Keanu Reeves‘ manager once asked him to change his stage name for a prolonged Hollywood career (via New Heights). Although it’s baffling to imagine the name Keanu Reeves not being attached to The Matrix star, when he arrived in Hollywood as an up-and-coming actor, his manager urged that his name needed a makeover.
I got paid when I was like 16, so I was a professional actor around 16, 17 [years old]. I was in Toronto, Canada, and then I got a manager who lived in Los Angeles… At 20 years old, I drove in my car to Los Angeles. Got out of my car and my manager said, ‘We want to change your name.’ So that’s like, a welcome to Hollywood [moment]. I remember I was walking on the beach and I was just like, ‘My name? What if I change my name? What?’
Reeves, being a 20-year-old at the time, abided by his manager’s request. After much consideration, which involved a name inspired by his middle name, Charles, leading to Chuck Spadina, he eventually settled on KC Reeves.
Keanu Reeves Abandoned His Hollywood Name Within Six Months
For longtime fans of the John Wick
As for his reasoning, the name change just didn’t sit right with the actor. Even though it’s not uncommon for performers to resort to a stage name for marketable and professional reasons, the John Wick star recalled that he wouldn’t even answer to his new name during auditions.
And then I was something Templeton. So then I became KC Reeves. I was credited as KC Reeves… And then I couldn’t do it. So then I would be in auditions and they would go. And I wouldn’t even answer. Six months later, I was like, ‘I’m not doing this.’ That’s a Hollywood moment.
Since then, the name has been embedded in the pop culture zeitgeist, thanks to the success of The Matrix and the John Wick franchise, not to mention the actor’s personal triumphs and public image.
Leonardo DiCaprio’s Name Was Considered Too Ethnic for Hollywood
Leonardo DiCaprio, like many other young actors, was also asked to change his name. His agent told the future Oscar winner that the Revenant star’s name was too ethnic for Hollywood, warning him that no one would hire him (via New Height).
Unlike Reeves, DiCaprio’s new name, inspired by his middle name, didn’t make it far. DiCaprio’s father stood vehemently against the prospect of a name change and even proceeded to rip the photo, taken by the agent, into pieces.
I finally got an agent and they said: ‘Your name is too ethnic,” I go, What do you mean?’ They go, ‘No, too ethnic. They’re never going to hire you. Your new name is Lenny Williams. ‘What’s Lenny Williams?’ ‘We took your middle name and made it your last name and now [your first] name is Lenny.’ And my dad saw [the headshot photo the agent took], he ripped it up, and said, ‘Over my dead body.’
Then again, many actors who cemented their legacy on the silver screen opted to sit with their stage name, including the likes of Michael Keaton, Tina Fey, and Vin Diesel. It further displays that it’s the work that adds weight to the name, not the other way around, at least for the most part.
Share your thoughts on their initial stage names below!
