CELEBRITIES
Why is Michael Keaton changing his stage name? What is his real name?
He has been Batman, Beetlejuice, Birdman and Vulture, but now Keaton wants to alter his famous name.
In the world of entertainment, it’s common for many artists to adopt a more striking stage name as opposed to their real one. This has been the case for actors like Vin Diesel (real name: Mark Sinclair) and Jean-Claude Van Damme (real name: Jean-Claude Camille François Van Varenberg). However, the case of Michael Keaton is slightly more peculiar. His real name is actually Michael John Douglas, but he couldn’t use “Michael Douglas” as his stage name because there was another rather famous actor already using it.
Now, however, Keaton is reportedly wanting to start incorporating his real surname into his stage name and be known as Michael Keaton Douglas.
Why Michael ‘Keaton’ couldn’t use real name Michael Douglas
As Keaton revealed in an exclusive interview with People magazine, he chose his stage name by looking through a phone book. When he entered the acting world in the 1970s, he couldn’t use his real name (Michael John Douglas/Michael Douglas) for a very clear reason: the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) did not allow two artists to have the same stage name or pseudonym.
In other words, it was Michael Douglas (real name: Michael Kirk Douglas) who ‘prevented’ Michael Keaton from using “Michael Douglas” as his stage name, simply because he had claimed it first.
According to the Beetlejuice actor himself, he intended to use the combined real/stage name in the 2023 film Knox Goes Away, which he directed. However, due to the stress of the production, he completely forgot to insist on being credited as Michael Keaton Douglas.
Interestingly, despite both actors having long careers in Hollywood, they have never worked together on a project. There have both been part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, though.
Douglas portrays Hank Pym, the original Ant-Man, in Ant-Man (2015), Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018), Avengers: Endgame (2019), and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023). Meanwhile, Keaton plays Adrian Toomes/Vulture in Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017).
Michael Keaton’s most recent projects
We recently saw Keaton return to his iconic role as Batman and Bruce Wayne in The Flash, which was released in 2023. This year, he also starred in the aforementioned Knox Goes Away, a film he not only acted in but also directed.
In 2024, we’ll see Keaton reprising another of his classic characters from the late 80s, as he returns in Beetlejuice 2, the sequel to the 1988 original. Additionally, by the end of the year, Goodrich is expected to be released, a comedy in which Keaton also stars, alongside the likes of Mila Kunis and Andie MacDowell.