Michael Keaton wants to go back to his real name for his future movies. Keaton has been acting under the name Michael Keaton for decades at this point, credited like so in his major projects such as Beetlejuice and Birdman. His latest project will see the actor reprise his classic character of Beetlejuice in the upcoming Tim Burton sequel Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. The sequel also stars Jenna Ortega, Winona Ryder, Catherine O’Hara, Justin Theroux, and Willem Dafoe, and is set for release this week on September 6.

As per People, Keaton explains why he wants to go back to being called by another name in future projects. The actor explained that his birth name is not Michael Keaton, but Michael Douglas. The stage name came as a result of an industry rule back when he was joining the Screen Actors’ Guild. He says that he can barely remember how he chose the name Keaton, noting that he “can’t remember if it was a phone book.” Check out the full quote from Keaton below:

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.’
[On the set of 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.

Michael Keaton’s Name Change Explained
Oscar Winner Michael Douglas Took The Name First

Keaton’s stage name change came about in the 1970s, when he was trying to begin his career. Entering the Screen Actors’ Guild, he was confronted with an issue upon learning that SAG had a rule that prohibited two registered actors from having the same name. The registry already had actor Michael Douglas and talk show host Mike Douglas in their records, so the Beetlejuice actor was forced to pick a new last name. As per the actor’s story, it seems that the specifics of that name choice were somewhat random.

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Even if SAG had not had the rule surrounding unique names at the time Keaton was attempting to register, having a distinct name likely worked out for him. Michael Douglas was already an established actor by the time Keaton was up-and-coming, having been in films such as Romancing the Stone and A Chorus Line. In 1988, Douglas would go on to win Best Actor for his performance in Wall Street. The fact that Keaton was given a distinct last name avoided confusion with Douglas, which probably helped Keaton stand on his own.

Now, Keaton is a much more established actor. He has an Oscar nomination of his own (for Birdman), and won an Emmy for Best Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie for the acclaimed TV series Dopesick. Because of this clout, Keaton can probably get away with the name change in his future credits, finally staying true to his birth name.

Source: People