All: "Did you get my name right?" |
Who's excited to see the Evil Queen Ravenna in "The Huntsman: Winter's War?" Yup, the character is perfectly portrayed by shar-LEES Ther-RONE, no, Char-leez THAIR-en...how do you pronounce Charlize Theron's name?
In the league of "most baffling stars' names", Theron's wins the throne (yes, very much intended – you'll get it once you hear the name pronounced in Afrikaans), it is right up there with Jack Gyllenhaal's mystifying last name.
But they are not the only ones, there are others out there in Hollywood with names that can threaten to unmercifully twist your tongue or cause haunting embarrassment when you confidently (and very wrongly) say them out loud.
Saoirse Ronan
Let's start with the name of this 22-year-old Irish Lass. As tempting it is to just read her name as it is, alas, the correct pronunciation is nowhere near the often heard "Say-oar-se". No matter how many times she repeats it, people still get "Seer-sha's" name wrong.
Correct pronunciation: Seer-sha Row-nin
Watch her in: "Brooklyn", "The Grand Budapest Hotel"
Mia Wasikowska
While we were taught since we were wee to pronounce words starting with 'W' as "Wa / We / Woo", we will now say them as "Va / Ve / Voo". Okay, that was just to see if you'll start reading all those Ws as Vs. Because in this Australian Polish actress' case, there is no W sound in her name, despite the 23rd letter in the alphabet appearing twice in it.
Correct pronunciation: Mee-yuh Vash-ih-kov-ska
Watch her in: "Crimson Peak", "Alice Through the Looking Glass"
Milla Jovovich
Most Asians tend to automatically pronounce Milla's last name as JO-VO-Vic. Oh, how wrong that is. This may not be baffling for speakers who are used to pronouncing "J" as "Y", but those who aren't, their minds can seriously be "Dazed and Confused" by this.
Correct pronunciation: MEE-lah YOH-vo-vich
Watch her in: "Resident Evil" movie series
Joe Manganiello
Funny thing about this, native Italian speakers claim both Manganiello brothers (Joe and Nicholas) are pronouncing their own last name wrong by omitting the "i". So...should the "i" really be silent or no? Either way, the G is definitely not a J but a hard G, take a glance at Joe's abs if you ever need a reminder.
Correct pronunciation: Joe Man-GUH-nello
Watch him in: "Magic Mike XXL"
Ewan McGregor
While usually it's the surname that presents a problem to most people, in Ewan's case, it's his given name that might be a little misleading. This is especially true for speakers that tend to separate the E and W, saying Eh-Wan or Ee-Wan instead of, well, the correct YOO-wan.
Correct pronunciation: YOO-wan McGregor
Watch him in: "Star Wars" Episode I, II & III, "Mortdecai", "Beauty and the Beast"
Kim Basinger
A simple name often unnecessarily complicated by pronouncing the G with a J sound. Nope, no Bassinjer here. Just a Bay Singer (sort of, easier to remember).
Correct pronunciation: Kim Bay-sing-er
Watch her in: "8 Mile", "Fifty Shades Darker"
Jake Gyllenhaal
We've come to the most fun name to say! Just listen to how Conan O'Brien says it (watch the video at the end of the article), warning: it gets addictive. Also, back when Jake was promoting "Prince of Persia" in 2010, this happened:
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And he replied with: "Yillenhoolahay"
Finally, the world learned how to really pronounce Mr. Yillen-whoever's name! Unfortunately, turns out everyone was just Punk'd! for years, his sister Maggie revealed the real pronunciation during an interview in 2014. Side note: Maggie's real name is Margalit, a name both her parents claimed wasn't hers but was clearly stated on her birth certificate – talk about a family with name secrets in their closet.
Correct pronunciation: Jayk JIH-luhn-hall
Watch him in: "Southpaw", "Demolition"
Charlize Theron
Seriously, does anyone know? When the South African actress went on CNN's Piers Morgan Tonight in 2011, she pronounced it as shar-LEES Th-RONE. Fast forward a few years later on 2014's Saturday Night Live, she told host Jimmy Fallon that his Char-leez THAIR-en pronunciation was like music to her ears. In fact, in her "Funny or Die" YouTube video appearances, she addressed herself as Char-leez THAIR-en. Does the actress just have different ways of saying her name depending on whether her audience speaks Afrikaans or English? Or does she just love messing with her fans...
Correct pronunciation: So, which is the correct pronunciation, Ms. Theron?
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Uh...
Watch her in: "The Huntsman: Winter's War", "Mad Max: Fury Road"
Still unsure how to say these names? Check out this helpful video guide.
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Cinema Online, 10 April 2016