Michael Keaton is not one to shy away from challenges. Fans initially hated his casting as Bruce Wayne, citing his comedic background. However, those same fans later had to eat their words as they hailed Keaton’s portrayal in Batman and Batman Returns. Keaton faced one of his worst fears when he first wore the Batman suit. The tight costume triggered the Beetlejuice actor’s claustrophobia, and to make it worse, he couldn’t hear anything with his cowl on.
After years of fans clamoring for Keaton’s return as Batman, he reprised his role in the 2023 film, The Flash. Had the DCEU continued, Keaton was supposed to play a more significant role in that universe. Keaton came close to winning the Oscar for his role in Birdman.
Michael Keaton Struggled To Hear In His Batman Costume
Michael Keaton’s collaboration with Tim Burton began with Beetlejuice, where he portrayed the titular villain. Burton gave him a career shift from comedy to more serious roles with Batman. However, things were not smooth for Keaton on the Batman set, as he revealed his struggles in a 2015 interview with NPR. While promoting his film Birdman, the host directed questions about his iconic Batman role.
When asked about wearing the cape and tights, Keaton described it as both ridiculous and risky. He further explained that he struggled with claustrophobia but had to work through it. He also couldn’t hear anything wearing the Batman cowl. However, the Spotlight actor admitted that it worked out well as he channeled the isolation into his performance. Despite facing challenges, Keaton believed that he looked cool in the film. He told NPR:
“Simultaneously ridiculous to the point where you had overcome it, and risky. And I guess kind of cool. I’m claustrophobic so I had to work through that. It ended up working really perfectly for the character. It made me feel real isolated inside there. [I] couldn’t really hear. So that really ended up being a bonus for me.”
Costume designer Bob Ringwood studied over 200 Batman comics before designing the Batsuit. His trial-and-error designs cost the studio over $250,000 before the final suit was perfected. Ringwood revealed to Cinefex journal that his biggest challenge was transforming the ‘average-sized’ and ‘ordinary-looking’ Keaton into an intimidating figure. The Batsuit in the film initially received some negative feedback from comic book fans.
The Batman Imagery Helped Michael Keaton Overcome His Struggles
During his interview, Keaton also shared his concerns during the filming of Batman. He feared that the film could turn out to be a mistake given his personal struggles to fit into the suit. However, he shared that the Batman imagery was so powerful that he convinced himself to stay in the role. The Spider-Man: Homecoming actor was determined to work out the different attributes of the suit. Keaton shared:
“I had the advantage also that the imagery was so strong and powerful. And once I saw that, I went, oh, this – I’m going to work this thing, man. I’m going to work the angles of the suit, the shadows of the suit, the frighten-ness of it, the sexiness of it. I’m going to work the hell out of that.”
Director Burton also admitted that Keaton’s claustrophobia made the Batsuit worse. Nevertheless, he praised Keaton for turning it into an advantage, as the costume put him in a dark, Batman-like mood. Batman grossed $411.6 million at the box office, becoming the fifth highest-grossing film in history at the time.
Batman and Batman Returns are now available for streaming on Max.
