Michael Keaton's stage name makes him feel like a "fraud".
The 'Beetlejuice Beetlejuice' actor had to choose a different surname when he began his career because of Screen Actors Guild rules that meant he needed to differentiate himself from Oscar-winning actor Michael Douglas, 79, and late daytime host Mike Douglas, but the 73-year-old actor revealed last month he is planning to use Michael Keaton Douglas to get around the rule, and he's now explained why he wants to return to his real surname.
He told E! News: “I like my name. Every time I say my name, I kind of go, ‘Fraud. It’s not your name.’”
The 'Goodrich' actor also joked his stage name has probably led to actress Diane Keaton being asked a lot of "stupid" questions.
He said: “Poor Diane. The poor woman has probably had to put up with so many stupid questions: ‘You’re his sister?’ "
Michael admitted he may not be "legally" able to use the name he wants.
He said: “It might not happen legally. Someone might challenge me.”
But any challenge is unlikely to come from the 'Basic Instinct' star as the two Michaels have previously joked about their shared names.
The 'Batman' actor said: “Long time ago, he and I laughed about it. Because one time he got something I think from some hospital or something and he went, ‘What?!’ And they got the things messed up.”
The 'Jack Frost' star - whose real full name is Michael John Douglas - previously explained he picked his stage name out of a phone book.
He told People magazine: “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.'”
He had intended to use Michael Keaton Douglas for his director credit for 2023 crime thriller 'Knox Goes Away', but didn't manage to sort it out on time.
He explained: “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."
