation to play Bruce and Batman as distinctive characters, and Michael Keaton nailed that.
He always seemed uncomfortable as Bruce Wayne, posing as a carefree billionaire in the public eye, and in his element as Batman, brazenly terrifying goons with an icy stare. And, on top of that, the Bruce facade broke down when he was around Vicki Vale and he could be his true self.
9 He Improvised A Lot Of His Best Lines
Tim Burton gave Michael Keaton the freedom to ad-lib a couple of lines in their Batman movies, and some of them ended up ranking among the best lines in the franchise.
For example, in the dinner scene between Bruce and Vicki, Keaton improvised the line, “You know, I don’t think I’ve ever been in this room before.” The line itself reveals a lot about the character, while Keaton’s dry delivery sells it perfectly.
8 He Was Casual, Not Aggressive
A lot of modern portrayals of the Caped Crusader, like the versions played by Christian Bale and Ben Affleck, seem to be having an aggression-off to see who can be the angriest Batman. But Michael Keaton went the other way with his performance.
The anguish and inner turmoil showed through Keaton’s portrayal of Bruce Wayne; when he was Batman, he was cool and casual, like he was more comfortable wearing the cowl than a tuxedo — it was perfect for the character.
7 He Invented The “Batman Voice”
Every actor that plays Batman has to work out their “Batman voice.” This was actually invented by Michael Keaton. Before Keaton, the actors who played Batman used the same voice to play Bruce Wayne. But Keaton didn’t believe it was realistic that no one could tell it was billionaire socialite Bruce Wayne under the cowl.
So, he decided to affect an entirely new voice when he was playing Bruce as Batman. This added a whole new angle to the character, hammering home the idea that he disappears into his Batman persona.
6 He Had The Best “Batman Voice”
Michael Keaton was the first actor to affect a “Batman voice” when playing the Caped Crusader, and his Batman voice is still the best of the bunch. While George Clooney barely disguised his own voice and Christian Bale mumble-growled incoherent drivel, Keaton came up with the perfect voice for the character.
He always sounded calm, but forceful. When he said, “I’m Batman,” a chill went down every moviegoer’s spine. Not only did he invent the Batman voice; he perfected it right out of the gate.
5 He Defied Over 50,000 Naysayers
There’s a longstanding tradition that Batman fans have no faith in the actors that get cast in movie adaptations of the comics, and end up eating their words when those actors give fantastic performances. Fans complained about Heath Ledger being cast as the Joker and that resulted in an Oscar-winning portrayal of one of the greatest villains in movie history.
That tradition started when Michael Keaton was cast as Batman, and the offices of Warner Bros. were flooded with 50,000 protest letters. When he gave a knockout performance as Batman, Keaton defied more than 50,000 naysayers.
4 He Had Great Chemistry With The Actors Playing His Villains
One of the greatest assets of Batman stories is that the character has possibly the most iconic rogues’ gallery in comic book history. In his two Batman movies, Michael Keaton developed terrific on-screen chemistry with the actors playing his villains: Jack Nicholson as the Joker, Michelle Pfeiffer as Catwoman, and Danny DeVito as the Penguin.
In the age of MCU cookie-cutter villains coming and going without making an impact on the hero or the audience, that shouldn’t be taken for granted.
3 He Brought A Sense Of Humor To The Role
The casting of Michael Keaton as Batman was initially controversial among fans — and even the creators of the character — because Keaton was primarily known as a comedy actor. However, the sense of humor that Keaton brought to the character, rarely seen in incarnations of Batman, ended up working surprisingly well.
Keaton’s humor bridged the gap between the crowd-pleasing, if zany antics of Adam West’s Batman and the gloomy, gritty aesthetic that Tim Burton brought to the table.
2 He Had A Close Working Relationship With Tim Burton
For a truly great on-screen portrait of Batman, the actor playing the role has to work closely with the director whose vision is bringing the character’s world to life.
Having already worked together on Beetlejuice, Michael Keaton and Tim Burton had an established working relationship prior to collaborating on two Batman movies — and that relationship only got stronger while they were working on the films.
1 He Humanized Bruce Wayne
The most important quality that Michael Keaton brought to Bruce Wayne was making him feel like a real person. Given that he’s a genius billionaire vigilante, it can be hard for an actor to make Bruce relatable. But Keaton managed it.
He brought a real humanity to Bruce that is hardly ever seen in on-screen portrayals of the character. There was a real sadness in his eyes as he wandered around his giant, empty mansion that made Bruce a sympathetic figure.
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