STACK July 2017 Issue 153

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who earned a 2015 Oscar nod for
his performance as a troubled
former superhero in Alejandro G.
Iñárritu’s Birdman.
Known for his intense
approach to characters, Keaton
enjoys understanding his
character’s backstory, even if he
does confess to not studying
the original Marvel comics. “I’ve
got a lot of other things to do
in my life,” he says with a sly
smile
“The Vulture is a working
class guy who has built up a
great business. He’s not
who I would call a classic villain
– he’s more of an ‘interesting’
villain.
“But I think it’s
an interesting and
coincidentally timely
approach. He’s a guy
who’s working hard but
struggling to just get by.
He feels like he’s one of
the have-nots and deserves
a bigger piece of the pie.”
Keaton has nothing but
praise for Tom Holland, 21, who
first debuted his Peter Parker in last
year’s Captain America: Civil War, and is now
headlining his own movie. “Tom is fantastic.
He’s a really good kid and he’s really good in
this, a good actor.”
He laughs when STACK asks about his
stunts, after we witness a fiery showdown
between him and Parker on a beach. “I don’t
do as many stunts as Tom, that’s for sure,
although I’m not in it as much as Tom. I actually
brought in the guy who did some stuntwork
for me in Birdman because he’s so skilled, so I
recommended him. This is certainly nothing like
Batman for me.”
Fascinated by changing technology, he points
to his smartphone. “I never thought I would
own one of these. I just thought I’d carry on
with my little flip phone. But then I became
fascinated with computerisation and now I
attend a university clinic twice a year to see
how computerisation and robotics is applied in
entertainment,” says the actor, who lives like a
cowboy on his Montana ranch half the year.
“But in terms of what my friend calls
fakebook, I have no interest in letting people
know where I am or what I’m doing.”
008 JULY 2017
visit CINEMA FEATURE
As more and more veteran A-listers jump
into the superhero universe, for Michael
Keaton, Spider-Man: Homecoming is
not his first rodeo.
Debuting his Vulture, aka Adrian Toomes, the
“homecoming” in the title could just as easily
refer to Keaton’s own personal homecoming
to the comic book world; his Batman
performances – in Tim Burton’s 1989 and 1992
movies – landing him on many lists as the
ultimate Caped Crusader.
As Batman’s LEGO incarnation, Will Arnett
cited Keaton’s performance as being the best of
all the Bat-dudes, outperforming both Christian
Bale and Ben Affleck’s later incarnations.
In the three decades since Keaton
last suited up as a superhero, the
actor marvels at the changes
in technology when STACK
meets with him between
takes on the Atlanta
set of Spider-Man:
Homecoming, but adds
that the work itself isn't
really different.
“I just show up and do
my work and they explain
how it works and what we
are doing," he says. "That
aspect is no different than when
I first started doing this for a living. I
just talk to the director and say 'this is what I
am thinking.'
“Of course I want to know The Vulture’s
background and I ask my questions and give
the director my opinion, but I’m naive about
what happens after that,” says Keaton, 65,
Michael Keaton certainly has the experience to play The Vulture in
Spider-Man: Homecoming. Words Gill Pringle
BIRD-MAN
Spider-Man: Homecoming is in cinemas July 6
He’s not who I would
call a classic villain
– he’s more of an
‘interesting’ villain