Keaton says he believes he let the director down, admitting he was “clueless.”
Turns out award-winning actor Michael Keaton can also be self-critical of his performances.
While speaking to The New York Times — alongside his Beetlejuice Beetlejuice cast members to promote the highly anticipated sequel — the two-time Golden Globe winner opened up about his past working with director Tim Burton.
“I love working with Tim so much, but I don’t think we ever really analyzed why we work pretty well together; we just do,” the 72-year-old said, before recalling the film in which he felt he didn’t do his best.
“I think I let him down on one movie, but that’s just me, and it bugs me to this day. I was clueless on Dumbo. I sucked in Dumbo.”
Burton, who was also in the interview interjected — adding, “I don’t even know what you’re talking about, but whatever.”
Keaton played the role of V. A. Vandevere alongside Danny DeVito’s Medici and Colin Farrell’s Holt Farrier in the live-action adaptation, based on the 1941 animated classic of the same name.
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Interestingly, Burton just recently revealed he was going to retire after filming Dumbo … but not because of Burton’s performance.
While speaking to Variety about receiving a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the 65-year-old director looked back on his career and how he came to a crossroads after directing the 2019 film.
“Honestly, after Dumbo I really didn’t know. I thought that could have been it, really. I could have retired, or become … Well, I wouldn’t have become an animator again, that’s over,” he said, before adding that both Wednesday and the Beetlejuice sequel “did reenergize” him.
“Oftentimes, when you get into Hollywood, you try to be responsible to what you’re doing with the budget and everything else but sometimes you might lose yourself a little bit,” he added. “This reinforced the feeling for me that it’s important that I do what I want to do, because then everybody will benefit.”
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice just premiered at the Venice Film Festival, before its theatrical release on September 6.
