Michael Keaton Conquered Hollywood His Way

THE BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE STAR GETS CANDID ABOUT CAREER RISKS, FATHERHOOD AND WHY HE HAS ZERO REGRETS ABOUT THE CHOICES HE MADE

- ERIC ANDERSSON

As Hollywood legend has it, when Michael Keaton was pursuing a show business career in the 1970s, he picked his stage name out of a phone book. He couldn't use his birth name, Michael Douglas, since the Screen Actors Guild prohibits members from using another member's professional name. The union already had a Michael Douglas (the future Wall Street Oscar winner) and a Mike Douglas (the talk show host). So he became Michael Keaton. Asked about the phone book story, Keaton says he's not quite sure how he opted for the moniker that's appeared on dozens of movie posters. "I was looking through-I can't remember if it was a phone book," says Keaton, 73, raising those famously expressive eyebrows at times as he talks. "I must've gone, 'I don't know, let me think of something here. And I went, 'Oh, that sounds reasonable.'"

That gut instinct has served Keaton well over the past five decades as he's built a formidable and varied career that includes comedy (like 1983's Mr. Mom), action (1989's Batman) and drama (the 2015 Best Picture Oscar winner Spotlight). And while the projects may differ, he brings that distinctive Keaton quality to each of his roles. "He's got an interesting creative nervous energy," says Tim Burton, who has directed him in five films.

"There's something slightly crazy in his eyes." That's certainly the case for Keaton in the bonkers 1988 horror-comedy Beetlejuice-starring Keaton as the titular bawdy, belching demon-and its follow-up, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, the highly anticipated sequel. Revisiting the beloved classic after 36 years was a big risk for Burton and Keaton, who's no longer an up-and-comer, but an Oscar-nominated (for Birdman) lead actor. "We thought, 'You got to get this right.' I was hesitant and cautious, and he was probably equally as hesitant and cautious," says Keaton. "Once we got there, I said, 'Okay, let's just go for it.'"