Movies Michael Keaton had a 'really practical' reason for coming up with his Batman voice At a Q&A, the actor discussed developing the Bruce Wayne/Batman character for Tim Burton's original 1989 film. By Lester Fabian Brathwaite Lester Fabian Brathwaite Lester Fabian Brathwaite is a staff writer at Entertainment Weekly, where he covers breaking news, all things Real Housewives, and a rich cornucopia of popular culture. Formerly a senior editor at Out magazine, his work has appeared on NewNowNext, Queerty, Rolling Stone, and The New Yorker. He was also the first author signed to Phoebe Robinson's Tiny Reparations imprint. He met Oprah once. EW's editorial guidelines Published on June 4, 2023 08:48PM EDT He's Batman. Michael Keaton had a Batcave full of ideas when he first approached donning the cape and cowl of Gotham's favorite billionaire turned vigilante in Tim Burton's Batman. Keaton thought about everything with his characterization, including the now famous gravelly Batman voice. "He's got two personalities. The guy is not psychotic but not far from it. Controlled psychosis," Keaton told Empire magazine in a new Q&A. "In order for me to justify all this, I can't be changing the oil on the Batmobile and then saying, 'Well, I have to kill some people.' So he probably ends up going into some deep, deep trance, which is a scene that I don't think ever made it in." Michael Keaton as Batman. Warner Bros/Dc Comics/Kobal/Shutterstock "How do you justify the voice?" Keaton continued. "It's cheesy but I figured once he's in the trance, he doesn't think like he does like Bruce Wayne, doesn't act like he does. So the voice came out of that, it was a really practical thing." And the rest is history. History that has been repeated by every actor who's since slipped into Batman's cinematic rubber suit and brought their own take to that "controlled psychosis" voice. Keaton was an unconventional choice to play the Caped Crusader, not that Tim Burton was all that logical either. But after the success of 1988's Beetlejuice, Burton approached Keaton with the role, and found a willing partner in his ideas for a movie he couldn't "imagine anyone would want to make." Of course, Batman was a big hit and Keaton and Burton teamed up again for 1992's superior Batman Returns. Keaton will once again hop behind the wheel of the Batmobile as Batman in The Flash, and he and Burton are working together again with the long-awaited sequel to Beetlejuice. Want more movie news? Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free newsletter to get the latest trailers, celebrity interviews, film reviews, and more. Related content: Batman rewatch: 1989's chaotic Joker showcase hides its weirdest instincts behind empty excess The Flash movie trailer with Ezra Miller reveals Michael Keaton's Batman return It's showtime: Beetlejuice 2 is officially happening in 2024