Michael Keaton Wishes He Never Worked Out To Play Batman, And Jack Nicholson Is To Blame
Ripped action stars have been around since the '80s when Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone battled it out to see who had the bigger muscles, the most guns, and who could beat up the most bad guys. These days, being in peak physical shape for a role is pretty much the norm. Unfortunately, this has meant many actors feel more pressure than ever to get in the best possible shape, often leading them to follow dodgy and dangerous methods in pursuit of the ideal movie star physique.
For example, it's been reported that Marvel molds actors into superhero shape using a controversial source. Health expert Dr. Todd Schroeder, who was interviewed for the book "MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios," claimed that "fifty to seventy-five percent" of Marvel Cinematic Universe actors take steroids or other performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs), "at least for the short term." In the book, Dr. Schroeder talks about the phenomenon of actors using these PEDs, saying, "Nowadays, it's kind of expected and, working under a doctor's care, it's really been accepted."
As The Hollywood Reporter noted back in 2013, "HGH [human growth hormone] quietly has become the substance of choice for Tinseltown," with Hollywood trainer Happy Hill, estimating at the time that 20% of actors in general used PEDs. Since then we've witnessed more and more performers pushing themselves to their limits to gain the perfect action physique. Just look at Alan Ritchson, whose intense workout routine for "Reacher" sent him to the hospital.
Amid all this fetishization of perfectly sculpted abs, then, it's quite nice to hear Michael Keaton downplaying the whole idea of having to work out for a role — and this is coming from Batman himself, so you should probably pay attention.
Tim Burton knew the Batsuit was the key
Back in 1989, director Tim Burton had to go to bat for Michael Keaton, who's casting in "Batman" caused a backlash among fans. How, these fans asked, was the 5-foot-9 star of "Mr. Mom" going to convincingly play the Dark Knight? For Burton, the answer wasn't to force his star to endure months of physical training but to rely solely on the Batsuit. In the book "Burton on Burton," the director recalls the casting process for the film, writing:
"The thing that kept going through my mind when I saw these action-adventure hero types come into the office was, 'I just can't see them putting on a bat-suit. I can't see it.' I was seeing these big macho guys, and then thinking of them with pointy ears, and it was, 'Why would this big macho, Arnold Schwarzenegger-type person dress up as a bat for God's sake?'"
For Burton, casting Keaton, who he'd just worked with on 1988's "Beetlejuice," was the obvious choice, as it meant this version of Bruce Wayne could truly transform once he donned the Batsuit, especially since, at the time, the suit used in "Batman" was something truly novel. Sculpted by costume designer Bob Ringwood, the costume worn by Keaton in "Batman" has since become iconic, ushering in an age of sculpted rubber superhero suits that persists to this day. The furrowed brow on the cowl and molded muscles instantly transformed Keaton into a truly imposing figure. From the on, then, Burton was confident in this approach to depicting the Dark Knight. Keaton, however, seemingly didn't quite grasp the concept at first.
Michael Keaton worked out for Batman until Jack Nicholson questioned him
After being cast as Batman, Michael Keaton decided he'd better get in shape. Though he didn't put himself through the kind of insane training Brie Larson did for "Captain Marvel," or force himself to work out for two years in a row like Dwayne Johnson for "Black Adam," he at least tried.
During a GQ interview, the "Birdman" star recalled how he was "training to be really fit" when he suddenly had an epiphany courtesy of Jack Nicholson. The veteran star famously played the Joker in "Batman," and negotiated a sweet deal in the process, likely ensuring "Batman" never made Warner Bros. much money, despite being a huge success. After carving out this nice little contract, Nicholson traveled to England to shoot the movie, where it seems he encountered his co-star in the midst of his physical training. As Keaton recalled in his interview:
"I was training one day, Jack Nicholson walked by me. We were just starting to shoot and I was kind of working on this [punching] bag, and I had been training to get fit. And he walks by me and he goes, 'What are you doing?' I said, 'You know, just working out,' and he goes, 'What are you doing that for?' I didn't have an answer for him. He just walked off and went into his trailer."
According to Keaton, this was the first time he'd questioned his approach to the role, with the actor adding:
"I approached it totally wrong. It's better to be real small and little and thin inside the [suit]. You can move, you can breathe. There's room inside. I don't know what I was thinking, but I thought, 'I'm an actor and I'm gonna do all this stuff.'"
Michael Keaton finally learned to work the suit
Michael Keaton has spoken on numerous occasions about how difficult it was to work in the original Batsuit, which was redesigned for his return in 2023's "The Flash" partly due to practicality. Aside from the fact Keaton couldn't turn his head, leading to the infamous "Bat-turn," the actor has explained how the "Batman" '89 suit gave him literal panic attacks. It makes sense, then, that as he said during his GQ interview, working out seemed like a good idea as it "helped in terms of carrying the whole thing around all the time." But what's interesting is that Keaton seemingly failed to recognize what Tim Burton, and apparently Jack Nicholson, had known all along: that working out to play someone who's encased in sculpted rubber for most of the movie probably wasn't all that necessary.
Though it's obviously important to believably project strength when taking on an action role, there's something truly refreshing about Nicholson's incredulity when confronted by Keaton's commitment to his workout regimen. Comparing such insouciance with that time Zac Efron made a documentary and almost began convulsing with pleasure when he ate carbs for the first time in years, it all just seems a bit, to quote Keaton's Bruce Wayne, nuts. While actors are pushing themselves to extreme lengths to gain unrealistically sculpted physiques, then, we might do well to channel our inner Nicholson a bit more often and collectively ask, "What are you doing that for?"