Michael Keaton Criticizes His Performance in Tim Burton’s Dumbo: ‘I Was Clueless’

Michael Keaton Criticizes His Performance in Tim Burton’s Dumbo: ‘I Was Clueless’

Michael Keaton Criticizes His Performance in Tim Burton’s Dumbo: ‘I Was Clueless’

Michael Keaton feels his performance in Tim Burton’s live-action Dumbo was far from his best work, expressing regret over his role in the 2019 Disney film.

In a recent interview, the Oscar-nominated actor, who is also set to star in Burton’s upcoming Beetlejuice sequel, admitted he was disappointed with his performance in the Dumbo remake. Despite a successful history of collaborations with Burton, including Beetlejuice (1988) and Batman (1989), Keaton feels he missed the mark in the 2019 film.

“I love working with Tim so much, but I don’t think we ever really analyzed why we work well together; we just do,” Keaton, 72, told The New York Times. “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.”

Tim Burton, who was also part of the conversation, quickly reassured Keaton. “I don’t even know what you’re talking about,” Burton said. “But whatever.”

Entertainment Weekly has reached out to Burton’s representative for further comments.

Keaton and Burton first worked together on the original Beetlejuice and later on the Batman films. In Dumbo, Burton cast Keaton as the villainous V.A. Vandevere, who exploits the titular elephant in a carnival setting. Burton also reunited with Danny DeVito, who played a circus ringmaster in the film.

DeVito reflected on their past collaborations, saying, “In Batman, [Keaton] plays the good guy. Now in Dumbo, I play the good guy, and he plays the bad guy. I needle him about it all the time,” DeVito told EW. “When [Burton] called and said he was going to do this, it’s a joyful thing. I know I’m going to be there.”

While Dumbo received mostly negative reviews from critics, it was still a commercial success, earning $353 million globally.

Burton’s latest project, Beetlejuice — which also features the return of Catherine O’Hara and Winona Ryder from the original film — premieres at the Venice Film Festival on Wednesday night before its theatrical release on September 6.

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