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Leonardo DiCaprio<\/a> would\u2019ve been an Oscar-winning actor with a totally different name, if one agent had his way. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cThe Departed\u201d actor spoke about the almost-name change on Jason and Travis Kelce\u2019s podcast, \u201cNew Heights.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cI finally got an agent. They said, \u2018Your name is too ethnic,\u2019\u201d DiCaprio said on the episode, released on Wednesday. \u201cI go, \u2018What do you mean? It\u2019s Leonardo DiCaprio.\u2019 They go, \u2018No, too ethnic. They\u2019re never going to hire you. Your new name is Lenny Williams.\u2019\u201d <\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cI said, \u2018What is Lenny?\u2019 I was 12,13. I said, \u2018What is Lenny Williams?\u2019 \u2018We took your middle name and we made it. Now you\u2019re Lenny,\u2019\u201d he recalled the agent saying. (DiCaprio\u2019s full name is Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio.)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Luckily, the actor said things never moved forward with \u201cLenny\u201d as his father saw a headshot with DiCaprio\u2019s new name on it and \u201cripped it up.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cHe said, \u2018Over my dead body,\u2019\u201d DiCaprio recalled. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n DiCaprio appeared on the podcast alongside his \u201cOne Battle After Another\u201d co-star, Benicio del Toro, who said the same thing happened to him. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cI was told the same thing. \u2018You\u2019re Benny Del,\u2019\u201d del Toro said, \u201cMr. Del.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Others in Hollywood have spoken about the pressures from others to change their name, including singer Christina Aguilera<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cI remember when I was first coming up, there was a big debate around me on changing my last name because all the businessmen around me thought it was too long, too complicated, and too ethnic,\u201d the singer told Billboard<\/a> back in 2020. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201c\u2018Christina Agee\u2019 was an option, but that clearly wasn\u2019t going to fly,\u201d she replied, as she \u201cwas dead set against the idea and I wanted to represent who I really was.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n 20 Years Of<\/span>Free<\/span>Journalism<\/span><\/p>\n Your Support<\/span>Fuels<\/span>Our Mission<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Your Support<\/span>Fuels<\/span>Our Mission<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n