You can call him Michael Douglas.
But he’s not THAT Michael Douglas.
Hollywood star Michael Keaton recently told People magazine that he plans to combine his stage name and real name for future projects.
In the interview, the 72-year-old actor revealed that he wants to go by Michael Keaton Douglas — a combo of his real name, Michael John Douglas, and his stage name.
Keaton told People the name change began at the very start of his career in the 1970s. A Screen Actors Guild (SAG) rule prohibits members from using another member’s professional name.
Keaton couldn’t use his real name, Michael Douglas, because SAG already had a Michael Douglas — as in, the Academy Award-winning “Wall Street” actor — and a Mike Douglas. With his real name off the table, the actor swapped out his last name for Keaton.
“I was looking through — I can’t remember if it was a phone book,” he recalled. “I must’ve gone, ‘I don’t know, let me think of something here.’ And I went, ‘Oh, that sounds reasonable.’”
Over the years, Keaton’s stage name became memorable, especially as he became a star in films like “Batman” and “The Paper.”
Now, he’s hoping to return to his roots with the addition of Douglas, though he did miss a chance to use “Michael Keaton Douglas” for his latest directorial project, “Knox Goes Away.”
“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.”
While the name change didn’t happen in time he said he’s determined to make it a reality in the future.