Birth Names of Famous Actors Trivia Quiz

Answer: Michael Douglas

Michael Keaton was born Michael John Douglas in 1951 in Pennsylvania. He took a stage name because there was already a prominent actor called Michael Douglas - son of Kirk. He says he chose it because of a liking for Buster Keaton.
His parts include title roles in Tim Burton's movies "Beetlejuice" (1988) and "Batman"(1989). His lead performance in Ińárritu's "Birdman" (2014) earned him critical acclaim and a Golden Globe award.

Answer: Issur Danielovitch

Kirk Douglas was born Issur Danielovitch in 1916 in Amsterdam, New York. His movie career spanned 60 years and over 90 movies. Among his many performances was the title role in "Spartacus" (1960), whose scriptwriter, Dalton Trumbo, had been blacklisted as an alleged Communist sympathiser. Douglas's announcement of Trumbo's role was a big step to ending the blacklisting.

Other roles include Colonel Dax in "Paths of Glory" (1957) and Vincent van Gogh in "Lust for Life" (1956).

Answer: Albert Einstein

Albert Brooks was born Albert Lawrence Einstein in 1947 in Beverly Hills, California. He pursued a career as a comedian, changing his surname from that of the famous scientist by the age of 19. He earned an Oscar nomination for his performance in "Broadcast News" (1987). Other work included voicing Nemo's father Marlin in Pixar's "Finding Nemo" (2003).

Answer: James Stewart

Stewart Granger was born James Lablache Stewart in 1913 in London. He chose a different stage name because of the already well-known US actor, who was five years his senior. He started as an extra in 1933 and made movies in the UK such as "Fanny by Gaslight" (1944).

He had great success as Quatermain in "King Solomon's Mines" (1950) and in the lead role in "The Prisoner of Zenda" (1952). He died in 1993.

Answer: Alfred Jones

Ray Milland was born Alfred Reginald Jones in Neath, Wales in 1907. He became an actor after military service in the Household Cavalry. His movies include DeMille's "Reap the Wild Wind" (1942) and Hitchcock's "Dial M for Murder" (1954). His most celebrated role was as an alcoholic in Wilder's "The Lost Weekend" (1945) for which he won an Academy Award for Best Actor. He died in 1986.

Answer: Richard Jenkins

Richard Burton was born Richard Walter Jenkins in the small Welsh village of Pontrhydyfen in 1925. He took his stage surname from that of a favourite teacher who was an inspiration to him. He was acclaimed as the natural stage successor to Olivier, but concentrated on movies.

He was nominated unsuccessfully seven times for Academy Awards. His movies include "The Robe" (1954), "The Spy Who Came in from the Cold" (1965) and "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" (1966), the latter opposite Elizabeth Taylor whom he married and divorced twice.

He died in 1984.

Answer: Douglas Ullman

Douglas Fairbanks was born Douglas Elton Thomas Ullman in 1883 in Denver, Colorado. His fame came from his dashing good looks and acrobatic stunts in swashbuckling silent movies such as "The Three Musketeers" (1921), "Robin Hood" (1922) and "The Thief of Bagdad" (1924).

He and his wife Mary Pickford were among the co-founders of United Artists. He was known as the "King of Hollywood", but his career did not survive the advent of talking pictures. He died in 1939.

Answer: Maurice Micklewhite

Michael Caine was born Maurice Joseph Micklewhite in London, England in 1933. His many movies include "Zulu" (1964), "The Italian Job" (1969) and "The Man Who Would Be King" (1975). In later years, he won two Academy Awards as Best Supporting Actor in "Hannah and Her Sisters" (1986) and "The Cider House Rules"(1999). He was knighted in 2000.

Answer: Ramón Estévez

Martin Sheen was born Ramón Antonio Gerardo Estévez in 1940 in Dayton, Ohio. His movies include "Badlands" (1973), "Apocalypse Now" (1979) and "The Amazing Spider-Man" (2012). His role on TV as the US President in "The West Wing" earned him six Emmy nominations. His four children are all actors.

Answer: László Löwenstein

Peter Lorre was born László Löwenstein in 1904 in Rózsahegy, in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which is now called Ruzomberok in the modern country of Slovakia. He became well-known after his extraordinary performance in Fritz Lang's German movie "M" (1931).

After leaving Germany he worked in the UK on Hitchcock's "The Man Who Knew Too Much" (1934). Moving to Hollywood, he made several movies as "Mr Moto" and appeared in classics such as "The Maltese Falcon" (1941), "Casablanca" (1942) and "Arsenic and Old Lace" (1944).

He died in 1964.