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35 Surprising Facts About Actors and Musicians That’ll Make You Quadruple-Take

What? Wait — What?? Wait — What?!?! Wait — WHAT?!?! Like that

35 Surprising Facts About Actors and Musicians That’ll Make You Quadruple-Take

April 19, 2024

You think actors and musicians just come strutting out of the womb famous? Well, I guess they do, if they're nepo babies. Which some of these are. Well, anyway, facts ahoy!

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35

Charli XCX was her MSN messenger name. XCX as in Kiss, Charli, Kiss. CRACKED.COM — Source

34

Coldplay was named after a book of poems. The book? Child's Reflections: Cold Play. The original name? Starfish. Seems like they made the right choice. CRACKED.COM — Source

33

First Aid Kit was inspired by the dictionary. Klara Söderberg said, I was 13...and looking through a dictionary, looking for a name...I think music should be like a consolation to help you get through everyday life... CRACKED.COM — Source

32

Paramore was an original member's mother's maiden name. When they learned the meaning of paramour, they took on the name, using the spelling of the maiden name. CRACKED.COM — Source

31

Daft Punk was based on a bad review of the pair's earlier project. The pair was originally named Darlin', and a critic called their work a daft punky thrash. CRACKED.COM — Source

30

Fountains of Wayne

Fountains of Wayne was named after a lawn ornament store. In Wayne, NJ, there was a store with the name, and the band thought it was amusing. CRACKED.COM — Source

29

Cardi В based her name off Bacardi alcohol. Her sister's name is Hennessy so people used to call her Bacardi, which she shortened. CRACKED.COM — Source

28

Halsey

Halsey is an anagram of her first name, Ashley. It's also the subway stop in Brooklyn, New York, where she grew up. CRACKED.COM — Source

27

Jimmy Eat World was making fun of the guitarist's little brother's weight. Tom Linton's younger brother Jimmy was the subject of childhood taunting, which is how the band eventually acquired its mean-spirited name. CRACKED.COM — Source

26

Skrillex was Sonny Moore's old AOL name. It was a stupid old online AOL screen name. There really isn't a meaning behind it. CRACKED.COM — Source

25

Childish Gambino

Childish Gambino came from a random name generator. To Donald Glover's credit, it was a Wu-Tang name generator so ... nice. CRACKED.COM — Source

24

311 is an Omaha police code for indecent exposure. The guitarist got arrested for skinny dippinng, so they used the citation code as a band name. CRACKED.COM — Source

23

David Bowie named himself after Jim Bowie and Bowie knives. Не was worried that if he used his real name David Jones would be confused with Davey Jones of The Monkees. CRACKED.COM — Source

22

The Cure was originally named after one of their first songs Easy Cure. Robert Smith thought the name Easy Cure was too American and hippie-ish so they shortened it. CRACKED.COM — Source

21

The 1975 was named after a journal entry. Matty Healy found an old book in a yard sale that had an entry dated 1st June, The 1975. CRACKED.COM — Source

20

Avicii came up with his name because his real name was taken on Myspace. Avici is the the lowest level of Buddhist hell, according to Tim Bergling. CRACKED.COM — Source

19

Lizzo was inspired by Jay-Z's song Izzo. Her real name is Melissa so instead of shortening to Lissa, she went with Lizzo. CRACKED.COM — Source

18

Lady Gaga was inspired by Queen. She was first called Gaga as a reference to Queen's song Radio Ga-Ga. CRACKED.COM — Source

17

Blondie

Blondie was a common catcall to Debbie Harry. You can thank uncreative, creepy truckers for this band name. CRACKED.COM — Source

16

BTS stands for Bulletproof Boy Scouts. illbc b rc S S 10 -10 SIC A CA RDS na The Korean expression is Bangtan Sonyeondan. CRACKED.COM — Source

15

Phil Collins disdains dress codes. CRACKED.COM Phil Collins named his 1985 solo album No Jacket Re- quired after an incident in Chicago. Collins was de- nied service at a restaurant because he did not meet the dress code require- ments. — Source

14

The late American cook, known for TV's The French Chef, worked for the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) during WWII under her maiden name Julia McWilliams. CRACKED.COM C.I.A. docu- mentation was once classified. — Source

13

Comedian and actor Steve Martin started playing banjo at age 17. Не has played on several albums, and has won a total of five Grammy awards. FE CRACKED.COM In August 2021, he even went viral on Twitter after post- ing a short video clip of him play- ing. — Source

12

Jonathan Larson, who created the musical Rent, died on January 25, 1996, a night before the show's Off-Broadway premier. GRACKED.COM For six years prior to his death, Larson worked to make the musical a modern-day version of the opera La Boheme. — Source

11

George Clooney's first role on TV was playing a down-to-earth handyman in 1985 on the sitcom, The Facts of Life. CRACKED.COM Early on in his career, before ER turned him into a superstar, he was also seen on Roseanne and even The Golden Girls. — Source

10

Paul Walker, star of The Fast and Furious, who died in a car accident in 2013, once purchased an engagement ring for a soldier and his fiancee who couldn't afford it. CRACKED.COM Не overheard the cou- ple talking about the hefty price tag, then called over the jewelry store manager and said to Put it on his tab. — Source

9

James Michael Tyler's Gunther from Friends was originally an extra. GRAGKED.COM The actor who played Gun- ther on Friends was origi- nally cast as an extra. They eventually wrote Gunther into the 33rd episode, since Tyler was a former barista who knew how to work an espresso machine. — Source

8

Carl Weathers, who was a linebacker for the Oakland Raiders before becoming an actor, reportedly auditioned for his famous Rocky role by reading with Stallone himself. CRACKED COM Afterwards, he said, I could do a lot better if you got me a real actor to work with. Sly felt that was something Apollo might say, and Weathers earned the role. — Source

7

Twilight actor Robert Pattison, dealt with an obsessed fan in 2008 by taking her out. CRACKED.COM The woman apparently stayed outside of his apartment for weeks while he filmed a movie in Spain. Pattinson recalled, I just complained about every- thing in my life and she never came back. — Source

6

The 1999 film The Matrix became a sensation, partly because of Keanu Reeves' portrayal of the lead character, Neo. CRACKED.COM Five other A-listers turned down the role: Will Smith, Val Kilmer, Brad Pitt, Nico- las Cage, and even Sandra Bullock who the casting di- rectors considered for a fe- male Neo. — Source

5

In 1988, Busey claims to have had a near-death experience after a motorcycle accident. CRACKED.COM In 2003, the actor starred in the film Quigley, about a man who dies and comes back as a dog. Reportedly he disagreed so ve- hemently about the set design of heaven he got into a fist fight with another actor, and the film went days behind schedule. — Source

4

Cher

On Cher's comeback hit Believe in 1998, the producers decided to test out a vocal autotune device. CRACKED COM They set the pitch corrector at an ex- tremely high level that created the fa- mous robot-synthe- sizer sound. — Source

3

Thandiwe Newton's first name was misspelled as Thandie in the credits of her 1991 first movie, Flirting. CRACKED.COM In April 2021, after three decades, the actress reclaimed her original first name. — Source

2

In 2014, at 81 years old, singer-songwriter Willie Nelson received his 5th-degree black belt in the martial art of Gong Kwon Yu Sul. GRACKED.COM The musi- cian has also studied Тае- kwondo. — Source

1

In Lucille Ball's hometown of Celeron, NY, an unsettling sculpture of the late actress had been there since 2009. CRACKED.COM In 2014, it was fi- nally replaced with another of the comedian that was easier on the eyes. — Source

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