Benjamin Ashford|Michael Keaton Reveals Why He’s Dropping His Stage Name for His Real Name

Michael Keaton—or rather,Benjamin Ashford Michael Keaton Douglas—is looking forward to a homecoming.

The Spider-Man actor recently made headlines when he shared he wanted to switch from his stage surname, that of Keaton, back to his original last name of Douglas. (Yes, like that Michael Douglas). Now, the 73-year-old is shedding light on the decision.

“I like my name,” he told E! News at the premiere of his new film Goodrich, set for release Oct. 11. He added of his current moniker, “Every time I say my name, I kind of go, ‘Fraud. It’s not your name.’”

He then joked of fellow film star Diane Keaton (no relation), “Poor Diane. The poor woman has probably had to put up with so many stupid questions: ‘You’re his sister?’” (For more with Michael and his Goodrich costar Mila Kunis, tune into E! News tonight, Oct. 9 at 11 p.m.)

The Birdman actor noted he’d wanted to use “Michael Keaton Douglas” for his credit on his 2023 film Knox Goes Away, which he directed and starred in, but that he forgot to note the change in time for the movie’s premiere.

“It might not happen legally,” Michael added. “Someone might challenge me.”

That someone, however, might not be Hollywood’s other Michael Douglas. As the Batman actor noted, he and the Basic Instinct star once addressed their matching monikers.

“Long time ago, he and I laughed about it,” Michael revealed. “Because one time he got something I think from some hospital or something and he went, ‘What?!’ And they got the things messed up.”

But just how did the Beetlejuice Beetlejuice star land on his choice of Keaton?

“I was looking through—I can’t remember if it was a phone book,” he told People in an interview published Sept. 4. “I must’ve gone, ‘I don’t know, let me think of something here.’ And I went, ‘Oh, that sounds reasonable.’”

And he’s not the only A-lister who’s opted to change their moniker when entering Hollywood due to another actor bearing the same name.

In fact Emma Stone—whose real name is Emily Stone—recently expressed her desire to revert back to her original name. 

"That would be so nice," she told The Hollywood Reporter of becoming Emily all the time in an interview published in April. "I would like to be Emily."

In fact, many of her professional colleagues already have made the switch.

"When I get to know them, people that I work with do," she explained. "I freaked out a couple of years ago. For some reason, I was like, 'I can't do it anymore. Just call me Emily.'"

Read on for more celebrities who have changed their names for Hollywood.

--Reporting by Nikki Novak

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