Keanu Reeves could’ve been known by an entirely different name

In a parallel universe, Keanu Reeves could’ve been known by a very different name (and no, we don’t mean ‘The Nicest Man in Hollywood).

Speaking with Good Morning America host Michael Strahan, Reeves revealed that he was encouraged to adopt a stage name at the start of his career.

“So, I’m 20 years old. I’m in my first car. I wanted to be in movies; I went to Hollywood,” he said.

“And I get there, and they’re like ‘we want to change your name’.”

When Reeves asked why, they said his name may be “a little too exotic.”

Sign up to our new free Indy100 weekly newsletter

Seemingly trying to make a good impression, he considered other names.

One of the names he came up with was apparently – wait for it – “Chuck Spadina.”

“I just came up with a ridiculous name,” he added.

Fortunately, Reeves decided to stick with his name. “I couldn’t do it,” he continued.

See the video below.

Reeves will assume his role of Neo in the fourth instalment of the Matrix series, titled The Matrix Resurrections.

Lana Wachowski will direct the movie, which will also feature Carrie-Anne Moss (who plays Trinity) alongside new additions such as Priyanka Chopra, Neil Patrick Harris, and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II.

The latest instalment, which comes around 18 years after the last, will see Neo (Reeves) and Trinity (Moss) return to what seems to be the Matrix programme.

But none of them seem to recognise one another or remember their past lives.

The full details of the plot are still pretty scarce, but it does have something to do with the mystifying red and blue pills.

Laurence Fishburne, who played Morpheus, will not be in the film. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, who was in films such as Candyman, will portray Morpheus instead. In August 2020, Fishburne told Vulture that he wasn’t asked to be a part of the fourth instalment.

The Matrix Resurrections is set to be released in theaters and on HBO Max on December 22.