Why Is Machine Gun Kelly Deciding To Change His Name Only For Certain Projects?

While Machine Gun Kelly and Colson Baker are technically the same person — MGK's real name is Colson Baker — the star is now making a distinct separation between the two, as the rapper is taking his talents to act as he stars in the latest Western drama movie, "The Last Son."

The movie is now playing in select theaters and certain video-on-demand services. In the movie, Kelly plays a cold-blooded killer named Cal with intense abandonment issues, per The Hollywood Reporter. In this movie, Kelly stars alongside Heather Graham and Sam Worthington. Though, this isn't the first time Kelly has jumped into the acting world. Back in 2019, he played Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee in "The Dirt," before starring in 2021's "Midnight in the Switchgrass."

While Kelly has acted before, he is letting fans know why with his new role he is ditching his pop-punk alter ego name, "Machine Gun Kelly."

To Machine Gun Kelly, MGK and Colson Baker are two different characters, despite being the same person. Now that he is taking a serious dive into the acting world, Kelly wants to be taken seriously. And, to him, that starts with going by Colson Baker.

He explained why he is changing his name with his appearance in the "The Last Son," saying, "I think it's more just out of respect for the art," he told The Hollywood Reporter. "If you're looking at a Basquiat piece and you have feelings about him personally, is that fair to the art because of how you feel about him personally?" he explained, not wanting his music persona to get wrapped up into his acting career. Baker continued saying, "I'd rather it just be me playing a character in one world and then me playing a character in another world." To Baker, Machine Gun Kelly is his music persona while Colson Baker is him as an actor — a delineation he created to have respect for both works of art he creates.

Though he is changing his acting name, Baker did put fans' worries at ease, because he is still Machine Gun Kelly in all music ventures. "That legacy has defined itself and solidified itself," he said talking about the name Machine Gun Kelly. Now, with his new name for acting, Colson Baker will make his own legacy that will define itself with his new movie.