Mags Gargan“It builds who you are”
American actor Michael Keaton (pictured) has praised the education he received at a Catholic school, saying that it shaped him as a person. The 63-year-old actor, who is best known for his roles as Batman and Beetlejuice, said in an interview that his upcoming film Spotlight, about a Catholic sex abuse scandal in Massachusetts, threatened to make him “angry and depressed” due to the dark subject matter, but his own experience of growing up as a Catholic had a positive impact on his life.
''I liked going to Catholic school,” he said. “My experience was fine. It was classic knuckle-rapping and stand in the corner and corporal punishment. But it was just sort of what it was. I didn’t come away scarred for life. It builds who you are.”
Altar boy
The star, whose film Birdman is currently in cinemas, also said he enjoyed being an altar boy. “Me and my buddies got to go and serve Mass and go to school. I didn’t go to church all the time just ‘cause I was an antsy kid. It was a good experience for me. It probably does shape who you are and what you believe in.’’
Spotlight focuses on the Boston Globe newspaper’s investigation of the Massachusetts Catholic sex abuse scandal, and Keaton said his Catholic background helped him in the difficult role.