Leonardo DiCaprio has revealed that an agent once advised him to change his name to ensure success in Hollywood, but unlike other stars decided against it.
IIyena Mironoff, Maurice Micklewhite, Demetria Guynes and Jerome Silberman are among the most recognisable celebrities in the world, but found fame under different monikers.
Leo, 50, who is of Italian and German descent, was told his name was ‘too ethnic’ and that producers were ‘never going to hire’ him.
Hard as it may be to believe the icon that is Leonardo DiCaprio could have set sail on the Titanic or won his Oscar for The Revenant as ‘Lenny Williams’ which was a combination of his first name and his middle name, Wilhelm.
While Leo’s One Battle After Another co-star Benicio Del Toro, who is Puerto Rican, shared a similar story and almost become known as ‘Benny Del.’
Daily Mail looks at some of the world’s most famous faces who are known by stage names, but can you match the birth name to the star?
Leonardo DiCaprio has revealed that an agent once advised him to change his name to ensure success in Hollywood, but unlike other stars decided against it
Daily Mail looks at some of the world’s most famous faces who are known by stage names, but can you match the birth name to the star? (Helen Mirren pictured)
Maurice Micklewhite
This Oscar winning actor adopted a more showbiz name in 1954 before hitting the big time, but could it be Dustin Hoffman, Michael Caine or Robert De Niro?
Maurice Micklewhite: Could it be (L) Dustin Hoffman, Michael Caine or Robert De Niro?
It’s none other than British acting legend Michael Caine who was born Maurice Joseph Micklewhite in London in 1933.
After embarking on an acting career he first adopted the monkier Michael Scott, which he kept for nine years before discovering another budding actor was known by the same name.
During a TV interview in 1987 Michael revealed that he found inspiration for his next stage name while speaking to his agent from a telephone box in Leicester Square.
Looking around for inspiration he saw The Caine Mutiny was being shown at the nearby Odeon Cinema, joking that had he turned the other way he could have been known to millions as ‘Michael One Hundred and One Dalmatians’.
In 2016 the actor revealed he had changed his name to Michael Caine officially by deed pole due to airport security becoming such an ordeal.
He told The Sun at the time: ‘I changed my name when all the stuff started with ISIS and all that, He would say, “Hi Michael Caine,” and suddenly I’d be giving him a passport with a different name on it’.
‘I could stand there for an hour. So I changed my name.’
It’s none other than British acting legend Michael Caine who was born Maurice Joseph Micklewhite in London in 1933 (pictured 1966)
After embarking on an acting career he first adopted the monkier Michael Scott, which he kept for nine years before discovering another budding actor was known by the same name.
Demetria Guynes
This actress combined her name with her now ex husband’s before cracking Hollywood and becoming a Charlie’s Angel, could it be Demi Moore, Cameron Diaz or Kristen Stewart?
Demetria Guynes: Could it be (L-R) Demi Moore, Cameron Diaz or Kristen Stewart?
It’s 90s icon star Demi Moore who made a dramatic return to acting in 2003’s Charlie’s Angels Full Throttle.
The stunner shorted her first name and took on her first husband Freddy Moore’s surname, before going on to marry Bruce Willis and Ashton Kutcher.
Earlier this year the actress shocked fans by revealing the ‘correct’ way to pronounce her name, following decades in the spotlight.
During an appearance on Jimmy Fallon,the comedian noted that many would say ‘Deh-mee’ like with stars such as singer Demi Lovato.
However, Moore confirmed that she pronounced her name as ‘Duh-mee’ because it ‘works better’ with her last name.
The Substance star explained that both she and Lovato’s families hail from similar parts of the U.S. and say their names in the same way.
Yet, the Striptease star deliberately pronounces her names differently.
‘Demi and I had a great conversation about this because she’s from Texas and I’m from New Mexico so our families say our names the same way,’ she noted to Fallon and the audience back in 2017, with the clip recently resurfacing.
She continued: ‘But we individually both pronounce it differently. It works better with our last names.
