With a name as iconic as Keanu Reeves, it’s hard to imagine calling the actor anything else. But apparently he came dangerously close to … Chuck Spadina? That’s if Reeves had listened to his first manager, anyway.
The 61-year-old appeared on Jason and Travis Kelce’s “New Heights” podcast this week on Wednesday, Oct. 15 while promoting his new comedy Good Fortune, which he stars in alongside Aziz Ansari, Seth Rogen, Keke Palmer, and Sandra Oh.
During the episode, Jason asked if he had a “welcome to Hollywood” moment when he first began his acting career.
“I got paid when I was like 16, so I was a professional actor around 16, 17,” Reeves explained. “I was in Toronto, Canada, and then I got a manager who lived in Los Angeles. And I ended up doing a movie of the week in Canada that got me an agent in LA.”
‘Wonder Years’ Star Danica McKellar Explains Why She Quit Acting
“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],” he continued. “And I remember I was walking on the beach and I was just like, ‘My name? What if I change my name? What?’”
“My middle name is Charles, so I was like, ‘…Chuck?’ And I grew up on a street called Spadina … Chuck Spadina,” The Matrix star recalled. “And then I was something Templeton. So then I became KC Reeves. I was credited as KC Reeves.”
However, Reeves said ultimately, he couldn’t go through with it. “So then I would be in auditions and they would go, ‘KC Reeves.’ And I wouldn’t even answer,” he added. “Six months later, I was like, ‘I’m not doing this.’ That’s a Hollywood moment.”
As it turns out, Reeves is indeed credited as “KC Reeves” in a Magical World of Disney made-for-TV movie in 1986, according to his IMDb page. At that point, he only had a handful of Canadian television roles under his belt.
However, it would only be a few more years before he landed one of the starring roles in 1989’s Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, putting him on the map and changing his life forever.
Duck Dynasty’s Phil Robertson Dies at 79 After Revealing Alzheimer’s
This isn’t the first time Reeves has opened up about being pressured to change his name. During a 2017 appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, he recalled floating “Chuck Spadina” to his manager, who apparently liked that name even less than Keanu Reeves.
“So I was like, how about Templeton Paige Taylor,” Reeves laughed, to which Fallon interjected, “It’s perfect because the only thing they can say is, ‘Let’s stick with Keanu Reeves.’” And the rest was apparently history!
