Awkward Moments Interviewers Confused Actors With Someone Else

Actors are interviewed all the time, and this is especially true when they're promoting a movie or other project that's recently been released. Typically, actors knock out dozens or even hundreds of interviews, one after the other, with different outlets, which is seemingly exhausting. This can lead to some humorous moments, but it can also become incredibly awkward when either the actor or the person interviewing them does or says something wrong.

There have been plenty of interviews where actors fired back during inappropriate questions or when a topic is broached that has nothing to do with the purpose of the discussion. These interviews tend to go viral as celebrities walk out or lash out at the person sitting across from them. There's another type of awkward interview that doesn't happen as often but is nonetheless mortifying for the interviewer because they're the ones who messed up. It doesn't happen often, but every once in a while, an actor will sit with someone who completely misidentifies them.

That's not to say they accidentally say the incorrect name and then correct themselves — everyone does that occasionally. These interviews are the ones where the person asking the questions thinks they're talking to someone else entirely. This rarely goes over well with the subject, who can criticize or make fun of the person interviewing them, and in one case, the actor went nuclear when they were confused with someone else. These are the best examples of those incredibly awkward interviews.

While promoting his 2007 film "Grace Is Gone," John Cusack's press tour included having a young woman sit with him to discuss the project. Cusack sat before a poster of the movie, which clearly displays his name, receiving top billing above the title. An interviewer from the University of Southern California's "Vision Take 5" meets him excitedly and sits down, explaining that she's missing her film class for the opportunity to speak with him.

She jokingly says the class was watching "American Beauty" that day, and she was missing it. Hearing this, Cusack becomes confused, asking, "American Beauty?" What's funny about that?" She then responds, "You were in that," followed by, "What's the one with the rose petals?" Cusack then says he's not in that, and she repeatedly asks him, "Really?" The actor continues to insist he's not in the film, holds up his hand, and says, "Swear to god," leading his interviewer to ask, "Am I just really confused?"

Cusack suggests she might be, and the video, which never aired, ends. Cusack didn't seem offended or upset about being confused with "House of Cards" star Kevin Spacey, which is kind of him, because the two actors look nothing alike. Cusack and Spacey worked together prior to "Grace Is Gone" in 1997's "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil," so it's not as if they never shared the silver screen. Regardless, Cusack isn't Spacey, but he seemed well-humored about the mix-up.

There are many ways a celebrity can react to a misidentification during an interview, but something that rarely happens is that the interviewee goes along with the mistake by pretending to be the other person. That happened when Charli XCX, who's done some live-action and voice acting, sat for an interview with a woman who expressed what a big fan she is of the singer's music, which isn't unusual in these sorts of interviews with celebrities.

Charli XCX enjoys a lollipop while sitting beside her interviewer, who says, "One of my favorite songs that you have is 'Royals.' Where did you get the inspiration for that?" Charli XCX is from England, and she had nothing to do with "Royals," which was written and performed by New Zealand singer-songwriter Lorde as her debut hit single. Charli XCX listens to the question and doesn't skip a beat, answering as if she's Lorde, saying the following in response:

"'Royals' came from, you know, just me looking at like how I'm from New Zealand from like a small town, and you know, like, you know, like I'm not really part of that bougie-like lifestyle culture, so I thought I'd write a song about it." The interviewer begins to ask another question, and the video cuts off. You have to give Charli XCX credit for just going with it, which makes for an entertaining interview people continue to discuss years after it occurred.

Dana White isn't a typical actor by any stretch of the imagination, but he's played a character a time or two in front of the camera, including an enforcer in an episode of "The League." Of course, he's best known for being the CEO and president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship organization, which has landed him in front of many interviewers for years. While sitting with ESPN's Sage Steele, the conversation is friendly with laughter and smiles, but she accidentally ends a brief discussion with "Thank you, Joe," before continuing on with the next topic.

Initially, White doesn't seem to notice, or if he does, he lets it slide, but not for long. Steele made a mistake others have done in the past, though not in an interview, of confusing him for Joe Rogan. While the two look somewhat similar, being bald white men who are close in age, they aren't the same person. Steele then asks, "What's Joe Rogan's dream," but then corrects herself, saying, "Joe Rogan. Dana White," shaking her head and asking the question again with the correct name.

She catches herself, but White asks, "Did you just — did you just think that was Joe Rogan?" She admitted that she did and White jokingly goes off: "She just called me f****** Joe Rogan! You thought I was f****** Joe Rogan?! I was bald before Joe Rogan was ever bald!" Steele shows her visible embarrassment with her head in her hands as White laughs.

If there's one actor you don't want to confuse with someone else, it's Samuel L. Jackson. Jackson has been in so many movies he holds the record as the highest-grossing actor of all time, so he's kind of a big deal. In a highly publicized interview, KTLA's Sam Rubin spoke with Jackson via satellite link, asking him about the reaction people had to a Super Bowl commercial. Jackson then asks, "What Super Bowl commercial?" Rubin appears momentarily confused by his response, and he immediately apologizes.

Jackson doesn't let it go, saying, "You're the entertainment reporter for this station, and you don't know the difference between me and Laurence Fishburne? That must be a very short line for your job outside there." This led to more apologies as Rubin attempts to steer the conversation back on track, but Jackson continues, "I'm the other guy. There's more than one Black guy doing a commercial. I'm the 'What's in your wallet?' Black guy. He's the car Black guy."

Jackson didn't stop there, which made the whole thing even more uncomfortable for Rubin, who later issued a public apology. He explained he became confused because a commercial for "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" aired during the game, noting that Jackson "gave me the shellacking that was well deserved" (via CNN). That said, the "Winter Soldier" clip played for a few seconds before Rubin got started, so it was all a misunderstanding that got quickly out of hand.