The name Michael Keaton could soon begin to disappear from movie credits as the actor has decided the time is right for him to claim back his real name…or at least a version of it. After 50 years of being known as Michael Keaton in blockbuster movies such as Beetlejuice and Batman, as well as finding recent critical acclaim in movies like Birdman, the actor wants to go back to his real name of Michael Douglas – or Michael Keaton Douglas, as he has decided to use as a compromise.
Of course, this causes a little bit of confusion with another famous Michael Douglas , he of Basic Instinct and Wall Street fame. In fact, it was because the Screen Actors Guild denied Keaton the opportunity of using his birth name, due to Douglas already being a listed actor, that he sought out his current “reasonable” name. He recounted to People the stick-a-pin-in-it approach that led to his now hugely recognizable moniker.
“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.’”
While there are several actors who have decided to permanently adopt their stage names, such as Michael Caine who changed his name legally from Maurice Micklewhite just a few years ago, Keaton intends to reclaim his birth name as best he can over the rest of his career. While he originally planned to make the change ahead of his dual role as star and director of Knox Goes Away, he explained how it did not happen – but will.
“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 is Still Michael Keaton in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
While it is clear that he intends to have a different name at the top of the billing for his next movies, the actor still appears as plain old Michael Keaton for his return to the Beetlejuice franchise. Regardless of what name he appears under, one thing that seems clear is that the last 36 years have not changed the actor from the last time he played the perverted bio-exorcist on screen.
Ahead of the Beetlejuice Beetlejuice premiere, Keaton’s co-stars have heaped praise on the actor’s ability to slip straight back into the role of Beetlejuice after so many years. His new co-star Jenna Ortega was particularly astounded by the actor’s ability to suddenly just become his crazy character. She said:
“It was like an animal with a gun had just walked into the room. To watch him physically change and appear and Michael Keaton to be gone, and for me to be dealing with this Betelgeuse guy… it blew my mind .”
Audiences are yet to get their chance to see Keaton’s manic return to one of his most beloved characters, but with a strong 79% approval score from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, and a projected opening weekend in excess of $140 million, it looks like the Ghost with the Most is going to be the most in demand offering at the September box office.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
will be released in cinemas on September 6, 2024.