Michael Keaton’s filmography spans decades, genres, and personas, showcasing a versatility few actors can match. From his early comedic roles to his later dramatic triumphs, Keaton has consistently brought intelligence, intensity, and a unique energy to the screen. Whether he’s inhabiting the psyche of a tortured superhero or delivering comedic gold as a hapless father, his work always resonates.
This ranked list explores 27 of his most notable films, from lesser-known entries to career-defining classics. Each film is measured not just by its critical acclaim, but also by Keaton’s performance, cultural impact, and overall storytelling strength. Arranged from least to most essential, it reflects the full arc of his on-screen evolution.
Every entry includes a focused reflection on what makes that role stand out—whether in its writing, execution, or simply how Keaton elevates the material. While some may surprise with their placement, all reveal a slice of what makes Keaton a compelling presence across cinema history. Dive in to rediscover the many shades of Michael Keaton, one role at a time.
27. The Last Time (2006)
A masterclass in tonal control, his role in this cynical corporate thriller manages to stir discomfort rather than admiration. Wearing vulnerability like a second skin, he taps into the hollowness of ambition without offering redemption. What could have been formulaic is elevated by Keaton’s cool detachment and snide bravado. Drenched in emotional nuance, his character is fascinatingly difficult to root for. With razor-sharp delivery and genuine bitterness, he channels a darker charisma. Rarely has an actor embraced such alienation with such commitment. Shadows and light converge in this surprisingly complex portrayal.
26. First Daughter (2004)
What could have been a throwaway fatherly role gains dimension through Keaton’s gentle restraint. A display of comedic timing and emotional resonance characterizes his turn as a president and dad navigating his daughter’s independence. Blending charm with subtle tension, he adds substance to an otherwise featherlight story. Keaton’s screencraft elevates even the flimsiest material, infusing routine lines with warmth. By navigating emotional landmines, he crafts a parent who is both protective and respectful. This cinematic effort becomes memorable largely due to Keaton’s grounded charm. Sincerity meets spectacle in his soft-spoken yet dignified presence.
25. Herbie: Fully Loaded (2005)
Keaton dances between absurdity and sincerity throughout this revamp of a classic Disney franchise. With his sleeves rolled up and eyebrows raised, he embodies the archetype of the bumbling but lovable car dad. A masterclass in low-stakes fatherhood, his character feels plucked from an earlier, more innocent time. It’s not just a role but a nostalgic wink that he delivers with infectious ease. Rarely has mediocrity felt so well-handled as in his sincere, if lightweight, effort here. What could have been merely background noise becomes endearing thanks to Keaton’s whimsical tone. There’s real delight in watching him play mechanic to a sentient car.
24. Jack Frost (1998)
Shadows and sentiment swirl together in this wintry fable, where Keaton plays a snowman reincarnation of a dead dad. A role that sounds absurd on paper becomes oddly moving thanks to his earnest delivery. It’s within the chaos of this film that he finds emotional resonance, particularly in moments of regret. Keaton imbues the fantastical with real humanity, never mocking the premise. What could have been a gimmick is rendered touching under his guidance. Wearing grief like a flannel coat, he reaches young audiences through sincerity. Seldom does frost feel so warm.
23. Post Grad (2009)
This film hands Keaton a bag of quirks, and he juggles them with dad-joke precision and existential timing. A display of comedic looseness mixed with parental heart, he manages to leave an impression in every scene. Keaton’s character lives in a pastel suburb but delivers existential wisdom from a place of chaos. With every offbeat line, he reminds us how unpredictable father figures can be. By letting his eccentricities fly, he carries a script that often drifts. It’s not the material but the man that keeps us watching. If this film had a soul, Keaton was it.
22. Desperate Measures (1998)
A flick that could’ve sunk on premise alone gets grit from Keaton’s bone-chilling villainy. With feral intelligence, he twists a medical crisis into a personal game of power. His gaze, unflinching and surgical, pierces through every scene. Seldom does an actor radiate menace while still commanding intrigue. The tension climbs every time he enters the frame, pulling the story out of cliché. A rare example of Keaton going full cold-blooded with style. Few villains smile as chillingly as this one does.
21. White Noise (2005)
Here, grief reverberates like static, and Keaton tunes into its frequency with restrained desperation. In a world of crackling voices and flickering screens, he anchors the surreal. Wearing fear and hope simultaneously, he invites us into his unraveling. The paranormal becomes profoundly personal in his hands. A lesser actor would have leaned on jump scares, but Keaton leans into heartbreak. There’s a subtlety in his searching eyes that sells the absurd. When he listens to the dead, we listen to him.
