Keanu Reeves briefly used K.C. Reeves, then returned to birth name

Keanu Reeves said he nearly entered Hollywood under a different name after moving to Los Angeles at age 20, revealing on the New Heights podcast on October 15 that an early manager urged him to adopt a stage moniker. Reeves said he briefly used the credit K.C. Reeves but abandoned it after finding he could not respond to the new name in auditions, deciding within months to revert to his birth name.

Reeves recalled that soon after arriving from Toronto he was told, "We want to change your name," and began brainstorming alternatives. He said he considered using his middle name, Charles — jokingly imagining "Chuck Spadina" after the street where he grew up — and briefly tried "K.C. Reeves," which he said appeared on an early 1986 television credit. Reeves said the altered name did not feel authentic to him and that after several auditions in which he did not answer to it he dropped the stage name. "Six months later, I was like, I'm not doing this. That's a Hollywood moment," he said.

The anecdote underscores a long-standing industry practice in which agents and managers suggest name changes to actors at the start of their careers. Reeves has been a professional actor since his...