Michael Keaton Admits His ‘Batman’ Casting ‘Was a Ballsy Move’ but Backlash Was ‘Baffling,’ Says Jack Nicholson Questioned Him for Working Out on Set

variety.com:

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Michael Keaton participated in a career retrospective interview for GQ magazine and admitted that his casting as Batman in Tim Burton’s 1989 superhero movie was “ballsy” considering he was more known for his comedic roles in films like “Mr.

Mom” at that point in his career. Keaton’s casting was met with backlash among comic book fans at the time. The actor had already worked with Burton on 1998’s comedy “Beetlejuice.” “When they said ‘We’re thinking of doing Batman,’ I said, ‘Wait, you’re thinking of making a movie about Batman?’,” Keaton said. “The fact that Tim said ‘That guy, I want that guy’ … The fact that people cared one way or another so much is still baffling.

But that was a ballsy move on his part. We also had a nice working relationship from ‘Beetlejuice,’ so he felt that he and I could get along and would work well together.” Mark Hamill told Wired magazine last year that the backlash Keaton faced over his Batman casting is part of what inspired him to take on the voice role of the Joker in “Batman: The Animated Series,” which originally aired from 1992 to 1995.

Hamill has earned widespread acclaim and fan adoration for his performance as the Batman villain. Seeing Keaton overcome backlash to become an iconic Batman gave Hamill the confidence he needed that comic book fans would be willing to accept the Luke Skywalker actor as the Joker. “I had a confidence that really helped me because there was this big outcry that Michael Keaton was gonna play Batman,” Hamill said at the time. “‘Oh, he’s Mr.