Michael Keaton Turned Down The Chance To Star In 'Groundhog Day' And 'Lost'

It's difficult to imagine anyone but Bill Murray in "Groundhog Day" and unfathomable imagining another actor telling Evangeline Lily they need to go back to an island on ABC's "Lost," but it nearly happened.

While making the press rounds for his new movie "Birdman," Michael Keaton tells Entertainment Weekly he passed up on the two big roles.

Keaton says he turned down the lead in 1980's "Groundhog Day" because he "didn't get it."

"This guy sounds like the kind of wry, sardonic, glib young man I've played-and it ended up being so great," Keaton tells EW. "But you can't do it better than Bill Murray did it."

It's a role Keaton tells the magazine he regrets passing up.

Keaton went on to star in Tim Burton's 1989 superhero movie, "Batman." Funny enough, Murray was reportedly considered for that role. Murray told MTV News in 2008 he "would have been a fine Batman."

Keaton also passed up the opportunity to star as the lead on ABC's hit show "Lost."

Via EW:

"He turned down Matthew Fox's role in the Lost pilot when ABC convinced J.J. Abrams that he had to keep the character alive after the first two hours."

ABC screenshotMatthew Fox starred as Jack in ABC's "Lost.""Lost" went on to air for six seasons receiving a Golden Globe win for best television series. Fox was nominated in 2010 at the Primetime Emmys for outstanding lead actor in a drama series.

Keaton tells EW he has no regrets on passing on the show because he didn't want to do a TV series.

You can read a portion of EW's Michael Keaton interview here. The full interview is in the October 17 issue of EW.