10 Movie Performances Which Saved An Actor’s Career

With Michael Keaton largely becoming a box office superstar and household name thanks to his performance as Bruce Wayne/Batman in Tim Burton's Batman and Batman Returns, it felt strangely fitting that the role which catapulted him back into the spotlight involved him playing an actor trying his best to escape the shadow of his most iconic (masked superhero) character. It's almost as if it was intentional...

In the years following his decision to step away from the Caped Crusader, Keaton rarely appeared in anything that wasn't considered a disappointment or forgettable. However, he did lend his voice to a number of animated features, such as Cars and Toy Story 3, which definitely went down well with audiences.

From the second Keaton arrived on screen in Alejandro G. Iñárritu's 2014 feature though, fans and critics alike all sensed something special was on the horizon. And they were right to do so.

Desperately attempting to repair his reputation as a performer by appearing in a Broadway show, all while trying to salvage his relationship with his daughter, Keaton is an absolute force of nature throughout this continuously shot feature. Inevitably, the performance saw him nominated for Best Actor at that year's Academy Awards.

In the years since rediscovering his mojo in Birdman, Keaton has gone on to star in critical and commercial successes like Spotlight, The Founder, the MCU's Spider-Man: Homecoming and most recently Netflix's The Trial of the Chicago 7.