Keaton said he chose his stage name, possibly from a phone book, decades ago because there was already a famous actor with his name.
Michael Keaton, or more accurately, Michael Douglas, is ready to use his own name after more than 50 years in the entertainment industry.
When he started, the union already had Michael Douglas, the son of three-time Academy Award nominee Kirk Douglas, and talk show host Mike Douglas, who eventually went by Mike and hosted the daytime program The Mike Douglas Show from 1961 to 1981. Since the Screen Actors Guild prohibits members from using another member’s professional name, The Founder star became Michael Keaton.
“I was looking through—I can’t remember if it was a phone book,” the 73-year-old—who celebrates his birthday on Sept. 5—recalled to PEOPLE in an interview published on Sept.