‘Like, “Deh-mee Lovato” sounds really good. And “Duh-mee” Moore sounds really good.”‘
It’s 90s icon star Demi Moore who made a dramatic return to acting in 2003’s Charlie’s Angels Full Throttle (pictured)
The stunner shorted her first name and took on her first husband Freddy Moore’s surname, before going on to marry Bruce Willis and Ashton Kutcher
Mark Sinclair
This actor swapped their regular sounding name for something more suited to an action star, is it Idris Elba, Vin Diesel or Dwayne Johnson?
Mark Sinclair: This actor swapped their regular sounding name for something more suited to an action star, is it (L-R) Idris Elba, Vin Diesel or Dwayne Johnson?
It’s Fast and Furious star Vin Diesel who opted for the tougher sounding name while working as a bouncer in NYC years before making it in the movies.
During a 2005 appearance on the Ellen Show he said: ‘They just started calling me Vin Diesel, for some crazy reason,’
He explained: ‘In New York, when you were kind of built up a little bit, they’d say “that guy’s Diesel”‘.
It’s Fast and Furious star Vin Diesel who opted for the tougher sounding name while working as a bouncer in NYC years before making it in the movies
He explained: ‘In New York, when you were kind of built up a little bit, they’d say “that guy’s Diesel”‘
Ilyena Mironoff
This Dame’s Russian father changed her name when she was she was growing up in the UK, could it be Judi Dench, Imelda Staunton or Helen Mirren?
IIyena Mironoff: This Dame’s Russian father changed her name when she was she was growing up in the UK, could it be (L-R) Judi Dench, Imelda Staunton or Helen Mirren?
It’s Dame Helen Mirren who was born Ilyena Lydia Mironoff, before Vasiliy Mironov, who moved to England as a child, made the decision to change the family name in order to fit in.
She told PEOPLE: ‘One minute I was called Mironov, and then, Mirren, the reason for it was that he wanted to assimilate,’
‘Britain is a much more multicultural place than it was when I was a small child. It was a pretty monoculture sort of place with very few foreign names.’
She would also take on the first name Helen before embarking on her illustrious career which has seen her win an Oscar and become one of film’s most famous faces.
It’s Dame Helen Mirren who was born Ilyena Lydia Mironoff, before Vasiliy Mironov made the decision to change the family name in order to fit in (pictured 1970)
She said: ‘One minute I was called Mironov, and then, Mirren, the reason for it was that he wanted to assimilate,’
Eric Marlon Bishop
This Best Actor Oscar winner revealed that he changed his name to appeal to a wider audience, could it be Jamie Foxx, Rami Malek or Matthew McConaughey.
Eric Marlon Bishop: Could it be (L-R) Jamie Foxx, Rami Malek or Matthew McConaughey.
It’s Jamie Foxx who won an Academy Award in 2005 for his incredible perfomance as Ray Charles.
Starting out in stand up, he discovered female comedians were often called to perform first so cunningly changed his name to the more androgynous Jamie Foxx.
His new surname was inspired by fellow funnyman Redd Foxx.
Recalling his early career he told Variety: ‘I was doing stand-up comedy in the ’80s. I would go to open mic night. As Eric Bishop, I went up and I got a standing ovation. I went back the next few weeks and they would never put me back on stage, because the comedians ran the list. So, you’d write on the list and they would choose’.
It’s Jamie Foxx who won an Academy Award in 2005 for his incredible perfomance as Ray Charles
Starting out in stand up, he discovered that female comedians were often called to perform first, he changed his name to the more androgynous Jamie Foxx
Jerome Silberman
This comedy icon claimed Jerome Silberman was not best suited for an actor, could it be Martin Short, Gene Wilder or Bill Murray?
This comedy icon claimed Jerome Silberman was not best suited for an actor, could it be (L-R) Martin Short, Gene Wilder or Bill Murray?
It’s Gene Wilder, the star of Blazing Saddles and Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory who sadly died in 2016 aged 83.
Open about his decision to change his name he famously joked that he could never image a ‘Jerry Silberman’ playing Hamlet.
So at the age of 26 he adopted the stage name Gene Wilder, closing Gene as a homage to Thomas Wolfe’s character Eugene Gant and Wilder to honour famed American playwright Thornton Wilder.
It’s Gene Wilder, the star of Blazing Saddles and Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory who sadly died in 2016 aged 83 (pictured 2013)
Open about his decision to change his name he famously joked that he could never image a ‘Jerry Silberman’ playing Hamlet (pictured 1984)
