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Actor Michael Keaton’s real name is Michael Douglas, and he now plans to start going by that name, many decades into his professional acting career. But the name change won’t start with his next film, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, which releases on September 6.
Keaton told People that he chose the name “Michael Keaton” by thumbing through a phone book one day a long time ago. He couldn’t use his birth name, Michael Douglas, because the Screen Actors Guild forbids members from using the same name.
Michael Douglas, of course, is famous for a great variety of roles and performances, including Oscar wins for Wall Street and as a producer on One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.
“I was looking through–I can’t remember if it was a phone book,” he said. “I must’ve gone, ‘I don’t know, let me think of something here.’ And I went, ‘Oh, that sounds reasonable.'”
Keaton’s birth name has been known and discussed for a long time already, and this is just the latest time he’s talked about it.
Looking ahead, Keaton said he plans to use a hybrid of his birth name and his stage name, and will go by Michael Keaton Douglas for some of his upcoming projects. He thought he would kick things off with his latest project, Knox Goes Away, but said he “forgot” about it due to the stressful nature of making the movie. He’s credited as Michael Keaton in his next movie, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. Apparently the name change will come at some point later on for future projects.
Keaton has acted in nearly 100 productions, including a stint as Batman in Tim Burton’s 1989 film. He played another superhero of sorts in 2014’s Birdman, which earned him an Academy Award nomination. Keaton is also known for his roles in Spotlight and The Founder, along with his scene-stealing performance in The Other Guys and as the voice of Ken in Toy Story 3.
He was set to appear in Batgirl, but he isn’t too bothered by the movie getting canceled because he got a “nice check.”
