In a recent interview with People, Michael Keaton revealed that he plans to use his real name from now on.
The actor chose his stage name from a phone book in the 1970s because he couldn’t use his real name, Michael Douglas, due to the Screen Actors Guild’s rules. He doesn’t remember the exact process but settled on ‘Keaton.’
Although he wanted to use ‘Michael Keaton Douglas’ for his recent film, ‘Knox Goes Away,’ he forgot to do it because of the stress of making the movie. “I said, ‘Hey, just as a warning, my credit is going to be Michael Keaton Douglas.’ And it totally got away from me,” Keaton explained.
He continued, “And I forgot to give them enough time to put it in and create that. But that will happen.” So, he wants to use the full name in future projects.
The actor is back as the ghost in the new movie ‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,’ directed by Tim Burton. The film came out on September 6 and it is a sequel to the 1988 comedy ‘Beetlejuice.’ Some of the original cast are returning, including Winona Ryder and Catherine O’Hara.
“There’s more of a connection for the audience in terms of the other characters,” Keaton told Total Film about the movie last month. “There’s things in here that I wasn’t ready for, that are beyond delightful. Instead of saying, ‘I can’t wait until this thing shows up,’ or, ‘I just want this thing called Beetlejuice to go nuts.'”
Justin Theroux also talked about it, explaining, “This movie takes some very big swings. There’s the phantasmagoria and it feels slightly out of control and unhinged. It has that vibe to it.”
“It’s clear this movie was not made by taking polls from audiences, and studio notes, and executives going, ‘Well, what’s the most satisfying act three?’ This is 100% like someone opening the front of Tim Burton’s head, and letting it dump out onto the screen. It’s a fabulous ride for exactly that reason.”
‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’ earned $110 million in its opening weekend, making it the second-biggest September debut ever. It’s also the third highest-grossing film of the year so far.
