Michael Keaton and Michelle Pfeiffer met on
the set of Batman and started dating. Sounds like it could be one of those typical
Hollywood romances, right? Except that it wasn't! Stay with Rumour Juice and learn why Keaton
actually vetoed Pfeiffer in Batman and what it has to do with his marriage. Intrigued? But before we proceed, subscribe to our channel
and hit that notification bell for non-typical Hollywood stories! Michael Keaton, who is currently 70, was married
only once, from 1982 to 1990. The actor in his prime Hollywood years and
Caroline McWilliams welcomed their son Sean the next year after they got married. Bear with us, you will get in a while why
we mentioned this. What you might NOT know is that Michelle Pfeiffer,
who was regarded as one of the most prolific actresses of that time, was the first pick
for Vicki Vale in the 1989's Batman movie. But the producers eventually ended up with
Kim Basinger), since Keaton vetoed Michelle as Vicki because they had recently dated and
broken up. It had been maintained for years that Michael
didn't want to feel the awkwardness of acting alongside his ex. However, that doesn't really explain why he
was cool with her playing Catwoman and licking his face in Batman Returns just three years
later... However, the truth turned out to be more complicated
than that. Several years ago Robert Wuhl , who played
the journalist Alexander Knox in the film, explained: “To put a little fly in the ointment, Michael
Keaton and Michelle Pfeiffer had previously dated and broken up. At the time, Michael told me he was trying
to get back with his ex-wife. Keaton was firmly, and underline firmly, against
that casting of Pfeiffer and he and Peters got into it.” Interestingly, Keaton and Pfeiffer dated and
split while Keaton was still married. So, what actually happened? Was Keaton against casting Pfeiffer because
he was afraid of getting back together with the actress? Or was the stars' romance the reason for the
following divorce? Or maybe Keaton just had his own idea of how
to mend things between him and wife, and that idea definitely didn't involve Michelle? So, after the divorce in 1990, Keaton obviously
didn't mind co-starring with Pfeiffer in the Batman Returns film. Years later, when asked by Elle what he would
advise a young actor in regard to successfully co-starring with a former partner, Michael
said: "Be a pro. Be a man. And be a grownup about it". We wonder if he could give that tip to his
own younger self featuring in the first Batman film… We wonder, just wonder… Looks like the Scarface actress didn't waste
her time mourning the loss of her relationship with Keaton. She got married in 1993 and has been married
ever since. Actually, it was her second marriage. The first one apparently ended right before
she started hanging out with Keaton. Pfeiffer tied the knot for the first time
with actor Peter Horton when she was 22 years old. She disclosed in one of her interviews: "I broke one of my own Ten Commandments never
to date an actor, especially one you study with. Then I married one!" But then as it often happens with young couples
- they started, quote, "growing up and our needs changed". By the time Pfeiffer tied the knot again,
she definitely knew what she wanted in her partner and in her family. Pfeiffer had begun an adoption process while
she was single, and then she met her now-husband, TV producer David E. Kelley. So she welcomed a daughter, Claudia, and her
new relationship at once. Soon she gave birth to a baby boy. Having gained huge recognition and prominence
in the 80s and 90s, the A-list star decided to stop working while her children were young,
to spend more time with them. She also chose to begin the process of dissolving
her film production company and moved into semi-retirement, meaning that she would continue
to star in films sporadically into the 2000s and beyond. “I actually went overboard in separating
the kids from my work, so much so that they found out through their friends how famous
I was … The world knew more about my work than [my daughter] did.” This marriage has been going strong for nearly
30 years and one of the secrets to it, according to Pfeiffer, is not working together. "I've seen a lot of couples where they seem
to have a really great marriage, then they work together and next year they're filing
for divorce." Thus, she definitely prioritizes her relationship
over getting a role in her husband's popular show. Keaton, on the other hand, had a more turbulent
dating history and hasn't settled down till the moment. Just a reminder: the actor is 70 years old. The actor's only wife sadly died of cancer
2 decades after their split. In one of his rare comments about Williams,
Keaton credited his ex-wife for passing good values to their son. Keaton had another quite serious relationship
in the public eyes, and based on the timeline - it instantly followed the period when he
tried to get back with his wife. The lady we are talking about is Friends star,
Courteney Cox. The two were introduced to each other by a
mutual friend when she confessed that she liked Keaton in 1988's Clean and Sober. The thirteen-year age gap was not a problem
for either of them. So was not the problem the fact that Michael
was already a huge-profile movie star and Courteney was only about to become one. Speaking about the details of their first
date, Cox said: "We talked for five hours. We talked about our dream homes — the great
ones we'd seen and the kind we'd like to build ourselves." Fun fact: that date took place in Cox's home
because the famous actor didn't want to attract the attention of paparazzi. The rest is history, as they say. And by the rest we mean nearly 6 years into
their dating. The couple looked so fulfilled that tabloids
were constantly gossiping about the alleged marriage coming. The lovebirds were doing everything together,
like many couples usually do. But not many couples can boast of running
lines together! Courtney shared once: "He always came up with the most clever ways
of making a line funny. No matter how upset or pissed off I was, Michael
could make a little face and crack me up." Now imagine the shock when the world learned
in 1995 that Keaton and Cox called it quits. "It's the most important relationship I've
ever had, and I think he's the most wonderful person I've ever met. We still love each other.” At the time, Cox didn’t rule out a reconciliation,
and her mom was a staunch supporter of it. Courteney Copeland told People: “They were
always trying to work on themselves. They need to forget that and accept each other
the way they are — and just get married.” But this never happened. Since then, Keaton has been occasionally spotted
with mysterious women. That's right, tabloids tagged them as mysterious
and tried to find proof of any romance whatsoever. Basically, Keaton completely went under the
radar with his personal life and eventually with his professional life as well. In the mid-2000s, his career stalled. As Keaton described this period, “Maybe
I got bored with acting. That sounds so cavalier: “I was bored.” But I probably did get a little bored with
myself. People forget about you, and I’m off doing
other things.” While there is nothing specific we can say
about the actor's love life, luckily we can talk about his brilliant comeback in the past
decade. The recent sensation featuring the actor is
definitely Dopesick mini-series. Upon receiving the Screen Actors Guild Award
for the show in February, 2022, Keaton dedicated the award to his late nephew who died in 2016
following an accidental overdose from heroin and the synthetic opioid fentanyl. His nephew's death at the age of just 35 played
a huge part in Keaton taking the role of a doctor in the series which chronicles the
nation's opioid crisis. In his emotional speech, the Dopesick star
said: "We lost my nephew Michael to drugs, and it
hurts". There is no doubt Keaton's performance in
the main role was brilliant. You should definitely watch the show if you
haven't yet. And we do hope to keep seeing the Batman actor
on the big screen despite his senior age. Getting back to Keaton and Pfeiffer, it looks
like there are no hard feelings between these two. Pfeiffer is happily married, Keaton is happily
single, and both are mature about their present and past relationships. That's all for today! Rumour Juice loves you! And remember, we are always looking forward
to your comments!
