LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Keanu Reeves is undoubtedly one of the most beloved Hollywood stars, becoming a household name with his iconic roles in franchises like ‘John Wick’ and ‘The Matrix’, and has performed in some of the highest-grossing movies in the industry. However, during the early days of his career in Hollywood, Reeves' manager apparently asked him to change his birth name as they felt it was complicated to pronounce.
Reports suggest that the actor’s agency wanted him to adopt a more appealing and effortless stage name because of the belief that his birth name would make it difficult for him to sustain himself in Hollywood. Interestingly, the Toronto-born star’s name “Keanu” supposedly means “cool mountain breeze” as per its Hawaiian origin, but his agents initially thought it was “too exotic,” as reported by MARCA. While Reeves was averse to the idea of changing his at first, he later did consider it.
‘I can't change my name’
During an appearance on ‘The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon’, Reeves spoke about the time his agency asked him to adopt a stage name. "I'm 20 years old, I got my first car, I wanted to make movies and I went to Hollywood, and I get there and my manager says, ‘Welcome. We're glad to see you but we want to change your name’," the 'John Wick' star shared.
He also mentioned that people initially wanted him to go by “Casey.” "But then I had auditions and they'd be like, ‘Casey?’ and I like wouldn't even look up. Eventually, I went back to my agents and I was like, ‘I can't change my name’," Reeves recounted, adding, "One of the first plays I ever did, I was playing John Procter and one of the lines is like, ‘Because it is my name because I can have no other,’ and that was just running through my head."
Keanu considered changing his name to Chuck Spadina
After spending days selecting a stage name for Reeves, the actor proposed the alias Chuck Spadina. However, the stage name was rejected by his manager and agency. “I proposed Chuck Spadina and they said no. What's wrong with Chuck Spadina? Isn’t it going in the direction you want?” he stated. "I kept thinking, ‘They didn't like that one, how about Templeton Page Taylor’," Reeves remembered suggesting his agency after they rejected the alias Chuck Spadina.
In the end, the agency eventually decided to allow Reeves to continue using his birth name. The move surely worked wonders, as 'The Matrix' star is currently one of the biggest names in Hollywood, widely known for his generous, easygoing personality.
