What is Michael Keaton's Net Worth and Salary?
Michael Keaton is an American actor who has a net worth of $50 million. Michael Keaton first garnered attention in the early 1980s with a series of comedic roles. Films such as "Mr. Mom" and "Night Shift" showcased his knack for comedic timing, endearing him to audiences. But it was his collaboration with director Tim Burton that truly thrust him into the Hollywood spotlight. Their first venture together, "Beetlejuice" (1988), saw Keaton in the titular role of a mischievous ghost, demonstrating his ability to handle eccentric characters with aplomb.
However, it was his casting as the iconic superhero Batman in Tim Burton's 1989 adaptation that marked a turning point in Keaton's career. Despite initial skepticism from fans due to his comedic background, Keaton's portrayal of both Bruce Wayne and his caped alter ego was lauded, and he reprised the role in the 1992 sequel, "Batman Returns." This era solidified Keaton as a leading man in Hollywood, capable of handling blockbuster roles.
Never one to be pigeonholed, Keaton continued to explore diverse roles throughout the '90s and 2000s in films like "Multiplicity," "Jackie Brown," and "The Other Guys." However, it was his role in "Birdman" (2014) that earned him widespread critical acclaim. Playing a washed-up actor once famous for portraying a superhero, Keaton's performance was both a meta-commentary on his own career and a testament to his acting prowess. The role earned him a Golden Globe win and an Academy Award nomination.
In recent years, Keaton has continued to demonstrate his versatility with roles in movies such as "Spotlight" (2015), which won the Academy Award for Best Picture, and "The Founder" (2016), where he portrayed McDonald's magnate Ray Kroc. He also revisited the superhero genre with a turn as the Vulture in "Spider-Man: Homecoming" (2017) and "Morbius" (2022). He reprised his role as Batman in 2023's "The Flash." For 2021's limited series "Dopesick," Michael won a Primetime Emmy and a Golden Globe for Best Actor.
Batman Salaries
Michael Keaton earned $5 million for his work in 1989's "Batman," that's the same around $10 million in today's money. He was then paid $11 million to reprise the role in the 1992 sequel. This is the same as around $20 million in today's money. Warner Bros. desperately wanted him to come back for a third installment, even offering a then-staggering $15 million paycheck. That would have been the same as earning around $30 million today. And he declined! Why? His reason can be summed up pretty succinctly with words from the actor himself: "It sucked." Keaton went on to elaborate further on the creative differences between himself and Forever's director Joel Schumacher:
"I couldn't understand why [director Joel Schumacher] wanted to do what he wanted to do. I hung on for many meetings. I knew it was in trouble when [Schumacher] said, 'Why does everything have to be so dark?'"
Dopesick Salary
For his Emmy-winning work on the Hulu series "Dopesick," Michael was paid $1 million per episode. There were eight episodes, so he earned $8 million. He is only one of a handful of actors who have ever earned $1 million per episode.
Early Life
Michael John Douglas was born on September 5th, 1951, in Pennsylvania. Raised in a Catholic family alongside six siblings, Keaton attended high school in Allegheny County before attending Kent State University. During his college years, he studied speech and appeared in a number of the school's plays.
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Career
Michael Keaton launched his career in the mid-70s after landing a minor role in "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood." He also continued his work as a theater actor, landing many roles in the Pittsburgh theater community. To make ends meet, Keaton also served as a production assistant for television shows and began performing stand-up routines.
To pursue greater opportunities, Michael moved to Los Angeles. He found success as a TV actor, playing various roles in shows like "Maude" and "The Mary Tyler Moore Hour." Micheal was quickly becoming an established actor, but his surname was causing problems as he rose to fame. There was already an actor called Michael Douglas registered with the Screen Actors Guild (SAG), so Michael had to choose a different stage name to avoid complications. He settled on the last name "Keaton" in a seemingly random decision.
