Michael Keaton Reveals Heartwarming Reason He Turned Down Big Roles
Did you know that Beetlejuice star Michael Keaton has a strange connection to James Bond? According to him, he has been nicknamed “Dr. No,” but it’s not because he’s a supervillain in real life—it’s because he has famously turned down some major movie roles. The reason why he developed that nickname is very heartwarming, though: Michael Keaton wanted to spend more time with his son, Sean Douglas and knew that the schedule demands of the roles he declined would keep him from spending time with his son during Sean’s most formative years.
Keaton Had The Right Priorities
Unlike other celebs, Michael Keaton only has one child, and he always knew that he was going to prioritize his son over his Hollywood career. In a recent interview, he declared that it was a “no-brainer” for him to turn down roles in order to bond with his Sean Douglas.
His logic was sound: the 73-year-old actor knew that he had an entire lifetime to make films, but his son was “only going to be a kid [for a bit],” making spending time with his son in those early years that much more important.
No Regrets
Michael Keaton said that after prioritizing his son over his career, he would note whether the film he was offered ended up being a hit or not. “I’ll see a movie that I didn’t do, and I go, ‘Oh, boy,” he said. “That turned out to be a good movie.”
However, he is quick to point out that simply noting whether or not the movie ended up being a success doesn’t mean he ever second-guessed his priorities. “You look back, and you go, ‘Zero regret…zero.”
He elaborated that the choice he made to spend more time with Sean “was always the correct choice” and that it was effectively the realization of a lifelong dream for him: “I always wanted to be a dad.”
Sean Douglas Also Had A Great Mom
The now 41-year-old Sean Douglas was born in 1983, and Michael Keaton initially raised his son with his wife, Caroline McWilliams, before they divorced in 1990.
They remained very amicable and co-parented Sean though McWilliams sadly died of cancer in 2010. And as if the Batman actor’s words weren’t already heartwarming enough, he spent time in the interview lavishing praise on his deceased ex-wife.
“I will take credit for being a good father,” he said. “I will give his mom enormous credit for being a tremendous mom. Great, great, great mom,” he says, adding “that’s why he’s a good kid.”
We Don’t Know The Movies
Interestingly, Michael Keaton didn’t name any of the movies that he declined to star in so he could spend time with his son, but we can likely narrow down a time frame for when these movies would have premiered.
Sean was born in 1983, and while Keaton was already a comedy star thanks to movies like Mr. Mom (which ironically came out in 1983), he arguably didn’t become a Hollywood megastar until starring in back-to-back Tim Burton movies: 1988’s Beetlejuice and 1989’s Batman.
The Nineties
He continued regularly acting throughout the ‘90s, but with some exceptions like Batman Returns and Jackie Brown, most of these movies were smaller in scale and scope than the blockbusters he was now famous for. It seems very likely Michael Keaton was offered roles in very big blockbusters throughout the ‘90s but turned most of them down to enjoy time with his son, who notably wouldn’t be 18 until 2001.
Incidentally, Sean Douglas has become a star in his own right, becoming a Grammy-winning songwriter who has worked in multiple genres, from hip-hop to country.
These days, Michael Keaton and his son are closer than ever: the Beetlejuice star regularly spends time with Sean Douglas and his wife, Rachel Bartov, as well as their two children.
After a lifetime of awesome performances, it’s great to hear that a superstar like Keaton has achieved such an ideal work/life balance. But what else would you expect from the man who perfected balancing two lives as the Caped crusader way back in 1989?
Source: People
