Hey, B!
So this is the thing: My name is Marsha Mason. I’m an actor in Canada, so this isn’t an issue here. As I expand my career, though, my hope is that I will do some work in the States and hence, my question. As of right now, I’m still trying to get into casting rooms for TV and film, so this is the ideal time for me to start this process since I have all of one credit on IMDb. But I’m also a little reticent about it since, well, like my name! It’s an icebreaker, if nothing else, most people comment on it and it helps them to remember who I am.
So I don’t really know what to do. I have a reputation here built on my name. I don’t want to use my middle name (I’m 36, I really don’t feel like a “Marsha Ann Mason”), but I suppose I’m open to that suggestion if that’s an easy way of doing this. Can I use two initials instead of a first name? Does SAG require that two members do not have the same name? On IMDb, there’s always people with the same name who have little ones and twos next to their names. And I have no idea how to decide whether it should be my first name I change or my last name, how it would work with banking institutions or the tax folk if I use a stage name, or how I let other people in the industry know that I’ve changed my name when I’m submitting for auditions. I also feel there are a lot of other things I need to be aware of when undertaking this process, but I have no idea what they could be.
Any advice would be great!
Thanks!
Marsha Mason
Hi Marsha! Thanks for writing.
I think the most common option actors who share names with celebs employ is adding a middle initial. So, in your case, that would be Marsha A. Mason (which solves the “Marsha Ann Mason” not feeling right thing). Yes, M.A. Mason would also take care of that, but then you run into people not knowing what gender someone named “M.A.” might be, and that’s no good.
You’re absolutely right that now is the time to deal with this issue! Far better to come up with a solution now than to wait ’til you’re well branded in all markets as Marsha Mason and then find you’re in trouble with the unions or that there is confusion and frustration on the part of casting directors and agents in the US.
The last time I checked with SAG, the rule was — if you can prove that your name is the name you were born with (or married into) and you didn’t do something like change your name to “Tom Cruise” or something — it’s okay for you to have it, even if another SAG member does too. The theory being, the big issue with common names came from payments and residuals going to the wrong actor and now that everything is handled via Social Security Number, it’s not nearly as relevant what an actor’s name is. Of course, you may still be discouraged by SAG from taking a name that is in use by an active member, but I believe (and I’m sure any reader with more current information on this topic than mine will correct me if that needs doing) if the name is yours, it’s fair game.
If you do decide to change your name or use a slightly different professional name without legally changing your name, you’ll need to inform your bank that you will be depositing checks made out to both versions of your name, and they’ll ask for documentation of this professional name as a source of income (and that’s as simple as sharing a copy of your SAG membership paperwork or a stub from work with your professional name but the same Social Security Number you have on file with your legal name). When I was pursuing acting here in the early ’90s, I used a stage name and simply had an AKA on file with the bank. That way, they’d accept checks made out to either my professional or legal name and the only ID I had was a match to my legal name. I had to endorse checks with both signatures and both were on file with the bank from when I first opened the account.
Of course, the banking issues get even less complicated if you choose to incorporate and deposit money to your corporation rather than to yourself as an individual (this is something I’m going to cover in a future column, by the way). You’d have all of your acting work paid out to your company, rather than to either of your names, professional or legal. 🙂 Back to the issue of the name, though…
As for how to let the industry know you’ve changed your name (or added the middle initial), just start working it in. Reprint your headshots and resumés to include the “new you” and make sure the online services you use have your “new name.” I’ve seen actors send out postcards to let me know they’re using a different name. Email blasts (using BCC to protect the addresses of your recipients, of course) also work. And you can always update your Facebook status to reflect the change. 😉
When I received your email, I reached out to a friend of mine who has a name that is similar to that of the late actor, John Spencer. Here is what he had to say about his process of changing his name (and reclaiming his real name) after having had to use a middle name to distinguish himself and avoid confusion. You’ll note that his name was already “taken” at SAG and I believe this was before they recently relaxed the rules on an actor’s true birth name being fair game for membership, duplicate or no.
In October 2003, I joined SAG as Jonathan Walker Spencer because John Spencer (née “Speshock”) was a series regular on the top-ten show The West Wing.
Jon Spencer, the musician, (née Jonathan Spencer/no relation), held the SAG name Jonathan Spencer because he had a line in the movie Joe’s Apartment (1996), as a member of his real band, Boss Hog. He was forced to use the SAG name Jonathan Spencer because John Speshock had claimed John Spencer and using the SAG name Jon Spencer would create confusion.
So the chances of me claiming my birth name at the time were slim to none. I was only on my second SAG credit.
Sadly John Spencer, the actor, passed away in December of 2005. And Jon Spencer, the musician, went on inactive status with SAG.
By 2007, I was using my birth name Jonathan Spencer on all AFTRA shows and had built up enough credits to stake my case for my birth name Jonathan Spencer. SAG agreed.
So, there you have it. I’ve seen actors have no issue with using their birth name with SAG and I’ve seen SAG strongly suggest that they choose an alternative. Certainly, if you’re joining SAG after having built up significant credits in Canada, you have a case — just like Jonathan did — for getting to use your name. I seem to recall the whole Vanessa Williams vs. Vanessa L. Williams issue back in the post-Miss America/Melrose Place era. Of course, now, Vanessa L. Williams doesn’t have to use the L. She’s been working steadily at a very high-profile level, and everyone assumes she’s the one you mean, when you say, “Vanessa Williams.”
Right now, you aren’t likely to be the one we’re thinking of when we say, “Marsha Mason,” so you may want to do yourself the favor of distinguishing yourself with that middle initial. That said, by the time you’re ready to take LA by storm, you may find yourself in the happy position of being the Marsha Mason we’re thinking of! Good luck! Lemmeknow what you decide to do.
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Originally published by Actors Access at http://more.showfax.com/columns/avoice/archives/000967.html. Please support the many wonderful resources provided by the Breakdown Services family. This posting is the author’s personal archive.