Keaton doesn't feel Batman's shadow

Michael Keaton has insisted he has never felt overshadowed by his role in Batman.

The 63-year-old actor starred in Tim Burton’s 1989 hit film about the Caped Crusader, and the 1992 sequel Batman Returns. In his latest movie, Birdman, Michael plays a washed-out Hollywood star who feels haunted by his former superhero role.

Mexican director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu wrote the role especially for him, but Michael insisted he does not relate to it at all.

Asked if he feels Batman has followed him around all these years, Michael said: “Oh no, no, no.

“Obviously, I relate to him in, ‘Oh yeah, I played Batman’, he plays a character called Birdman, it’s not coincidental. I’d be insane if I didn’t go, ‘Yeah, I did that too’.

“The thing is, this movie’s about Alejandro, more than any of us. And we’re just the vessels. So I relate to the fact that I’m an actor, and I had to play that. I just don’t relate to the type of personality this guy is.

“But I’m human, he’s human. I relate to how sometimes you feel good, sometimes you don’t feel so good. Sometimes you feel secure, sometimes you don’t feel so secure.

“But I’m not that type of personality, which makes it easier to look at the guy and go, ‘Well, what happened in his life that made him like that, besides the entertainment business?’ That’s in his personality, regardless of what he does for a living.”

In Birdman, Michael’s character Riggan is riddled with self-doubt and a fear of failure. And the actor admitted the role was not easy.

“It was fun to play, but at the same time, this movie’s tricky – you can’t enjoy it while you’re doing it,” he confessed.

“It’s odd. You really enjoy it, but it was so hard to do these scenes – you have to be locked in.”

Keaton doesn't feel Batman's shadow