This week, Emma Stone experienced a touching moment with a reporter who addressed her by her true name.
The reporter’s previous interview with the double Oscar-winning actress gained significant attention last year, which he claims “skyrocketed” his career “literally for saying one word”.
The two met again as Stone was promoting her upcoming film Eddington at the Cannes film festival, directed by Ari Aster, known for his work on Midsommar.
Ari Aster’s first film, Hereditary, was so intense it caused emotional “damage” to actor Alex Wolff, making film enthusiasts eager to see what he delivers next. Eddington features a cast including Joaquin Phoenix, Pedro Pascal, and Austin Butler, and follows a conflict between a sheriff and a mayor during the Covid-19 pandemic in Eddington, New Mexico.
Although Stone will be credited as Emma in the movie, that’s not the name she prefers to be called.
A viral clip from last year captured a moment when a Kazakhstani reporter addressed Emma by her real name.
Emma was promoting her film Kinds of Kindness when the reporter referred to her as Emily.
“My name is Emily, thank you, very nice,” Emma responded back then after the reporter was ‘corrected’.
The public knows her as Emma, but her given name is Emily Jean Stone.
Emma adopted a stage name at the beginning of her career after learning there was already an actress named ‘Emily Stone’.
Meeting the reporter again, he expressed: “Before asking a question, I’d like to thank you for quite literally changing my life.
“Just a year ago, we were in the press room and I addressed you by your real name, Emily.”
Emma replied with enthusiasm: “Yes! It’s very good to see you.”
The reporter continued: “Your kind and warm response, it went viral in Western media and obviously in my country, Kazakhstan, and it has skyrocketed my career immediately. It has changed my personal life immediately, literally for saying one word.”
“And now I can be once again here in much better conditions… again talking to you, this is a great pleasure, and just for you to know, I’m eternally grateful.”
Emma, moved by his remarks, commented: “That was incredibly sweet, and I’m so happy that a name could do that.”
After last year’s viral moment, Emma was asked during an interview on the Today show which name she preferred, and she revealed the inspiration behind her name change.
“I’m fine either way. I really am. My real name is Emily, though,” she stated.
“[Emily Stone] was taken at Screen Actors Guild. It’s sort of like when you register a business and you can’t have the same name as someone else. I’ve been saying Emily my whole life. You can call me whatever you want. You can make up a name.”
On The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, she shared that her name ‘Emma’ was influenced by the British pop group, the Spice Girls.
“Growing up, I was super blonde, and my real name is Emily, but I wanted to be called Emma because of Baby Spice. And guess what, now I am,” she explained.
“It wasn’t necessarily because of her. But yes, in second grade, did I go up to the teacher on the first day and ask her to call me Emma? Yes, I did. And was it because of Emma Lee Bunton from the Spice Girls? Yes, it was.”