Michael Caine Changes Legal Name Because Of ISIS, TSA

Michael Caine, the legendary British actor, was forced to change his legal name because of the rise of ISIS.

Michael Caine Changes Name

Caine, 83, was born Maurice Joseph Micklewhite. Until recently, he’s kept that as his legal name while he’s been known publicly by his stage name, Michael Caine, which he adopted back in 1954. He changed his legal name to his stage name because of the tightened security that’s come along with the threat of ISIS.

“I changed my name when all the stuff started with ISIS and all that,” Caine told The Sun. “An airport security guard would say, ‘Hi, Michael Caine,’ and suddenly I’d give him a passport with a different name on it. I could stand there for an hour.”

When Caine first started acting, he adopted the moniker Michael Scott. However, when he booked a play in London in 1953, he learned that another actor in the English capital was going by that name as well. After spotting a poster for The Caine Mutiny, he told his agent that “Caine” would serve as his last name.

Caine was last on the big screen in caper sequel Now You See Me 2. Next year, he’ll appear in Zach Braff‘s Going in Style and comedy Cop D’etat.