Michael Keaton ditches his stage name after nearly 50 years in show business

Fifty years after the world first learned about Michael Keaton, the actor is now requesting people refer to him by his birth name.

That’s right, the 73-year-old had to choose another name when he joined the Screen Actors Guild because at the time another actor with his same name was a member of the union.

Legend says Keaton, whose birth name is Michael Douglas, used a phone book to chose his now famous moniker.

“I was looking through — I can’t remember if it was a phone book,” he told People. “I must’ve gone, ‘I don’t know, let me think of something here.’ And I went, ‘Oh, that sounds reasonable.’”

While Keaton is still unable to use his birth name – Michael Douglas known for his roles in Wall Street and Traffic was the first to claim the name – the actor wants to use a hybrid of his birth name and stage name.

Introducing: Michael Keaton Douglas.

The Oscar-nominated actor planned to use his new professional name for his 2023 film Know Goes Away, but he said he simply “forgot” to make note of the change amid the stress of making the film.

“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.”

He also appears as Michael Keaton in the upcoming film Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.

Keaton isn’t the only celebrity to request they be called a different name despite having gone by a stage name for years.

Earlier this year Emma Stone shared that she preferred if she was called her given name, Emily Stone.

The actress told The Hollywood Reporter that “a couple of years ago” she “freaked out” because she could no longer take being referred to as Emma.

“For some reason, I was like, ‘I can’t do it anymore. Just call me Emily.’”

If Michael Keaton wishes to be called Michael Keaton Douglas from now on than that’s what he shall be called! Please share.