“Hollywood’s Welcome”: Why Keanu Reeves gave himself a strange name

“Hollywood’s Welcome”
Why Keanu Reeves gave himself a strange name

October 17, 2025, 10:07 p.m

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Like many Hollywood stars, things didn’t go particularly well for Keanu Reeves at the beginning of his career. A move to Los Angeles was supposed to be a turning point. Then his manager makes him a suggestion. At first he accepts it, but then regrets his decision.

Before Keanu Reeves made his breakthrough in Hollywood, the actor appeared under a different name for a while. The “John Wick” star chatted about the beginning of his acting career on Jason and Travis Kelces’ “New Heights” podcast. In order to promote this, he moved from Canada to Los Angeles. But as soon as he arrived, his manager suggested he change his name.

“I was in Toronto, Canada, and then I got a manager who lived in Los Angeles,” Reeves said. “So when I was 20, I drove my car to Los Angeles. When I got out, my manager said, ‘We want to change your name.'” Reeves called the moment “Hollywood’s welcome.” The actor thought about it. “I remember walking on the beach and thinking, ‘My name? What if I changed my name?'”.

Travis Kelce asked the actor if the manager had come up with a new name for him yet. Reeves said no and admitted that he should choose him himself. “My middle name is Charles, so I was like, ‘Chuck?’ And I grew up on a street called Spadina – Chuck Spadina?”

After giving more thought to the new name, Reeves ultimately settled on “KC Reeves”. The actor appeared in a 1986 episode of the anthology series “The Magical World of Disney” and appeared in the credits with the same name. However, the name change didn’t last long. “I couldn’t do it. At the auditions they called me ‘KC Reeves’ and I didn’t even respond,” the actor said. “Six months later I was like, ‘I’m not doing this.'”

Keanu Reeves’ new comedy “Good Fortune – A Very Special Guardian Angel” has been running in German cinemas since October 16th. In it he plays a naive guardian angel.