The 25 best Michael Keaton films

Michael Keaton and Ron Howard teamed up on a few occasions. Gung Ho might not be among Keaton's or Howard's elite films, but it's a comedy that's entertaining enough to earn some love on this list. Keaton plays Hunt Stevenson, a foreman trying to keep an auto plant open, and ultimately gets his American employees to work in concert with their new Japanese management. There's a decent balance of humor and drama, but Keaton is serviceable in the lead role. 

In this satisfactory comedy, Keaton plays John MacKenzie, President of the United States. While he might be a popular president, he's struggling as a father to allow his college-aged daughter, Samantha (Katie Holmes), more freedom as she moves into adulthood and longs for a more normal life. Of course, letting go of a daughter is never easy for any dad, even if you're the leader of the free world.

Diabolical and plain evil are a couple of ways to describe Keaton's Carter Hayes (a.k.a. James Danforth) in this psychological thriller that also stars Melanie Griffith and Matthew Modine. Hayes is the worst possible tenant house landlords can ask for, but Keaton plays it deliciously. The film got mixed reviews but did relatively well at the box office ($55 million worldwide) and was enough to keep Keaton in leading-man roles. 

Through the years, Keaton has made his share of so-called "popcorn" movies — films meant to entertain and kill a couple of hours without much thought. White Noise follows that model. While not popular with critics, it did well at the box office ($91.2 million). Keaton is solid as Jonathan Rivers, an architect who is led to believe his recently deceased wife is trying to communicate to him through electronic voice phenomena (EVP) and becomes obsessed with getting to the bottom of it all.

We mentioned Keaton's frequent work in Ron Howard's films. He's also fond of appearing as the hero or villain in movies directed by eclectic visionary Tim Burton. He plays the villain in this imaginative Disney live-action adaptation of the beloved animated classic, where Keaton's ruthless entrepreneur V.A. Vandevere purchases the circus that Dumbo is part of to exploit the flying elephant to draw even bigger crowds to his own corporate circus/amusement park. The movie received sub-par reviews in relation to the hype, but Keaton is good as the smarmy bad guy.

First off, "The Dream Team" is a highly underrated movie. Keaton plays Billy, a patient at a New Jersey mental health facility. He's a pathological liar but sane enough to lead a group of his fellow patients — played by Christopher Lloyd, Peter Boyle, and Stephen Furst — through the streets of New York City when unintentionally left alone at Yankee Stadium. It's a good comedy with some endearing moments.

As audiences saw in Worth and other films on this list, Keaton is good in the biopic genre. Keaton offers a strong portrayal of Kenneth Feinberg, the attorney tabbed by the United States Congress to head the "September 11th Victim Compensation Fund." Feinberg was emotionally conflicted during this time in real life, and Keaton does an above-average job of bringing that to life.

As the dim-witted constable Dogberry, Keaton is one of the underrated gems in this romantic comedy based on the William Shakespeare play. Dogberry's vocabulary leaves much to be desired, but he's rather successful at his job when needed. Keaton's performance and the movie overall are worth the time.

Keaton makes the most of every opportunity to play a villain. Adrian Toomes, a.k.a. The Vulture, is a disgruntled salvager who turns to arms dealing to make money after his previous employer goes out of business. In some ways, Toomes is a Marvel bad guy that viewers might sympathize with since he wants to provide and look out for his family. 

As we'll see later on this list, 1982, '83, and '84 were the springboard for Keaton as a leading man in Hollywood. Johnny Kelly is just trying to help pay off his mother's mounting medical bills and help put his brother through law school, so he hitches his wagon to a local crime boss for help. It's a fun comedy, nothing more, and Keaton is well worthy of the leading role.

Clean and Sober was not Keaton's first turn as a dramatic leading man (there was the 1986 romantic comedy-drama Touch and Go). Still, there was nothing funny about Daryl Poynter. Keaton's cocaine-abusing, embezzling real estate salesman comes to grips with the trouble he's caused. One can argue that this was the professional moment when Keaton was seen as a versatile actor who should be taken seriously.

Keaton didn't receive major screen time in this recent Academy Award-nominated film. His portrayal of then-United States Attorney General Ramsey Clark is key to the plot of the film and the trial of the infamous group of anti-Vietnam War protestors known as the "Chicago Seven," who were charged with inciting riots during the 1968 Democratic National Convention. 

As ATF agent Ray Nicolette, Keaton gives a sound performance in his supporting role in this popular Quentin Tarantino film. It's one of Keaton's better supporting projects. He does well in an ensemble cast setting and doesn't draw unnecessary attention to himself, especially with Pam Grier and the late Robert Forster giving standout performances. It's another example of Keaton working with a big-time director.

