Actor Michael Keaton has a secret. Actually, it’s not as much a secret as it is something most people don’t know about him. His real name is not Michael Keaton.
A lot of actors have stage names, some going by middle names or changing their name for a more appealing name that fans will remember. In Keaton’s case, he had no choice but to choose to use a stage name that is different than his birth name.
You see, Michael is his real first name, but Keaton is not his last name by birth. His last name is actually Douglas, which makes him Michael Douglas.
The Screen Actor’s Guild has a rule that each member has to have a different name. When Keaton joined the union, there was already a Michael Douglas, you know, the famous actor, and there was already a Mike Douglas, who is a talk show host. That’s when Keaton became Michael Keaton instead of Michael Douglas.
Keaton told PEOPLE that it was somewhat random how he chose his stage name. He explained, “I was looking through — I can’t remember if it was a phone book.” He continued, “I must’ve gone, ‘I don’t know, let me think of something here.’ And I went, ‘Oh, that sounds reasonable.’”
Yes, he chose his name out of a phone book.
Now, Keaton, er, Douglas, would like to start going by Douglas in the credits of his films. After decades of going by Keaton, he doesn’t want to confuse fans too much. He would like his name to read Michael Keaton Douglas in his upcoming projects.
One of Keaton’s most recent projects is the film “Beetlejuice Beatlejuice” in which he reprises his role in the original film as the title character, Beetlejuice. Keaton recently sat down with TODAY’s Al Roker to discuss the film. Watch the video below to hear what he had to say about working on the original film and the 2024 sequel.
Do you think Keaton should continue to go by Keaton in the credits since he has for so many years?
