There's nothing quite like the excitement of finding out your favorite actor or actress
is going to be starring in a new film.
But as often as we see these stars on-screen, we very rarely hear them say their own names.
That can lead to a whole bunch of confusion when it comes to the correct pronunciation
of some celebs' names, and everyone knows how easily the media can pick up on something
and even make the incorrect version seem like it should be the right one.
So, let's take a look at some of the celebrity names you might be pronouncing wrong.
The rogue one
It's a mad, mad world when a successful actor's career starts later in life, but that was
the case for this Danish thespian, who danced professionally for almost a decade before
hitting the Hollywood scene.
Once he did, he became known to the world at large for his standout performances in
Casino Royale and TV's Hannibal, and then followed those roles up with huge parts in
two of the biggest franchises in the world — Marvel's Doctor Strange and the Star Wars
spin-off, Rogue One.
In spite of all that fame, though, almost everyone gets his name wrong.
'Cause, ya know, when you look at his first name, it reads pretty easily as Mads Mikkelsen,
right?
But that's not right.
The actor has spoken out to clear up the misconception, confirming that his first name is actually
pronounced Mass.
"Mads Mikkelsen.
We're ready for you, Mads."
The one with the sabre tooth
This X-Men Origins: Wolverine star is pretty well-known to the public, partially because
of his acting roles in shows like Ray Donovan and partially because of his former long-term
relationship with Naomi Watts.
But even so, most people don't know how to say his name.
Looking at it, you might be tempted to pronounced his first name like "leave," but that would
be a massive mistake.
"Autocorrected to live.
That would drive me insane if I was you."
"It's bad."
"Does it bother you?"
"It's not as bad as when people call me 'Leave.'"
Live Schreiber sounds like an item on the fresh catch menu, and Leave Schreiber sounds
like some funky British punk band.
So, how are we supposed to say his name when we catch this actor out and about?
Take it away Leave -- er, Live … Just take it away.
"Hello, I'm Liev Schreiber."
The one called Mr. Pink
This character actor legend may have won a Golden Globe and an Emmy for his killer TV
work, but people still can't say his name quite right.
"Mr. Pink."
"Why am I Mr. Pink?"
Tons of people look at his name and think it says Steve "Boo-SHEH-me."
Unlike some of his tough guy alter-egos on-screen, he's not gonna go bullying anyone for mispronouncing it …
"But I don't correct people if they say Buscemi, because it's not wrong so who am I to
say that you're wrong?"
And besides, if he went with the old country's true pronunciation of the name, it'd sound
even more different.
"Steve Buscemi!"
"Buscemi.
Yea."
"Define Irony."
But if you want to say his name like he says it, it sounds like this:
"Steve Buscemi!"
The one who got nicknamed after a battery
He might be an Oscar nominee for his compelling work in 12 Years a Slave and a mainstream
star thanks to movies like The Martian and Doctor Strange.
But this British national treasure has puzzled people for ages with how to correctly say
his Nigerian name.
"A nickname for me at school was Duracell"
Over the years there've been some pretty catastrophic takes on the name.
"Chiwetel Ejiofor."
But the actor himself isn't bothered by the flubs.
"And then there's the kinda messed up you know..
Which is perfectly fine, you know, it's a complicated name, I mean it's OK."
So what's the right way to say it?
It took Oscars host Neil Patrick Harris a couple of tries to get it right but, here goes:
"Chiwetel Ejiofor, Chiwetel Ejiofor Chiwetel Ejiofor"
The Irish trendsetter
This young Irish actress became celebrated Stateside thanks to her riveting work in movies
like Hanna and Brooklyn, but even with two Oscar nominations under her belt, she's been
the victim of some major phonetic confusion over the years.
"She-shah Ronan."
"Swu- Swe.., Swishy Ronan?
Seahorse Ronan?"
She herself has played right along with the confusion over her vowel-heavy name.
"Sor-say…
Ronan.
I don't know.
Who is that anyway?"
"It's spelled: S-A-O-I-R-S-E, which makes no sense"
"It makes no sense."
"That it's pronounced that way."
"It's a ridiculous name."
But she's also been so kind as to clarify the correct pronunciation once and for all
with visual aids, to boot.
"It's so sparkly, so glamorous."
And in case that wasn't clear enough, let's take a listen to how she says it.
"Saoirse."
The other Emerald Isle enigma
He's starred in both the Star Wars and Harry Potter movie franchises, yet his name remains
a challenge for most of the world outside of Ireland.
Born in Dublin, the red-headed son of actor Brendan Gleeson says he's been referred to
by names that aren't even remotely close to the correct one.
As he told Entertainment Weekly:
"Dom-hall is quite a big one.
"There was a, there was a article last week that said the rapid rise of Donwn-hill Gleeson""
But after he become a truly familiar face thanks to his celebrated work in The Revenant,
people became a lot more interested in getting it right, and he thusly provided the following
tutorial:
"But it's 'Dougn-al is how I pronounce my name.
Which is like 'tonal' but with a 'd' instead of a 't'' and the 'm' is just there to confuse
Americans."
The screen queen
This Oscar-winning actress has managed to own the screen in everything from true-crime
dramas to big-budget action flicks to grim fairy tale films and beyond.
And while her face is one of the most recognizable in the world, hardly anyone knows how to really
pronounce her name.
"Everyone says "Ther-own."
"They screw it up."
"Yea.
It's not Ther-own."
"No."
The proper way to say her last name, at least for Westerners, is "th-air-in" but in her
native tongue, Afrikaans, it's actually quite different.
"Charlize Throne"
Oh.
Okay.
The one kinda that sounds like a crayon
The British actor has starred in a string of Hollywood favorites such as Selma and Interstellar,
but his Nigerian name still makes people stumble quite frequently.
"It's actually Oh-YEAH-lo-wah… but if I were to say that- don't try!
Don't even go there!"
Instead of butchering the native pronunciation, though, David prefers fans just go with the
increasingly popular interpretation that was established by Oprah Winfrey.
"She taught the nation how to do it, let's stick with "Oh-yellow-ah"
The twist ender
The writer-director of the Sixth Sense has made a career out of confusing people, so
perhaps it's not too off-brand that his name has had people tripping over their tongues
for decades.
The Indian auteur even shortened his name to make it easier on audiences, but alas,
most still can't even get that right.
It might be tempting to insert the "shy" part of his name as it appears when it's spelled,
but it's actually pronounced "Sha-ma-lan."
As twisted as his imagination can be, this is probably one guy whose name you don't want
to say wrong, just in case.
"He's done awful things to people and he'll do awful things to you."
Thanks for watching!
Click the Nicki Swift icon to subscribe to our YouTube channel.
Plus check out all this cool stuff we know you'll love, too!