Emily Stone and the Stars Who Want Their Names Back
Oscar-winning actress Emma Stone has said she would like to be known by the name she was born with.
And it's not Emma — it's Emily.
When she started her career, there was already another actress called Emily Stone, so she began using Emma.
But she told The Hollywood Reporter she'd like fans to call her Emily, just as some of her colleagues do.
It's very common for actors to take stage names, often because there's already someone with their name in the industry, or because they'd like a name that sounds a bit more glamorous.
Others thought their birth names would be too difficult for people to pronounce, so they wanted to make their stage names simpler.
It's not so common for stars to start using their real names again, as Stone wants to do. But it does happen.
Westworld actress Thandiwe Newton used to be known as Thandie Newton, after the letter "w" was removed in the credits of one her first movies.
She worked as Thandie for more than 30 years, until she said in 2021 that she would use her original name, which is Zulu and pronounced "tan-DEE-way."
"I'm taking back what's mine," she said.
Meanwhile, American actor Charlie Sheen was actually born Carlos Estévez, but he has been known as Charlie since he was a child.
However, he used his birth name in the credits of the 2013 movie Machete Kills, where he played the US president.
His father Martin Sheen is also an actor, known for Apocalypse Now. He was given the name Ramón Estévez.
Martin Sheen chose to change his name because he thought it would help him get more acting jobs if he had a name that sounded more American.
However, he has said that he now regrets it.
