Every person from the moment of his appearance goes through life with the name and surname that they got from their parents. The vast majority of people usually have nothing against what mom and dad called them. But representatives of show business often change their real names to brighter and more harmonious ones. Here is a list with photos of actors and actresses who have a pseudonym.
Natalie Portman
- "Another Boleyn Girl"
- "Black Swan"
- "Skirmish"
Oscar, Golden Globe, Saturn, Skirmish and Star Wars prequel trilogy was born in Jerusalem. At birth, she received the name Neta-Lee Hershlag (Neta-Lee Hershlag). In 1984, her family moved from Israel to the United States, where the Jewish name of the future performer was transformed into an English version. For her debut in the cult film by Luc Besson "Leon" Natalie took a stage name under which the whole world knows her today. Portman (Portman) is the surname of the ancestors on the maternal side.
Nicolas Cage
- "Rock"
- "City of Angels"
- "Without a face"
Nicolas Cage is famous not only for his roles, but also for the fact that he is the native nephew of the renowned director and screenwriter Francis Ford Coppola. However, at the dawn of his film career, the young actor did not want to be associated with a famous uncle. For this reason, he decided to change his last name. Nicholas was inspired by his idols: composer John Cage and favorite Marvel comic book character Luke Cage.
Vin Diesel / Vin Diesel
- "Fast and the Furious"
- "Chronicles of Riddick"
- "Three X's"
Celebrities who hide their real names include the performer of the role of Dominic Toretto from the Fast and the Furious franchise. At birth, the future artist was named Mark Sinclair. And he came up with his famous pseudonym at the age of 17, when he worked as a bouncer in one of the nightclubs in Manhattan. Vin (Vin) is an abbreviation for the surname Vincent (Vinsent), which belongs to his stepfather, and Diesel is a nickname given to him by friends for his irrepressible energy.
Whoopi Goldberg
- "Flowers lilac fields"
- "Ghost"
- "Fairy Country"
Favorite of millions of moviegoers, winner of four of the most prestigious American awards "Oscars", "Grammy", "Emmy" and "Tony" also decided to use a stage name. Instead of the bulky and serious combination of Karyn Elaine Johnson, there is a light Whouppy Goldberg. According to the star herself, the funny nickname Whoopee Cushion stuck with her as a teenager. And later her mother advised her to take the Jewish surname Goldberg, which served as the best pass to Hollywood for her.
Martin Sheen and Charlie Sheen
- "Apocalypse Now"
- Renegades / Hotheads
- Wall Street, Platoon
These popular Hollywood artists, father and son, are representatives of a large creative family named Estevez. However, only they made the decision to change their real names to stage names. The founder of the Ramon dynasty, Gerardo Antonio, came to New York from a small town in Ohio in 1959 in the hope of getting a job in cinema. It was then that he invented a pseudonym for himself, using the names of CBS assistant casting director Robert Dale Martin and Catholic priest Fulton Sheen, whose performances were constantly broadcast on television during the period.
The example of the famous parent was followed by his youngest son Carlos Irwin. Starting with his first film role, he began to sign with the same fictitious surname as dad, and changed his Spanish name to English.
Portia de Rossi
- "Body parts"
- "Scandal"
- "The one that was ordered"
The star of Arrested Development continues our photo-list of actors and actresses who have a pseudonym. Her birth name is Amanda Lee Rogers. However, the future artist changed him officially at the age of 15. As Portia herself said, she was inspired by the heroine of William Shakespeare's play "The Merchant of Venice". And she chose the Italian surname because De Rossi sounds very exotic.
Tom Cruise
- "Rain Man"
- "The Last Samurai"
- "Edge of the Future"
The permanent performer of the role of Ethan Hunt from the Mission: Impossible franchise is one of the celebrities who slightly adjusted their stage name. From ancestors in the male line, he got a very funny surname Mapother, and in addition the fourth serial number. But Tom considered that such a combination was absolutely not suitable for an actor, and preferred to use the name of his great-grandfather as a surname.
Christine Asmus
- "Interns"
- "And the dawns here are quiet ..."
- "Text"
Not only foreign performers like to change their first and last names. Some representatives of the domestic show business are also not very happy with what they got from their parents. These include the star of the comedy series Interns, who plays Dr. Vary Chernous. The real surname of the artist is Myasnikova, and Asmus is a pseudonym that Christina inherited from her maternal ancestor and is of German origin.
Marina Alexandrova
- "Empire under attack"
- "Spider"
- "Kotovsky"
Our list is continued by another Russian actress who brilliantly played the Empress Catherine in the series of the same name. Marina was born into the family of the Soviet officer Andrei Pupenin and bore her father's surname until the age of 18. But in the second year of theatrical school, on the recommendation of the teacher V.P. Nikolaenko, she took a stage name for herself, using her paternal grandmother's maiden name.
Oscar Kucera
- "Streets of Broken Lanterns"
- "Trail of the salamander"
- "Kings of the game"
Among Russian celebrities, who are known to the general public only under pseudonyms, this popular artist, musician and TV presenter is also listed. In fact, his name was Yevgeny Bogolyubov, and the combination of Oscar Kuchera appeared in the 90s, when he began to build his career. The young performer decided that Zhen was apparently invisible on the screen, but guys with such an exotic name no longer exist. As for the second part of the pseudonym, this is his mother's maiden name.
Among the domestic performers who slightly corrected their real names and surnames for the sake of art are Vera Alentova (Bykova), Nonna (Noyabrina) Mordyukova, Fanny Feldman (Faina Ranevskaya), Svetlana Tom (Fomicheva), Alexandra Yakovleva (Ivanes), Oleg ( Albert) Borisov, Alexander Nevsky (Kuritsyn), Valeria Lanskaya (Zaitseva) and others.
Jamie Foxx
- Django Unchained
- "Just have mercy"
- "Law abiding citizen"
Among the stars with hidden names is this talented showman, Oscar winner and owner of a personal star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Parents named their son Eric Marlon Bishop, but when the guy grew up and began performing in the stand-up comedy genre, he changed his name to a more suitable pseudonym. The fact was that, according to an unspoken rule, women were the first to enter the scene of comedy clubs, and Jamie's name can be both male and female. As for the name Fox, it was a tribute to the famous comedian Red Fox.
Ben Kingsley
- "Shutter Island"
- "Lucky Number Slevin"
- "Schindler's list"
Among the celebrities who live under pseudonyms is this famous British film, television and theater actor. Krishna Pandit Bhanji is the name he received at birth. The boy owed this exotic combination to his father, who had Indian roots. But it was the elder Bhanji who later convinced his son that for a successful career he needed to take a creative pseudonym. 19-year-old Krishna agreed with the arguments and chose his parent's English nickname (Benji) as his name, shortening it slightly. As for the name Kingsley, the prevalence and euphony played an important role.
Michael Caine
- "Inveterate scammers"
- "Used Lions"
- "The Man Who Wanted to Be King"
Completing our list with photos of actors and actresses who have a pseudonym, this famous English performer. His real name is Maurice Joseph Milquite. At the dawn of his creative career, he called himself Michael Scott, but once it turned out that there was another artist with the same data. The agent, with whom the future Knight of the British Crown spoke on the phone, urgently demanded to come up with a new pseudonym. As the performer himself recalled, it was at that moment that the poster of the film "Riot on the Kane" caught his eye. Without hesitation, he took this name for himself.