| “ | This is my play! | „ |
| ~ Riggan to Mike. |
Riggan Thomson also formally known as Birdman is the main protagonist of the 2014 academy award winning black comedy Birdman (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance).
He is played by Michael Keaton who also played Ken from Toy Story 3 and most notably Batman in the first two films of the Batman live action tetralogy as well as the 2023 film adaptation of The Flash.
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Riggan is a famous actor who is known for playing a superhero called "Birdman" in his theater who also does other various acts.
During rehearsals, a light fixture falls onto Ralph, an actor Riggan and Jake agree is terrible; Riggan tells Jake he caused the light to fall so he could replace Ralph. Through a connection with Lesley, Riggan replaces Ralph with the brilliant but volatile method actor Mike, refinancing his house to fund his contract. The first previews go disastrously: Mike breaks character over the replacement of his gin with water, and attempts to rape Lesley during a sex scene. Riggan reads early press coverage and is incensed that Mike has stolen the attention, but Jake encourages him to continue. When Riggan catches Sam using marijuana, she tells him he does not matter and his play is a vanity project.
Backstage during the final preview, Riggan sees Sam and Mike flirting. He accidentally locks himself out of the theater and has to walk in his underwear through Times Square to get back inside; his popularity explodes online. Afterwards, he runs into influential critic Tabitha Dickinso , who tells him she hates Hollywood celebrities who "pretend" to be actors, and promises to "kill" his play with a negative review. Riggan gets drunk and passes out in the street. The next day, he hallucinates a conversation with Birdman, who tries to convince him to make another Birdman film, and sees himself flying through New York City back to the theater.
On opening night, Riggan uses a real gun for the final scene in which his character kills himself, and shoots his nose off onstage. He earns a standing ovation from all but Tabitha, who leaves during the applause. In the hospital, Jake tells Riggan that Tabitha gave the play a rave review, dubbing his suicide attempt as the creation of a new form of method acting she calls "Super-Realism". After Sam visits Riggan, he dismisses Birdman and sees birds climbing onto the window ledge. When Sam returns, Riggan is gone. She looks down at the street, then up at the sky and smiles.