Beetlejuice star Michael Keaton wants to change his acting name after using it for decades, but there's one big issue

Michael Keaton as Beetlejuice in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

(Image credit: Warner Bros. Pictures)

After decades of being known as Michael Keaton, the Beetlejuice star wants to change his acting name back to his real name after it was taken by another A-list star.

In an interview with People, Keaton explained that he has been meaning to change to his real name, Michael Douglas, or at least a version of it, Michael Keaton Douglas, for quite some time. The star wanted to do this before Beetlejuice Beetlejuice hit screens, but with a busy workload, he didn't have time.

"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," says Keaton. His name still appears as Michael Keaton in the new Tim Burton movie.

So, why did the star pick Keaton in the first place? Of course, when he first started out, the name Michael Douglas was already taken by the Basic Instinct and Wall Street star, and Mike Douglas was taken by a popular talk show host. Keaton had no choice but to find a new one as the Screen Actors Guild prohibits members from using another member’s professional name.

Hollywood legend has it that Keaton picked his name out of a phonebook back when he was pursuing an acting career in the '70s. "I was looking through — I can’t remember if it was a phone book," explained Keaton later in the interview. "I must’ve gone, 'I don’t know, let me think of something here.' And I went, 'Oh, that sounds reasonable.'" And so for the next 50-plus years, the actor was known as Keaton.

Back as The Juice once again, Keaton stars in Burton’s highly anticipated sequel Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, alongside other returning cast members Winona Ryder and Catherine O'Hara. Funnily enough, Ryder’s last name is also a stage name. The new movie follows the ghoul’s return to Winter River as he is summoned once again, but this time there is as much trouble in the afterlife as there is in the real world. Beetlejuice 2 also stars Jenna Ortega, Willem Dafoe, and Monica Bellucci.

Beetlejuice 2 hits theaters on September 6, 2024. But before you head out to see the movie, make sure to read our spoiler-free Beetlejuice Beetlejuice review first. For more, check out all upcoming horror movies on the way, or keep up to date with our list of 2024 movie release dates.

I'm the Junior Social Media Editor here at GamesRadar+, handling all of Total Film's social platforms. However, I also write, covering all things film and TV for the site's entertainment section. I joined GamesRadar+ in 2023 and have been here ever since. I previously worked in communications after graduating with an MA in journalism. In my spare time, you can find me binging horror movies or getting lost in a cosy little game on my Switch.