One of Keaton's first big breaks was in "Working Stiffs," a short-lived comedy series that saw Michael put his stand-up skills to good use. He made such a good impression that he was quickly offered a role in another comedy series called "Night Shift." He played a well-received character called Bill "Blaze" Blazejowski, who was loved by both critics and audiences.
With a solid role under his belt, Michael Keaton was ready to become a comic lead. His first role in this capacity was as a leading man in the film "Mr. Mom." Over the next period, Keaton was typecast as a comic lead in movies like "Johnny Dangerously," "Gung Ho," "The Squeeze," and "The Dream Team." By the late 80s, Michael was desperately trying to distance himself from his typical comedic roles, and he started to show his versatility with roles in films like "Beetlejuice" and "Clean and Sober."
In 1989, director Tim Burton shocked fans around the world when he cast Michael Keaton as the title role in "Batman." Although everyone predicted Keaton would drop the ball, he proved everyone wrong. His performance won widespread critical acclaim, and audiences loved the film. "Batman" was a massive financial success, grossing over $411 million on a budget of $35 million. Keaton reprised his role in 1992's "Batman Returns," which was just as successful as the first film. He was set to do it all over again with a third film in the franchise, but he dropped out when director Tim Burton left the project.
Keaton maintained his high-profile acting career throughout the 90s with appearances in films like "Pacific Heights," "One Good Cop," "My Life," "The Paper," "Multiplicity," "Jackie Brown," "Out of Sight," "Jack Frost," "Desperate Measures," "Speechless," and "Much Ado About Nothing." These roles demonstrated Keaton's ability to play both comedic and dramatic parts.
The early 2000s represented a bit of a lull in Michael's career. Although he appeared in several successful movies, he wasn't able to replicate earlier box-office successes. An exception to this was his role as Chick Hicks in the animated film Cars. After appearing in the 2007 miniseries "The Company," Keaton joined the cast of "Toy Story 3," a film that grossed over $1 billion in 2010. He then played a memorable role in the buddy cop comedy "The Other Guys" and appeared in the 2014 "Robocop" reboot.
In 2014, Keaton truly returned to prominence with a groundbreaking role in "Birdman." He won numerous awards for his lead performance, including a Golden Globe. He was also nominated for an Academy Award. In 2016, Michael Keaton was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
As the decade closed out, Keaton appeared in films like "Spotlight" and "The Founder." He also booked the role of Vulture in "Spider-Man: Homecoming" before appearing in "American Assassin."
In 2019, he starred in the film "Dumbo" and voiced a character in "Toy Story 4." 2020 saw him appear in the critically acclaimed film "The Trial of the Chicago 7" and the comedy "Worth."
Keaton made a significant splash in 2021 by reprising his iconic role as Batman in "The Flash," generating considerable buzz among fans. He also starred in the Hulu miniseries "Dopesick," earning critical acclaim and several award nominations for his performance.
In 2022, Keaton won an Emmy for "Dopesick" and appeared in the film "Morbius." He continued his return to the superhero genre in 2023, reprising his role as Batman in the never seen "Batgirl" and "Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom."
In 2024, Michael reprised his iconic role of Beetlejuice for the film "Beatlejuice Beetlejuice."
(Photo by Christopher Polk/Getty Images)
Personal Life
Michael was married to actress Caroline McWilliams from 1982 to 1990. They have one son together, music producer Sean Douglas (Michael's actual last name is Douglas). Unfortunately, Caroline died in 2010 at the age of 64.
Montana Ranch
From the time he was a little kid, Michael's dream was to own a ranch. In the early 1980s when he first struck it big, he made that dream come true with the purchase of a 1,000-acre cattle ranch near Big Timber, Montana.
Other Real Estate
In 1987, Keaton paid $1.3 million for a large home on a half-acre in LA's Pacific Palisades neighborhood. As of this writing, he still owns this property.
In 1989, Michael paid $1.5 million for a home near Santa Barbara, California. He subsequently sold this house in 2011 for $3.1 million. In 2016, he bought another property near Santa Barbara for $5 million. In 2018, He put this 20-acre ranch estate in the town of Summerland on the market for $8.72 million.
