Alexander Skarsgård has played an infinity pool of different characters.
However, none of their names can compete with his. Shortly after his dad Stellan Skarsgård, 73, shared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert that people often mispronounce the family’s Swedish surname, the True Blood star recently revealed the correct way to say it.
“He said we’re mispronouncing the name. It’s ‘Skarsgourd,’ is that how you say it?” Stephen Colbert, 61, asked Alexander in the May 13 episode of his talk show, to which he confirmed the pronunciation. “Exactly. That little umlaut is an ‘oua’ [sound], it’s not an ‘a.’ It’s ‘Skarsgourd.’”
This isn’t the first time the 48-year-old—whose siblings are actors Gustaf Skarsgård, 44, Sam Skarsgård, 42, Bill Skarsgård, 34, Eija Skarsgård, 33, and Valter Skarsgård—has addressed his surname on the late night show, as he and Stephen poked fun at the common mispronunciation in a 2016 skit.
At the time, both men repeatedly exaggerated the “ar” sound in the family’s last name. The Succession actor even offered some comedic lore behind the Skarsgård lineage, noting one of his ancestors named Lars owned a bar.
Alexander isn’t the only celebrity that’s corrected Stephen’s approach to their name. Last December, Daniel Craig revealed the host has pronounced his name all six times he’s appeared on his show.
“I have a bone to pick with you,” the Knives Out star said at the time, before explaining his last name has an ‘ay’ sound rather than ‘eh.’ “[It’s] Daniel Cr-ayg.”
After Daniel sounded his surname out a few times, Stephen finally understood the pronunciation.
“I hear the difference,” he noted. “That is subtle, and I apologize. Daniel Cregg, f–k that guy. It’s Daniel Cr-ayg. I’m so sorry, please accept my apology.”
Keep reading to see more celebrity names you’ve probably mispronounced over the years…
Kirsten Dunst (Pronounced: Keer-Sten)
The Spider-Man actress told Town & Country in August 2025 that people usually call her “kerr-sten” or “criss-ten.”
However, the correct way to say her name is “keer-sten.”
“I don’t blame people,” she said. “You just give up.”
Denzel Washington (Pronounced: Den-Zel)
While the Equalizer star admitted it was his mother Lennis Washington who evoked the change due to he and his father having the same name, he confirmed fans have been saying his name wrong in 2025.
“My name is not actually pronounced Denzel,” he told Jimmy Kimmel during an appearance on his eponymous late night show at the time, before going on to pronounce his name with emphasis on the first syllable. “My name is pronounced Denzel.”
Travis Kelce (Pronounced: Kels)
Travis and brother Jason Kelce debated on their New Heights podcast whether to go by “Kel-see” or “Kels,” with Travis deciding to do the latter.
Taylor Lautner (Pronounced: Lout-Ner)
Speaking with E! News in February 2022, Taylor revealed the first syllable of his last name rhymes with “out” instead of being pronounced as “lot.”
Emily Ratajkowski (Pronounced: Rat-Ah-Kof-Sky or Rat-Ah-Cow-Skee)
After much speculation surrounding her moniker, the model set the record straight in a TikTok shared by Tory Burch, where she provided “the Polish way” to say it. She has also introduced herself by pronouncing her last name “Rat-Ah-Cow-Skee.”
Raven-Symoné (Pronounced: See-mon-ye)
While Raven-Symoné’s character could see the future on That’s So Raven, fans likely didn’t see this coming. The actress revealed in a January 2023 TikTok that her name has been mispronounced for years and is actually pronounced See-mon-ye.
Brendan Fraser (Pronounced: Fray-zer)
After Adam Sandler accidentally mispronounced the Oscar winner’s last name during a December 2022 interview for Variety‘s Actors on Actors series, the George of the Jungle star swung in with a trick that can help fans remember how to say the moniker correctly: Fraser rhymes with razor.
