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[Loxley]

Half the cast of Band of Brothers. I was surprised when I found out that Tom Hanks wasn't being hyperbolic when he said they went through an entire generation of young British actors in BoB.

But as stated earlier the thread, Damian Lewis was definitely the standout.

 

[TheKaeptain]

WTF

Mind blown over Stringer Bell and McNulty being English.

Seriously, what the fuck.

This just means you haven't seen the brilliant BBC show Luther.

 

[Grizzlyjin]

This just means you haven't seen the brilliant BBC show Luther.

Yeah, Idris is good in The Wire. But he destroys it in Luther. One of the best shows I've seen...ever. The first tv movie airs on Tuesday, if I'm not mistaken.

If I ever have to create a show, I'm stealing some writers and actors from England. They're just ahead of the curve, especially in regards to acting. We got the production cash, they got the classical training.

 

[Enosh]

Yvonne Strahovski : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QP0kqwwF5fY

wait wait wait

alex, vampire detective, also australian
oh you don't mean

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_O'Loughlin

FUUUUUUUU

 

[parasight]

Anna Friel. I only knew her from Pushing Daisies so when I heard her talk on the Tonight Show, I was kinda taken by surprise.

 

[Jack Scofield]

If I ever have to create a show, I'm stealing some writers and actors from England. They're just ahead of the curve, especially in regards to acting. We got the production cash, they got the classical training.

The best part of British television is they don't drive a series into the ground by milking it for multiple (and for the most part, unnecessary) seasons. They tell the story they want to tell and end. American television could take a few pointers from them.

 

[Tashi]

the name didn't give it away?


Im surprised at the amount of people that didn't know Christian Bale was English...

Is that a common Australian name or am I missing something?

Also, I don't have a common American name, but I'm American. Sometimes you can't base shit on the name.

 

[3N16MA]

Stephen Moyer is one that I thought was from the U.S.

 

[Qwomo]

If I ever have to create a show, I'm stealing some writers and actors from England. They're just ahead of the curve, especially in regards to acting. We got the production cash, they got the classical training.

Yeah, acting in the UK is wildly different from over here, or at least it used to be. To get anywhere in the UK you have to go through theatre, which involves, y'know, actually acting. I wish such a culture existed over here, but alas.

 

[Grizzlyjin]

The best part of British television is they don't drive a series into the ground by milking it for multiple (and for the most part, unnecessary) seasons. They tell the story they want to tell and end. American television could take a few pointers from them.

Exactly. They tend to go about things with the "short and sweet" approach. Here in America, if something becomes popular there is already talks about 2 or 3 season deals and spinoffs.

 

[Plasmid]

Andrew garfield, but i had only seen him in TSN and heard about spiderman before i heard he was british.

 

[Gomu Gomu]

Holy shit

 

[demosthenes]

Soon some of you will be saying you didn't know Walking Dead's Andrew Lincoln was english:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujDytf_zicA

I knew he was English, but that's the first time I've heard his English accent, wow!

 

[NEO0MJ]

All white men look the same to me, though I tend to expect more Aussie actors than americans to appear on screen nowadays.

 

[Mattdaddy]

Maybe this only has to do with your knowledge of actors outside of the movies you watch them in, but how many non-American actors playing American character roles did you honestly not know weren't American until after you had seen them in several roles?

Me:
Hugh Lurie
Alfred Molina
Brian Cox
Gary Oldman
Idris Elba

Whoa...

 

[DarkestLight]

Christian bale is welsh not English, same as Anthony Hopkins and the stretchy dude from fantastic four whose name I can't spell

 

[LQX]

Stephen Moyer is one that I thought was from the U.S.

I thought he seemed Europeanish but then I saw him on Jimmy Fallon when they demonstrated Kinect and he spoke just like he did on the show. He still has an accent?

 

[Szu]

 

[Rorschach]

People from America's Hat shouldn't count.

 

[3N16MA]

I thought he seemed Europeanish but then I saw him on Jimmy Fallon when they demonstrated Kinect and he spoke just like he did on the show. He still has an accent?

He still has a pretty noticeable accent.

 

[Qwomo]

Christian bale is welsh not English, same as Anthony Hopkins and the stretchy dude from fantastic four whose name I can't spell

Ioan Gruffudd, one of the most criminally underused actors in Hollywood.

 

[PumpkinPie]

Kim Cattrall is British too...but speaks with an American accent :/

 

[lazybones18]

Kim Cattrall is British too...but speaks with an American accent :/

woah

 

[triplestation]

 

[Snake]

Kim Cattrall is British too...but speaks with an American accent :/

She was born in England, moved to Canada for the first eleven years of her life, then went back to England for a few years, and has lived in Canada/US since.

So I'd say her "American" accent is her normal one.

 

[pj]

lol, you gotta be kidding me. I knew McNulty wasn't american in his first scene in the wire. His voice and mouth movements are the worst thing in the entire series.

Stringer was a surprise, though.

 

[Eggplant Wizard]

I went into The Wire knowing that there were English actors in it. Was still surprised to learn about Idris Elba.

I'm surprised to see Andrew Lincoln in here. His southern accent is pretty bad, though that could be a problem for an American actor too.

