You know him as Michael Keaton, but the actor is planning to change his name in show business. Born Michael Douglas — just like the two-time Wall Street Oscar winner — the Beetlejuice star opened up in a new interview about choosing his professional moniker when starting out in the ’70s due to the Screen Actors Guild rule that prohibits two members from having the same name.
Keaton told People he doesn’t recall if he found his chosen name in a phone book like the rumors suggest, but added, “I must’ve gone, ‘I don’t know, let me think of something here.’ And I went, ‘Oh, that sounds reasonable.’”
Despite making a name for himself — quite literally — throughout his decadeslong career, starring in movies like Birdman and even playing Batman, the actor said he’d like to go by a combination of his birth name and stage name: Michael Keaton Douglas.
In fact, Keaton said he intended to be credited with the hybrid name on Knox Goes Away, the film he directed and starred in that was released in theaters earlier this year, but simply “forgot.”
“It totally got away from me,” he said. “And I forgot to give them enough time to put it in and create that. But it will happen.”
“Michael Keaton” can next be seen on the big screen in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, the long-awaited sequel coming more than 35 years after the original, out Friday.
Why Michael Keaton Wants to Use His Birth Name
The actor explained that while he was born “Michael Douglas,” he was unable to use that name in Hollywood given that another Oscar-winning actor and the son of Kirk Douglas, Michael Douglas, was already using it. Mike Douglas was also spoken for by the famous talk-show host. The Screen Actors Guild prohibits two performers from using the same name, so Keaton chose Keaton.
Michael Keaton Wants to Blend His Past and Present Names
While Keaton has made quite an accomplished name for himself as “Michael Keaton,” the actor would like to be known professionally as “Michael Keaton Douglas.” He planned on doing just that for his recent directorial effort “Knox Goes Away.” In the hustle of making the film, however, Keaton forgot to seal it on screen.
“I said, ‘Hey, just as a warning, my credit is going to be Michael Keaton Douglas.’ And it totally got away from me,” he explained. “And I forgot to give them enough time to put it in and create that. But that will happen.”
Michael Keaton Douglas Is Not The Only One
Keaton isn’t the first Hollywood A-lister to decide to revert back to their birth name in a professional setting. Emma Stone, who coincidentally starred alongside Keaton in 2014’s “Birdman,” previously announced her intentions of returning to her first name of Emily. “That would be so nice,” she told The Hollywood Reporter in an interview published April 24. “I would like to be Emily.”
In fact, Stone said that several of her colleagues already do. “When I get to know them, people that I work with do,” she explained. “I freaked out a couple of years ago. For some reason, I was like, ‘I can’t do it anymore. Just call me Emily.’”
Is Michael Keaton Douglas the Next Big Name?
Although Keaton’s new name is rather lengthy, it’s not unheard of for actors to adopt longer names. For instance, the actor known as Cary Grant was actually Archibald Leach. Perhaps “Michael Keaton Douglas” will be the next big name in Hollywood.
