Hi, my name is, what? My name is, who?
Emma Stone has said it would be ‘so nice’ if people referred to her by her actual name.
Here’s a bit of Hollywood trivia for you, some of the most famous actors around aren’t actually going by their real names.
Take Reese Witherspoon for example, ‘Reese’ is actually her mother’s maiden name and she was originally Laura Jeanne.
Plenty of others who have their name up in lights have a variation on their actual name or, on occasion, something else entirely as the moniker that everybody knows them by.
Sometimes this is a matter of personal choice, and on other occasions it’s because there’s already another actor registered under their name, and there’s not to be any sharing in order to avoid confusion.
Emma Stone is a double Oscar-winning star, but Emma is not her original name. (Karwai Tang/WireImage)
That’s the reason why Emma Stone is actually Emily Stone, as her name had already been ‘taken’ by another member of the Screen Actor’s Guild.
However, in a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the Oscar-winning star said she’d ‘like to be Emily’.
Stone and Nathan Fielder sat down to talk about TV series, The Curse, and during the interview, Fielder was asked what it was like to see his co-star win an Oscar.
He said he texted her to tell her he was ‘so proud’, but had also sent a message before saying: “Even if you lose, you’ll always be an Oscar winner to me.”
The interviewer pointed out that would have been true anyway because she’d already won one, and Fielder said he wanted to refer to Stone as ‘Emily’ from this point onwards.
She said it ‘would be so nice’ to be called Emily. (Leon Bennett/GA/The Hollywood Reporter via Getty Images)
“Before we continue, I’d like to say something,” he said.
“Her name’s Emily, but she goes by Emma professionally. So when there’s people that don’t know her, I end up saying Emma. But I’m going to just say Emily from here on.”
Stone told him ‘you can say Emma, you can say anything’, and was asked whether anyone in the world of red carpets and sparkly lights called her Emily.
She said: “When I get to know them, people that I work with do.
“It’s just because my name was taken. Then I freaked out a couple of years ago.
“For some reason, I was like, ‘I can’t do it anymore. Just call me Emily.’ Nathan calls me Em, which is easier.”
Stone was then asked what it would be like if someone came up to her and spoke to her as Emily, to which she replied: “That would be so nice. I would like to be Emily.”
As for the other Emily Stone, she got to the name first as she was registered as a contestant on Australia’s Next Top Model.
As stated before, name changes can be due to a number of reasons and here’s some that may surprise you.
10 celebs who have also changed their names
Jamie Foxx – Eric Marlon Bishop
The Django Unchained star chose his stage name after realising that because female comedians were so rare, they’d always get a slot in stand-up gigs.
He said on David Letterman: “So I went to the list and wrote down unisex names. Stacy Green, Tracy Brown…Jamie Foxx!”
Drake – Aubrey Drake Graham
The singer was credited by his real name during his time on Degrassi; however, he began to use his middle name when he became a rapper.
Vin Diesel – Mark Sinclair
A former bouncer, he told Conan O’Brien that ‘Vin’ was a shortened version of his father’s name, while ‘Diesel’ came from his friends, who described him as being full of energy.
Snoop Dogg – Calvin Broadus Jr.
The rapper was named after his stepfather, Calvin Broadus Sr; however, most of us know him better as Snoop Dogg – and Snoop Lion at one point.
Lady Gaga – Stefani Germanotta
The singer and actor’s stage name came from the Queen song ‘Radio Ga Ga’, though she has previously said that it came from the nickname ‘Ga Ga’ given by her friends or her former producer and ex-boyfriend.
Tom Cruise – Thomas Cruise Mapother IV
According to PEOPLE, he began using his middle name at the suggestion of his agent.
Nicolas Cage – Nicolas Kim Coppola
The beloved actor is from a very famous family—the Coppolas, which also includes directors Francis Ford Coppola and Sofia Coppola. The name ‘Cage’ comes from the Marvel character Luke Cage.
Brad Pitt – William Bradley Pitt
The actor’s real name is a homage to his father, William ‘Bill’ Pitt.
Calvin Harris – Adam Wiles
According to the DJ, the name ‘Calvin Harris’ sounded ‘racially ambiguous’: “My first single was more of a soul track, and I thought Calvin Harris sounded a bit more racially ambiguous.
“I thought people might not know if I was black or not. After that, I was stuck with it.”
Aaron Paul – Aaron Paul Sturtevant
According to various reports, the Breaking Bad star legally changed his surname to his stage name in 2022, with his son also reportedly receiving a name change.