Another biopic moment for Keaton. This time, he portrayed Ray Kroc, the businessman who got the McDonald brothers to franchise their fast-food restaurant. Keaton was lauded for his portrayal of the persistent Kroc. It again showed that the veteran actor was more than capable of playing any type of role. That versatility has allowed Keaton to remain an A-lister.

Live from Baghdad was not released in theaters, but it was a huge movie for HBO. Keaton received positive reviews for his portrayal of on-location CNN producer Robert Wiener. (Wiener co-wrote the screenplay, and the movie was based on his book.) Detailing the lives of news media covering the Persian Gulf War, when Wiener opted to continue reporting from Iraq while others had fled the area. Keaton received a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Actor -- Miniseries or Television Film.

In another turn with Ron Howard, Keaton was part of a stellar ensemble cast, including Glenn Close, Robert Duvall, and Marissa Tomei. Keaton's Henry Hackett is a workaholic New York City newspaper editor and father-to-be trying to get the real scoop on a story his rag missed a day earlier. It's a fast-paced, day-in-the-life story of a big city newspaper, with Keaton exceptionally leading the charge.

Keaton has lent his voice to various animated projects over the years, but his take as Lightning McQueen's on-track rival Chick Hicks, your typical 1980s stock car, is arguably the most memorable. Sponsored by HTB, a.k.a. Hostile Takeover Bank, Chick wants to follow in the footsteps of "The King," and he will resort to any tactics to make that happen.

Though Keaton is not the lead, he's part of memorable scenes alongside stars Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg in this hilarious buddy cop comedy. Capt. Gene Mauch is a mediocre police station leader who also moonlights at Bed, Bath & Beyond to put his son through NYU to become a DJ. He also has a weird fascination with hip-hop group TLC, which he does not admit. 

Working with Ron Howard for the first time in film, Keaton earned plenty of praise as high-on-life schemer Bill "Blaze" Blazejowski. He co-starred alongside Henry Winkler as late-night county morgue workers who decide to make some extra money by turning the facility into a sex worker headquarters. The movie positioned Keaton as a comedy film force.

As we'll talk about in a bit, Keaton received high praise for the role of this popular DC Comics character. In this sequel to Tim Burton's 1989 film, Keaton is just as dark and brooding in the titular role as the first time. His run as the superhero would end after this film when Burton was no longer part of the franchise. He was set to reprise the role in the since-canceled Batgirl movie, and he could still be in The Flash if that film ever makes it to screen in the Ezra Miller aftermath.

Keaton earned A-list status thanks to his lead role in this Tim Burton horror comedy from the late 1980s. Betelgeuse (pronounced Beetlejuice) is the eclectic spirit called upon by the ghosts of a dead couple trying to scare out the family that moved into their home. It might be Keaton's most over-the-top role, but he had a lot of fun with it. And so did audiences, who helped the movie make nearly $74 million in the United States.

There are plenty of times when a starring role makes an actor's career. In the case here, Keaton received such critical acclaim that he can be credited with reviving the Batman character to become a massively successful film franchise icon. Again teaming up with director Tim Burton, Keaton's darker and less campy turn as The Caped Crusader was well received because it proved that he's capable of excelling in a more dramatic role. 

While Night Shift showed Keaton was capable of helping carry a comedic movie, Mr. Mom made him a bonafide star. Keaton was downright hilarious as Jack Butler, a recently furloughed automotive engineer who finds his new gig as a stay-at-home dad to be the toughest job he's ever held. Jack's initial interaction with advertising executive Ron Richardson (Martin Mull), the new boss of his wife Caroline (Teri Garr), might be Keaton's most memorable film moment.

This role reminded movie fans that Keaton can still deliver an A-list performance (Golden Globe win and Oscar nomination). Like his character, Riggan Thomson, the actor who played an iconic screen superhero (which continues to consume his psyche), Keaton was looking for some leading-man resurgence. He did, and this role and picture will probably be the one that ends up defining his career.

While there's no doubt Keaton was exceptional in Birdman, Spotlight is the better movie. Keaton was among the anchors of a star-studded cast that included Mark Ruffalo, Liev Schreiber, and Stanley Tucci to this Oscar-winning film about The Boston Globe's shocking investigation into sexual abuse allegations involving Boston-area Catholic clergy. Keaton is stoically brilliant as veteran journalist Walter "Robby" Robinson, the leader of the Globe's investigative "Spotlight" team, which exposed what proved to be rampant abuse by said Catholic priests.