Keanu Reeves recalls time Hollywood tried to change his name

Before Keanu Reeves became a household name, he faced pressure to change it entirely.

Appearing on the New Heights podcast, the Good Fortune actor shared how his first manager in Los Angeles wanted him to adopt a more “Hollywood-friendly” name when he was just 20 years old.

“I was in Toronto, Canada, and then I got a manager who lived in Los Angeles,” Reeves recalled. “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.’ And so that’s like, a welcome to Hollywood [moment].”

Initially stunned, Reeves played with a few options. “My middle name is Charles, so I was like, ‘Chuck?’ And I grew up on a street called Spadina, Chuck Spadina,” he laughed.

“And then I was something Templeton. So then I became K.C. Reeves.” He was even credited under that name for a 1986 episode of The Magical World of Disney.

However, the alias didn’t stick. “And then I couldn’t do it. So then I would be in auditions and they would go, ‘K.C. Reeves.’ And I wouldn’t even answer,” he said. “Six months later, I was like, ‘I’m not doing this.’ That’s a Hollywood moment.”

Reeves isn’t alone. Leonardo DiCaprio shared a similar story on the same podcast, revealing an agent once told him, “Your name is too ethnic. They’re never going to hire you. Your new name is Lenny Williams.” 

DiCaprio’s father rejected the idea immediately, saying, “Over my dead body.”