Rachel Weisz tried to change name

Actress Rachel Weisz was rebuked by her agent for changing her name at the start of her career because her chosen moniker made her sound like a porn star.

The Constant Gardener star grew so tired of teachers botching the pronunciation of her surname, she altered the "weird"

spelling in a bid to avoid confusion while breaking into the entertainment industry, but the 42 year old's efforts were shot down by her manager because he didn't want casting directors to get the wrong impression.

She explains, "I did try and change it. In England there's this catalog called Spotlight, where the actors send in their pictures, and I changed the spelling one time to... 'Vice'.

"My agent called me up and he said, 'That sounds like a porn star,' and he crossed it out. And so then I thought, 'OK, well I won't do (that),'... so I did it 'V-Y-C-E'."

Weisz also considered abandoning her title completely, admitting, "I changed it to Kenya Campbell (one time) - that (also) kind of sounds a bit like a porn star."