Michael Keaton Wants to Start Using His Real Name Professionally for the First Time: Why He’s Hesitated

Choosing a stage name is part of the game when breaking into show business. A lot of the time, your real name is already taken by another celebrity or maybe you want to give yourself a fresh start with a new name.

Well, for Michael Keaton, it was the former. When the Academy Award-winning actor, born as Michael Douglas, was starting out his career, he knew he couldn’t use his birth name as there was already a Michael Douglas in the Screen Actors Guild. Members are prohibited from using another member’s professional name, even if it's the same as their own.

So, what did Keaton do? He chose his new stage name from a phone book. “ I was looking through ’ — I can’t remember if it was a phone book. I must’ve gone, ‘I don’t know, let me think of something here.’ And I went, ‘Oh, that sounds reasonable.’”

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What has Michael Keaton said about his name change decision?

Keaton shared while promoting his 1992 film, Batman Returns , that he was forced to change his name because of the SAG rule. “T here were already two people in the union with the name Michael Douglas, I got a job and contractually you couldn't have people of the same name.”

But now, the 73-year-old actor wants to bring back his real name. Keaton explained that from now on, he would like to be known as Michael Keaton Douglas on his projects, which he was supposed to do for his most recent film, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice .

“ I said, ‘Hey, just as a warning, my credit is going to be Michael Keaton Douglas.’ And it totally got away from me. And I forgot to give them enough time to put it in and create that. But that will happen.”

Why Michael Keaton’s name change might get a little confusing

Of course, Keaton is a very well-established actor, with projects like Beetlejuice (1988), Batman (1989) and Mr. Mom (1983) under his belt, so it would be hard to mix him up with anyone else. But with his new name change to Michael Keaton Douglas, you might mix the actor up with another big-time actor, Michael Douglas.

Not only are there two actors with the same name, but there is also a talk show host named Mike Douglas.

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Keaton says he is the true Michael Douglas

Keaton explained that technically he is the true Michael Douglas. The actor Michael Douglas (of Fatal Attraction and Basic Instinct) is not technically Michael Douglas. His father, Kirk Douglas, chose the last name as his stage name, rather than the given Issur Danielovitch Demsky. So technically, Keaton should be the one with the name.

“ There's a talk show host named Mike Douglas . Michael Douglas's father' real name was something else, my name is Michael Douglas, but they made me change it,” Keaton explained. “I think something should be done about this.”

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Although you won’t see Keaton credited as Michael Keaton Douglas in his upcoming film, you will see it soon. Keaton Douglas – which we’ll refer to him from now on – is determined to be known by his given name, so be on the lookout.

Catch Beetlejuice Beetlejuice in theaters on September 6, 2024.

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