I know we're talking about actors who don't normally speak with American accents, so this shouldn't count, but I was amused to learn that Kiefer Sutherland isn't American.

Ian McShane is Lovejoy, not Al Swearengen

What? No. No sir.

 

[nVidiot_Whore]

It never really surprises me.

I mean.. here on the West Coast of good old USA, where Hollywood is, and most entertainment is produced.. we pronounce words for the most part how they are intended to be pronounced.

It's not like people aren't taught how to speak that way from a young age. I can't imagine it's that difficult to lose an accent.

Spoiler

Puts on flame retardant suit.

 

[Guerrillas in the Mist]

Half the cast of Band of Brothers. I was surprised when I found out that Tom Hanks wasn't being hyperbolic when he said they went through an entire generation of young British actors in BoB.

But as stated earlier the thread, Damian Lewis was definitely the standout.

James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, and even Simon Pegg have small roles in BoB, before they were well known. (With the possible exception of Pegg, who had done Spaced and Big Train by this point.)

 

[brucewaynegretzky]

The best part of British television is they don't drive a series into the ground by milking it for multiple (and for the most part, unnecessary) seasons. They tell the story they want to tell and end. American television could take a few pointers from them.

And then there was Doctor Who.

Spoiler

Which I love.

 

[Hootie]

wait WAT?

 

[PushTheButtonMax]

Rose Byrne. I watched her in Damages and Insidious before I saw her on some late night show with her Aussie accent. Blew my mind.

 

[KAOz]

Sam Neill from Jurassic Park. He just looks American. I was truly shocked when I heard his British voice.

Then let me shock you some more. He's not from England.

He's from New Zealand.

 

[Jangocube]

Recently:

Only reason I watch the show still.

 

[HiroProtagonist]

Then let me shock you some more. He's not from England.

He's from New Zealand.

*boom* Somebody just got Kiwi'd.

 

[SouthernDragon]

ITT : dumb people from the U.S.A. use America as if it was their country

Are you hispanic? Because only hispanics have this gripe, really.

And as a fellow hispanic, I'd highly recommend a good dose of GET OVER IT. Tell me another plausible name Americans could use.

 

[cr_blah_blah]

I'm always surprised people haven't seen before or just don't know Charlie Hunnam (Jax from SoA) isn't American. He's done plenty of things with his real accent but I guess Sons of Anarchy is the first time seeing him for most.

 

[JDSN]

Fake american actor?
Ugh, its called acting.

 

[NZNova]

FYI, Sam Neill is a Kiwi, not British

 

[temp]

Fake american actor?
Ugh, its called acting.

Is putting on an accent even a form of acting?

 

[ahoyhoy]

Yeah, Idris is good in The Wire. But he destroys it in Luther. One of the best shows I've seen...ever. The first tv movie airs on Tuesday, if I'm not mistaken.

If I ever have to create a show, I'm stealing some writers and actors from England. They're just ahead of the curve, especially in regards to acting. We got the production cash, they got the classical training.

Heaven is where we have English Actors and Directors, but American Writers and Producers.

 

[LQX]

Then let me shock you some more. He's not from England.

He's from New Zealand.

Same thing. They sound British over there.

 

[Megadragon15]

This guy kind of fooled me for a while. Good old Bob Hope.

 

[Zwei]

House.

 

[cackhyena]

agreed.

Disagree. From the first few moment on screen talking, I could tell.

 

[J Tourettes]

Same thing. They sound British over there.

Lol, no.

 

[thesoapster]

True, but there are some movies where the Aussies and Brits are -terrible- with their American accents. #1 offender - Black Hawk Down. Eric Bana's American accent is cringeworthy. So is Ewan MacGregor's.

Sam Worthington always seems to let his accent slip through in his American roles

 

[ChubbyHuggs]

Donal Logue, if anything I figured Michael James would be from somewhere else.
But then again, he did move to the U.S. Early on.

 

[ReturnOfTheRAT]

Only one I could think of was Hugh Laurie (Had never heard of him before house), though this thread just added a few more to the list. Most of the ones who were canadian, I already knew, but if somebody has pulled off a convincing american accent I just assume they're american most of the time.

Why do people act surprised that others don't know something like this? Do people watch a lot of those bs entertainment tonight style shows or look up what they're watching on IMDB obsessively or actually watch the making-of features on dvds?

The problem is simple for m. Someone will claim they love House, favorite show ever etc, love the actors...but never take the extra step to do any research on the show or actors. It's like they live in a vacumn and never do any extracirricular work.

When a gif of Hugh from a British Tv show, there's collective shock as if House wasn't his first role ever. It's sad that gossiip hounds would know his history, but not the most avid viewer of the show who claim it's greatness.

Christian Bale is another example. So many people watch Batman Begins, claim they love what was done with it, but never use IMDB, Google,or Wikipedia to geta bio on a guy. Fucking 3 years later TDK comes out and "oh shit" he's British is some kind of revelation. What the fuck were these people doing all this time? Walking out of the theater before the credits or avoiding them like it's a plague?

In no way am I saying you should know evertything about an actor, but if you're really a fan you would do the leg work and not be surprised by nationality or the like.

 

[scenemissing]

Jason friggen Stackhouse. I knew about the rest of the cast, but I didn't know he was Aussie until I was hearing some behind the scenes stuff.