Celebrities Who’ve Expressed Regret About Using Stage Names
Your favorite celebrities can choose to use stage names for any number of reasons. Katy Perry created hers so that she could become a “character” and put herself out there in a way that Katheryn Hudson could not. Diane Keaton plumped for her stage name because, well, there was already a Diane Hall in the actor’s union. But what happens when you choose a stage name that you really don’t like anymore? It’s a very real situation that these stars lived to regret.
1. Martin Sheen
You’ve known Martin Sheen as President Bartlet in The West Wing and many other iconic characters throughout his storied career. But you rarely hear him called Ramon Estévez — his birth name. In 2022 Sheen told Closer that changing his name was “one of [his] regrets.” He added, “Sometimes you get persuaded when you don’t have enough insight or even enough courage to stand up for what you believe in and you pay for it later.”
2. Thandiwe Newton
Thandiwe Newton spent her first two decades in Hollywood being credited as Thandie Newton — without the “w” in her first name. This apparently came about after somebody misspelled her name in her debut screen credit. But by 2021 Newton felt she had enough power to bring the “w” back. “That’s my name,” the actor told Vogue. “It’s always been my name. I’m taking back what’s mine.”
3. Michael Keaton
As soon as you find out Michael Keaton’s real name, you’ll understand why he had to change it to become an actor. His birth name? Michael Douglas. In 2017 Keaton told The Late Show With Stephen Colbert that he still uses his real name for everything but acting. “I’ll be going somewhere and there’ll be a driver with a sign that says ‘Michael Douglas,’ and then I show up,” he laughed. “They look so confused!”
4. Anne Hathaway
This is a strange one because Anne Hathaway doesn’t have a stage name — her name actually is Anne Hathaway. The trouble is, she doesn’t like being called Anne. “Everybody, call me Annie, please,” she told The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in 2021. “The only person who ever calls me Anne is my mother and she only does it when she’s really mad at me.”