20. The Dream Team (1989)
Blending mania with sincerity, Keaton leads a ragtag group of psychiatric patients through New York’s chaos. This isn’t just slapstick—it’s human comedy with a pulse. He struts with the bravado of someone who barely knows where the brakes are, emotionally and physically. Keaton’s humor never overshadows his heart, and that’s the film’s secret weapon. Every quip is laced with care, every outburst born from deeper unrest. You root for him, not just to succeed, but to heal. A comedy with backbone, anchored by his soulful absurdity.
19. Multiplicity (1996)
Keaton clones himself, then one-ups himself—literally—in this sci-fi domestic farce. Each version of him is distinctly unhinged, and yet all undeniably Keaton. He wrings complexity from the cartoony premise by making each clone feel like a fractured part of one psyche. Rarely does physical comedy feel so psychological. There’s grace in his chaos, charm in his pratfalls. It’s not just funny—it’s layered in a way only he could manage. Somehow, one man becomes four characters and none feel phoned in.
18. Live from Baghdad (2002)
As a CNN producer navigating pre-war Baghdad, Keaton shuffles between tension and integrity with surgical skill. He’s magnetic without ever dominating the frame. In a world of explosions and edits, he becomes the pulse of the newsroom. Through subtle expressions, he communicates fear, ambition, and frustration in tandem. The stakes feel real because he grounds them. A lesser performance would be swallowed by the setting—his steadiness keeps it human. This is Keaton at his most quietly commanding.
17. The Other Guys (2010)
In a world of macho posturing, Keaton drops TLC references and wears a hardware store apron like armor. As the unflappable police captain, he steals every scene with deadpan brilliance. His comedic instincts are on full blast but never desperate. He’s the straight man with a crooked line delivery. Every time he appears, the rhythm of the film sharpens. Keaton weaponizes understatement in a cast full of chaos. The punchlines land because he doesn’t swing—he taps.
16. Pacific Heights (1990)
Keaton turns the dial from quirky to terrifying in this suburban nightmare. Behind every smile lurks a predator, and he sells it with unnerving precision. He’s a slow burn, a steady unraveling of decency. As a tenant from hell, he’s never overtly monstrous—but that’s the brilliance. He haunts rather than attacks. His eyes do most of the violence. Few thrillers hinge so completely on one performance; this one thrives because of him.
15. The Paper (1994)
Speeding through a newsroom like a caffeinated conductor, Keaton embodies the whirlwind of journalism. His passion crackles like typewriter keys in a deadline frenzy. He’s not just reacting to the chaos—he’s orchestrating it. There’s an infectious urgency in every shouted command and impromptu idea. The film feels alive because he does. His moral tug-of-war plays out through exhausted eyes and manic humor. If journalism were jazz, he’d be the solo.
14. Jackie Brown (1997)
In Tarantino’s symphony of crime, Keaton pops up like a brass note—bright, sharp, and impossible to ignore. As ATF agent Ray Nicolette, he’s part bureaucrat, part cowboy. His scenes sizzle without ever stealing the whole dish. There’s cool restraint in how he delivers pressure. You trust him, then doubt him, then circle back again. He’s a cameo with staying power. So good, they used him twice.
13. Much Ado About Nothing (1993)
Keaton embraces Shakespearean silliness with wide eyes and gravel-voiced bravado. As Dogberry, he straddles the line between town fool and unlikely hero. It’s a performance played with joyful distortion, like a clown conducting a wedding. His every line teeters on the edge of nonsense, yet lands with perfect comedic timing. There’s a rhythm to his absurdity that steals scenes without stealing tone. You may forget parts of the plot, but never his barking delivery. A jester in spirit, but one who leaves a noble mark.
12. Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Entering the Marvel Universe, Keaton crafts a villain who is grounded in motive and heavy with threat. The Vulture soars because he stays human—blue-collar and brutal. He’s not cackling with power, he’s gripping it with sweaty palms. Keaton’s quiet menace in the car scene is legendary: more tension in words than in wings. Every look is calculated; every smile carries a blade. He redefines what a supervillain can be—sympathetic and terrifying. No costume needed, just conviction.
11. Mr. Mom (1983)
Unemployed and out of his depth, Keaton spins domestic disaster into comedic gold. He folds laundry like he’s defusing a bomb, and changes diapers like he’s dismantling a ticking clock. The film survives entirely on his frantic charm and sincerity. His chaos is relatable, his meltdowns believable. Watching him adjust to family life is like watching a baby deer walk—and it’s hilarious. But underneath the pratfalls, there’s genuine heart. He doesn’t just babysit; he evolves.
