Michael Keaton’s Dumbo Blues: “It Bugs Me To This Day”

Michael Keaton Reflects on His “Dumbo” Regret: “It Bugs Me to This Day”

by Wat-Not Staff August 28, 2024, 6:13 pm 1.7k Views

Keaton's "Dumbo" Revelation, I Didn't Live Up to the Role (Image Source-official page)

The performer disclosed that his performance in Dumbo continues to haunt him. Keaton said that he felt like he “sucked” in the part and that he still felt regret from the experience. This shocking admission from a seasoned actor has spurred conversations on the difficulties of accepting unusual parts and the need to always give a performance that stands out.

What Keaton Has to Say?

The 72-year-old actor discussed his involvement in Tim Burton’s 2019 film Dumbo in a new interview with The New York Times that was released on Tuesday, August 27, alongside co-stars Winona Ryder and Catherine O’Hara.

Alongside Colin Farrell’s Holt Farrier and Danny DeVito’s Medici, Keaton portrayed V. A. Vandevere in the film. The film, which is based on the 1941 animated masterpiece, tells the story of a young elephant who transforms from a laughingstock to a circus star.

“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,” Keaton said. “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 Nonplussed

Burton recently spoke with The New York Times. Naturally, Burton took issue with Keaton’s evaluation.

”I don’t even know what you’re talking about, but whatever,” he responded—but the auteur does not seem to be a particular fan of his remake, either. “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 with a laugh in a recent Variety interview. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice “reenergized him,” he has reiterated, adding that “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. This reinforced the feeling for me that it’s important that I do what I want to do, because then everybody will benefit.”