Los Angeles, Oct 17 — Actor Keanu Reeves said his first manager fired a Name‑Change plan that could have changed Hollywood history.
Reeves, now 61, revealed on the New Heights podcast that when he first drove to Los Angeles at age 20, his manager insisted he adopt a new stage name. “We want to change your name,” the manager told him as he stepped out of the car. That moment was the actor’s “welcome to Hollywood” moment, Reeves laughed.
He explained that the manager worried the name “Keanu Reeves” might hold him back. Reeves mentioned a handful of contenders, one of them “Chuck Spadina,” a nickname that combined his middle name Charles (“Chuck”) with a street he grew up on in Toronto. He even considered “KC Reeves,” but the actor shot down the idea. “I couldn’t do it. I’d be called KC Reeves at auditions, and I wouldn’t even answer,” he said. “Six months later, I said I’m not doing this.” Reeves insisted that keeping his name helped him free‑wheel through his early work in Canada, even before the first footage of his big‑screen debut in John Wick came to life.
Reeves’ story is not the only one that shows Hollywood can be strict about names. In September, Leonardo DiCaprio talked about a similar episode on the same podcast. An agent suggested “Lenny Williams” for DiCaprio because they felt “Leonardo DiCaprio” was too ethnic for casting. DiCaprio laughed that the offer was “a joke,” and his father George DiCaprio strongly opposed the idea.
Despite the early push for a stage name, the star remains Keanu Reeves. He credits his name and his early work – from the ages of 16‑17 when he first got paid – for the international fame he enjoys today as the voice of the assassin in the John Wick series. The actor’s road to stardom shows that authenticity can sometimes beat a brand‑new label, especially when the world watches.
Source: ianslive
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