HOLLYWOOD, CA – Actor Michael Keaton, known for his iconic roles, finds himself reflecting on the origin of his professional name. In a recent interview with People, the 72-year-old actor admitted that he can’t quite recall how he landed on “Keaton.”
“I was looking through — I can’t remember if it was a phone book,” Keaton stated when discussing the name’s inception. “I must’ve gone, ‘I don’t know, let me think of something here.’ And I went, ‘Oh, that sounds reasonable.’”
Originally born Michael Douglas, the actor faced a naming dilemma in the entertainment industry due to the existence of another successful actor with the same name: Oscar-winning Michael Douglas, the son of Kirk Douglas.
Additionally, the name “Mike Douglas” was also already taken by the renowned talk-show host, further complicating matters for the burgeoning actor.
To adhere to the Screen Actors Guild rule that prohibits two performers from sharing the same name, Keaton ultimately opted for “Keaton.” Despite having carved out a successful career under this name, he expressed a desire to be known professionally as “Michael Keaton Douglas.”
In fact, he intended to use this name for his most recent directorial project, “Knox Goes Away.” However, the hustle and bustle of film production led to an oversight: Keaton forgot to include the name on the 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 recounted. “And I forgot to give them enough time to put it in and create that. But that will happen.”
In his latest project, the highly anticipated sequel “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” Keaton is credited simply as “Michael Keaton.”
