The West Wing alum shares his name with the rocker, and all his life, the actor has been mistaken for the musician, with fans even calling him up and asking for tickets to 'his band's' next concert.

But one day in 1993, while Bradley was in New York City trying to make ends meet, he received an unexpected cheque.

He tells U.S. talk show The Talk, "(I was) in a play, living in an apartment that costs $300 bucks a month, and I get a residual check for Wayne's World 2, which I am not in. And I realise, 'Oh, it's the guy in Aerosmith!' and I cashed it. It was $500. Which to him then was nothing. He was supporting the arts!"

However, Bradley later confessed his scheme to The Boston Globe newspaper - and Massachusetts native Brad's mum read the interview, and contacted the reporter and insisted the actor give her son his money back.

Bradley said, "I felt so guilty... I wrote a cheque for $600 bucks - (with) interest."

But that wasn't the last time the Emmy Award winner encountered one of the rocker's family members. He added, "I'm in a store in L.A. and this kid comes up and goes, 'Are you Brad Whitford?' and I go, 'Yeah', and he says, 'My dad is Brad Whitford' - which could be scary to hear from a young man.

"And it was Brad's kid. He invited me to the concert. He was the nicest guy in the world - and I got to meet Brad Whitford."