10. Night Shift (1982)
Bursting onto the scene as a manic idea machine in a morgue, Keaton explodes with energy. Every line is a detour, every gesture a punchline. He doesn’t just enter the film—he detonates into it. His charisma is nuclear, impossible to ignore. The wild-haired dreamer becomes a cult comedy anchor. It’s the kind of debut that makes Hollywood take notes. From zero to iconic in under two hours.
9. Clean and Sober (1988)
Addiction stories often lean into melodrama, but Keaton brings quiet devastation. His character isn’t a sob story—he’s a man gripping onto reality with shaking hands. There’s a rawness to his portrayal, all jagged edges and buried pain. He doesn’t ask for pity; he dares you to watch him fall. Every relapse is a revelation. Keaton plays this man like a wounded instrument—off-key but still singing. A performance that hurts because it’s true.
8. The Founder (2016)
Ray Kroc is no hero, and Keaton plays him as neither villain nor victim. He’s ambition incarnate, drinking milkshakes and swallowing dreams. The performance is surgical—controlled, sharp, and never sentimental. His smile sells burgers while his eyes steal futures. You’re both fascinated and repelled, and that’s the point. Keaton doesn’t ask for sympathy—he demands attention. Business becomes drama, and he is its ruthless lead.
7. Batman Returns (1992)
Haunted and hunched in shadows, Keaton returns as Gotham’s silent guardian. He speaks less but says more, his expressions doing the brooding. Amid Burton’s gothic grandeur, Keaton is the cold core of warmth. He plays Bruce Wayne like a whispered secret. The pain is deeper, the resolve stronger. You feel the weight of the mask more this time. It’s Batman not just as a symbol, but as a scar.
6. Batman (1989)
This was the role that silenced doubters and reshaped a genre. Keaton’s Bruce Wayne isn’t flashy—he’s haunted, careful, and emotionally armored. Every pause, every glance, is calculated like a knight in chess. He brought depth where there had only been camp, anchoring Tim Burton’s bold vision. His Batman whispers rather than roars, yet every word carries weight. The cowl fits like second skin, but the pain behind it is all Keaton. Superheroes would never be the same after this.
5. Beetlejuice (1988)
Keaton vanishes inside this chaos demon with stripes and slime, creating a character so iconic it outlived the movie. He’s unhinged, hilarious, grotesque—part game show host, part ghostly gremlin. The energy is volcanic, erupting in every direction. Yet beneath the shrieking and pranks is an actor with precise comic control. He’s disgusting and delightful in equal measure. Few performances feel this unchained yet so expertly delivered. It’s a haunted house, and Keaton is the poltergeist with panache.
4. Spotlight (2015)
Here, Keaton turns the volume way down and the impact way up. As the editor leading the Boston Globe’s investigation, he’s all quiet tension and ethical fire. He listens more than he speaks, but when he does, it cuts. His conviction builds like a drumbeat, steady and unrelenting. No theatrics, just journalistic gravity. He carries the story’s soul on his shoulders. In a film about truth, he’s the moral compass.
3. Birdman (2014)
Meta, manic, and masterful, Keaton confronts his past and future in one hallucinatory shot. He walks the edge of breakdown and brilliance like a tightrope. His performance is a high-wire act—physically grueling, emotionally naked. Every monologue is a mirror, reflecting career regrets and creative hunger. You can’t tell where the character ends and the actor begins—and that’s the genius. He soars without a cape here, proving reinvention is the ultimate act. It’s not just a comeback—it’s a resurrection.
2. Worth (2020)
Keaton slows his pace to match the weight of justice in this post-9/11 legal drama. He plays attorney Kenneth Feinberg with bone-deep empathy and firm resolve. Every case he hears chips away at his detachment. His growth isn’t loud—it’s in the silences, the listening, the reconsidering. You watch a man learn the value of a life, not by law but by loss. His restraint makes the performance sing. Sometimes power lies in simply hearing the pain.
1. Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014)
Yes, again—because it’s not just Keaton’s best performance, it’s a cinematic event. He bleeds through the screen as a former superhero star unraveling onstage and off. The film’s single-take illusion mirrors his psychological spiral perfectly. He’s ego and insecurity, fire and collapse, all rolled into one. His eyes flicker between desperation and defiance. Watching him is like witnessing art implode and rebuild itself. It’s not just acting—it’s exorcism.
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