Fire and Ash’ Star Oona Chaplin Nearly Changed Name to Distance Herself From Charlie Chaplin

Avatar: Fire and Ash is now in theaters, and while the franchise is known for having great villains, the third film may take the cake with its fiercest foe yet. Oona Chaplin brings the most inspired performance in the sci-fi series yet as Varang, one of the breakout characters in the latest sequel. The actress has now talked about her real-life heritage, represented by her incredibly famous last name.

In an interview with The Times (via Variety), Oona Chaplin, the granddaughter of legendary actor Charlie Chaplin, revealed that she once considered changing her name in order to distance herself from the iconic figure. Before Avatar: Fire and Ash, Chaplin was best known for her roles as Talisa Maegyr in HBO’s Game of Thrones and Zilpha Geary in Tom Hardy’s FX series Taboo. While addressing the possibility of her last name opening doors for her, Chaplin said it’s been a journey to “feel deserving” of her place in Hollywood.

“It’s been a journey to feel deserving, because I know that doors have opened for me that potentially wouldn’t have opened if I wasn’t associated with this brilliant man. It’s definitely tricky to feel undeserving of the place you’re in.”

Though she nearly changed her name, Chaplin ultimately decided against it, as guilt eventually turned into gratitude. Charlie Chaplin is arguably the most famous actor from the silent film era, known for his elaborate stunts in classics such as Modern Times, The Gold Rush, and The Kid, among many others. For Oona Chaplin, she eventually understood the reality of following in the footsteps of her grandfather, accepting his legacy as a part of her own.

“—from guilt to gratitude by working really hard and knowing that whatever I do is never going to compare to what my grandfather did. If all my purpose in this realm is for people to say, ‘Oh, Charlie Chaplin’s granddaughter,’ and they google him and watch a movie of his, then I’m happy because he’s such a genius.”