Adele (Pronounced: Uh-Dale)
During a Q&A in October 2022, the powerhouse singer praised a fan for “perfectly” pronouncing her name as “uh-dale” when asking a question.
Lindsay Lohan (Pronounced: Lo-Wen)
For her introductory video shared to TikTok in February 2022, Lindsay Lohan inadvertently set the record straight on how to correctly pronounce her last name, which is “Lo-wen.”
Alicia Silverstone (Pronounced: Uh-Lee-See-Uh)
The Clueless actress set the record straight on how to pronounce her name on TikTok. Alicia said she’s not bothered if fans don’t get it right, noting, “But my sweet mama didn’t like it… so for her… get it right! Ali-SEE-yuh.”
Kesha (Pronounced: Keh-Sha)
“My name is Kesha. Keh-sha,” the singer said on TikTok. “Not Keisha. Not Ketchup. Kesha.”
Justin Theroux (Pronounced: Tha-Roo)
The Leftovers actor’s uncle revealed in an interview with Apple TV+ that we’ve all been pronouncing “Theroux” incorrectly, including Justin himself!
“The main character is played by Justin Theroux, my nephew,” Paul Theroux explained of the actor starring in his novel’s television adaptation. The novelist later poked fun at his nephew, saying, “Sometimes he calls himself Justin tha-row [laughs]. It’s a French name, it’s Theroux.”
Ariana Grande (Pronounced: Gran-Dee)
The pop star dropped jaws in 2018 after she explained the correct way to say her last name. When speaking about her engagement to Pete Davidson at the time, Ariana discussed whether or not she’d take his last name in an interview with Beats 1’s Ebro Darden. That’s when she blurted out the “gran-dee” pronunciation when describing her own last name.
Chrissy Teigen (Pronounced: Tie-Ghen)
The Cravings cookbook author blew everyone’s mind when she shared the real way to say her last name. During an appearance on Live With Kelly and Ryan in 2018, the model admitted it was her “fault” for the mispronunciation. “It’s been 25 years, I’m tired of correcting people,” she expressed.
Gal Gadot (Pronounced: Guh-Dote)
The lasso of truth! The Wonder Woman actress chatted with Jimmy Kimmel about the pronunciation (guh-dote) and the meaning of her last name, which is “Riverbank” in Hebrew. “The Gadot used to be Greenstein,” she confessed of her original last name, but her parents “felt” it had more oomph.
Jake Gyllenhaal (Pronounced: Yee-Len-Hey-Lo)
Prepare to be mind blown. During an appearance on Conan in 2012, the actor shared the “only two places that that is pronounced correctly, my last name, is in Sweden and in Ikea.”
Ralph Fiennes (Pronounced: Ray-F Fines)
The star has openly discussed just how frequently people screw up his name. However, in 2011, he told The Hollywood Reporter he’d never change it because he was named after his step-grandfather, who pronounced it in the same way.
Sade Adu (Pronounced Shar-Day)
According to the legendary singer’s IMDb page, her stage name is pronounced shar-day.
Steve Buscemi (Pronounced: Boo-Sem-Ee)
In 2014, the Fargo alum confirmed his last name is pronounced boo-sem-ee during a panel for Running Late with Scott Rogowsky. However, he said he doesn’t “correct people” if they say boo-shh-em-me because “it’s not wrong.”
Charlize Theron (Pronounced: There-In)
In 2014, the Oscar winner told Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show that her last name is always botched. “They screw it up,” she quipped. “I almost want to make an audiotape on how to pronounce my name.”
Anya Taylor Joy (Pronounced: Anne-Ya)
Check(mate) your pronounciation of the Queen’s Gambit star, who says her name like anne-ya—and not awn-ya.
Amanda Seyfried (Pronounced: Sigh-Frid)
The Mean Girls alum has us all feeling like Karen because she revealed in 2012 during an interview with Hollywood Streams that the correct pronunciation of her last name is sigh-frid. Although, she admitted that her “sister says it differently” than she does.
