Michael Keaton, 65, was an unlikely prospect for movie stardom. He grew up in a small town near Pittsburgh, the youngest child in a large working-class family. He attended Ohio’s Kent State University, dropped out and returned to Pittsburgh and got a job on the TV crew of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. In the mid-1970s, he headed to Los Angeles to become an actor, landing small roles on Maude, Working Stiffs and other TV sitcoms. His first movie success was the comedy Night Shift in 1982, which won him important critical attention. That same year Keaton, then 31, married actress Caroline McWilliams, 37, and they had a son, Sean.
Keaton went on to make a series of more movie comedies and, by the time his marriage ended in 1990, he was a rich, world-famous movie star living on a big ranch in Montana, his lifestyle underwritten by hit films like Mr. Mom, Beetlejuice and Batman. McWilliams died of multiple myeloma in 2010. They had stayed close following their divorce.
Two years ago, Keaton came roaring back with an astonishing performance in Birdman, which won the Academy Award for Best Picture. Last year, he was widely acclaimed for his role in Spotlight, the 2016 Oscar winner for Best Picture. Now Keaton is going for a trifecta with his performance in The Founder, the new drama based on Ray Kroc, the businessman who built McDonald’s into a fast-food empire. It will be released on Jan. 20.
Why did you choose to make The Founder?
I consider myself blessed to go from Birdman to Spotlight to The Founder. McDonald’s Ray Kroc is not a lovable guy, but he’s got an extraordinary work ethic and a decency—although once he sells his soul to the devil, he becomes a different, almost sadistic human being.
You’ve been a movie star for decades, and yet Birdman was seen by many as your comeback film.
I’m willing to accept the comeback thing, that’s totally fine with me. Birdman is a great film and it’s extremely fortunate that it came around when it did. It’s in the win column, and I try to get as many things in the win column as I can.
Wasn’t your career in decline before Birdman?
You do some bad films, you go quiet for a while, you’re not popular for a while—all that crap happens to everybody. It was happening to me, and I said, “I’m going to figure out a way to slowly get back to where I want to be.” Ultimately, I was going to win. Birdman was not some weird stroke of luck. I put myself in a position for things like that to come my way. I got everything else out of my mind, and I slowly, methodically figured out how to get myself where I wanted to be. When Birdman came around, yes, it was extremely good fortune, but it happened by me methodically saying, “If it’s coming down to me winning or losing, I’m going to win.”
How did you do that exactly?
I started slowly selecting certain roles in certain movies for no money, or for little money, and people started to take notice. And it was a quick jab in one little movie, and then it was other quick jabs in other little movies, and people said, “I had forgotten that he could hit.” And then it was Birdman. It’s not like it just came out of nowhere.
You’re returning to the comic book superhero genre by doing Spider-Man next. Why?
Why would I not? I have played bad guys, but I’ve not played one of these villains. And also, to be 100 percent honest, I’ve been doing movies where they don’t pay you very much. You can only do those for so long. Thank God my kid’s making a living. I’ve got stuff to pay for. I have a lifestyle I have to pay for.
What was your family like?
My mother’s family comes from Ireland by way of England. We were raised very Catholic because of my devout mother. I was an altar boy. We lived out in the country near McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania, a tough, working-class mill town just down the Ohio River from Pittsburgh. My mom’s dad, a big, tough Irish Catholic whom she idolized, worked in the mill. My dad was a farm boy who became an engineer. He was self-made.
You were the youngest of seven children?
I was the baby.
So you were everybody’s darling?
[Laughs] How could I not be? What people don’t realize about being the youngest is all the stuff you put up with.
Like what?
Oh, getting beat up and wearing hand-me-down clothes that look so stupid on you for years and years. And being left out of everything that you want to be part of. I’ve given up on trying to explain the downside of it. I just go, “Of course I was spoiled! I loved every minute of it!”
Wasn’t your mother disabled?
My mother had a massive, life-altering stroke when I was 18. She lost the use of one side of her body. She took care of us and herself with just one good hand.
How did her stroke affect you emotionally?
It was life-changing. Heartbreaking. You feel helpless.
Did you turn to acting because of that tragedy?
I was always interested in creative things, anything where I could lose myself.
Tell me about your son, Sean. You’ve said he’s your best friend.
Yeah. He’s excellent. He’s married, and lives here in Los Angeles. He’s a very successful songwriter.
How did you convey good values to your boy?
Mostly by example. It’s not all that complicated. His mom and I are back-East people. She was from Rhode Island, I’m from Pennsylvania. We came from really good families. When Sean was little, whenever we had a break, we went back East. Sean said, “I think God put me in the wrong place. I think I was meant to live in Pittsburgh.” I give Caroline a lot of the credit, and I give me some of the credit too.
Is it difficult being a dad when you are also a big movie star?
If you like something, you tend to be good at it. I always wanted to be a dad. I really enjoy it. I don’t feel I’m special because I’ve been a good dad and raised a good kid. That’s what you’re supposed to do. And Sean was an easy kid to raise, a funny, thoughtful, sensitive boy, but not too sensitive, really a joy.
You kept him away from the Hollywood scene by living in Montana?
Yes, I guess I did.
Did Sean ever want to be a movie star, like his dad? Many Hollywood progeny do.
He wasn’t interested. Honestly, I’m very grateful.
When did you first begin to act?
I took a theater class and did a play at Kent State. I was not very good, but I was clearly honing in on being a creative person.
I had to drop out of college twice to make money to pay for college. After the second time I never went back. I drove a cab in Pittsburgh and worked at PBS during the day. I did a play, and I did stand-up comedy in little clubs. I wasn’t dependent upon anybody, which is freedom.
Why go into showbiz rather than have a normal career?
Because you have to finally admit what you are. I was just never going to have a job like most people have.
You wanted to be rich and famous?
No. I was basically doing it for the thing itself. You’ll never be great at anything if you don’t genuinely love what you do.
I was talking to a friend one day and he said, “You should come out to L.A. It’s wide open.” So I went and hung out with my Pittsburgh friends.
You seem a lucky man. Where are you happiest?
Oh, wow, that’s a good question. I would say it’s mostly when I’m with my son, sitting on my porch at the ranch. That’s family. Becoming a dad was the best decision I ever made.
But you divorced his mom.
My getting a divorce was a failure.
What if your career failed too, and you lost it all?
If they took this away from me, I’d probably survive pretty well. I’ll be able to do something. I’ll find another way to make a living. I’ll be fine. I ain’t ever going down!
In the film, you depict Ray Kroc’s aggressive acquisitiveness and questionable deal-making. Kroc made billions and yet it is said he was untrustworthy, a drunk, abusive to women. Is the movie in some way a comment on Donald Trump?
Allegedly. Ray did make billions, and did drink. But I don’t think he was abusive to women.
Speaking of Trump—I’m told you supported Bernie Sanders?
I’ve got to tell you, man, I love him. Every time I hear him speak I try to find the hole in his argument, and I can’t. There isn’t any. He’s 100 percent right. Bernie Sanders talks about equity, the need to create new jobs. Fair is fair and, for me, everything breaks down to that.
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