Michael Keaton arrives at the premiere of "Goodrich" on Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024, in Los Angeles.
Michael Keaton arrives at the premiere of "Goodrich" on Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024, in Los Angeles.Jordan Strauss/Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP
Michael Keaton may be a big Pittsburgh sports fan, but he’s got a lot of respect for Boston’s teams.
Ahead of his appearance in Cambridge Friday for Hasty Pudding’s 2026 Man of the Year ceremony, the “Batman” and “Spotlight” actor spoke with the Globe about the honor (which happens to coincide with the 10th anniversary of “Spotlight” winning the Oscar for best picture), and shared his thoughts about Sunday’s Super Bowl.
“They deserve all the credit for turning that team around in two years,” Keaton said of the surprisingly successful Patriots season and playoff run, praising head coach Mike Vrabel. “I love that coach, by the way.”
While Keaton stopped short of sharing a prediction, he thinks it’s “going to be a really good one.” Keaton also noted that he’s got love for the Seahawks too, and praised the NFL for being “so much better than most of the professional leagues because of their parity.”
“I think there are about four or five or six teams that they could have gotten in and would have made this Super Bowl a good one,” Keaton said. “There’s a lot of good teams right now.”
What Keaton isn’t a fan of, however, is former Patriots head coach Bill Belichick not being inducted on the first ballot to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
“This snubbing of Bill Belichick for not going first round is insane,” Keaton said. “I mean, you don’t have to like the guy. I don’t have a problem with him, but I guess some people do.”
“But that’s ridiculous that he doesn’t get in,” Keaton added. “It’s just stupid.”
In addition to his takes on the Patriots, Bostonians should be pleasantly surprised to hear that the actor also grew up a Celtics fan, as his hometown of Pittsburgh lacks an NBA team.
“For a period of time there, I was a big Celtics fan,” Keaton said. “I don’t even want to mention the years because you’ll hear and go, ‘Wow, this [expletive] is really old.’”
As for Keaton’s beloved Pittsburgh teams, the actor said he’s a fervent and long-suffering Pirates fan. However, his Penguins are doing well this season.
“You have no idea [about] my pain,” Keaton said. “I got a good hockey team this year, though. They’re pretty damn good.”
Matt Juul can be reached at matthew.juul@globe.com.