# Celebrities you were surprised to learn are not American (or Canadian) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 23, 2010, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-you-were-surprised-to-learn-are-not-american-or-canadian/530067 "2010-02-23T02:12:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2010, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-you-were-surprised-to-learn-are-not-american-or-canadian/530067/61 "2010-02-24T00:29:24Z")
I just found out today that Christian Bale is Welsh. ---
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2010, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-you-were-surprised-to-learn-are-not-american-or-canadian/530067/62 "2010-02-24T00:31:46Z")
The lady that played Josh Brolin’s wife in _No Country For Old Men._ I watched the special features and damn, she has a very heavy Scottish accent. Sure nailed Texan! ---
**Author:** ![Purd\_Werfect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e47c2d/32.png) [@Purd\_Werfect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Purd_Werfect)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2010, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-you-were-surprised-to-learn-are-not-american-or-canadian/530067/63 "2010-02-24T00:54:06Z")
Ian McShane in Deadwood. It wasn’t until quite a few episodes had gone by that I realized he was Lovejoy. ---
**Author:** ![Rodgers01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b19c9b/32.png) [@Rodgers01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodgers01)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2010, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-you-were-surprised-to-learn-are-not-american-or-canadian/530067/64 "2010-02-24T01:38:59Z")
> [@Zhen\_ka](#): > > No, this is not correct. You do understand that nationality does not determine accent, yes? Oh, it’s “your rules.” You should have a moderator change the title. Nope, I’m perfectly happy with the thread title as it is. And yep: my rules. Thanks, though! As a bit of a reverse, I was sure that Forest Whitaker was British since I first saw him in _The Crying Game_. I was later surprised to learn that in all those other movies where he has an American accent that it was genuine! ---
**Author:** ![Annie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/858c86/32.png) [@Annie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2010, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-you-were-surprised-to-learn-are-not-american-or-canadian/530067/65 "2010-02-24T01:43:29Z")
> [@Shalmanese](#): > > I just found out today that Christian Bale is Welsh. And was the kid whose corpse Kenneth Branagh lugged across Agincourt in _Henry V_. I think. He’s upside down and muddy. I don’t know if he’s ever spoken in a UK accent as an adult in a film. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2010, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-you-were-surprised-to-learn-are-not-american-or-canadian/530067/66 "2010-02-24T02:12:08Z")
> [@Annie](#): > > And was the kid whose corpse Kenneth Branagh lugged across Agincourt in _Henry V_. I think. He’s upside down and muddy. I don’t know if he’s ever spoken in a UK accent as an adult in a film. He had one in _Reign of Fire_, though I don’t think that was his natural accent either. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2010, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-you-were-surprised-to-learn-are-not-american-or-canadian/530067/67 "2010-02-24T02:25:06Z")
> [@Zhen\_ka](#): > > No, this is not correct. You do understand that nationality does not determine accent, yes? Oh, it’s “your rules.” You should have a moderator change the title. 1. Reach in pants. 2. Grab panties. 3. Unbunch. The man made a simple mistake, and copped to it. ---
**Author:** ![tumbleddown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@tumbleddown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tumbleddown)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2010, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-you-were-surprised-to-learn-are-not-american-or-canadian/530067/68 "2010-02-24T04:04:08Z")
> [@ducati](#): > > Charlize Theron is African-American 😃 Ha ha ha. No. Just African. South African. Period. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2010, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-you-were-surprised-to-learn-are-not-american-or-canadian/530067/69 "2010-02-24T04:18:31Z")
According to Wikipedia, Charlize Theron became a naturalized American citizen in 2007, so wouldn’t that make her African-American or South African-American? ---
**Author:** ![Liddle\_Lamsy\_Divey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f04885/32.png) [@Liddle\_Lamsy\_Divey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liddle_Lamsy_Divey)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2010, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-you-were-surprised-to-learn-are-not-american-or-canadian/530067/70 "2010-02-24T05:48:07Z")
[QUOTE=Shalmanese] I just found out today that Christian Bale is Welsh. [/QUOTE] He was born in Wales, but he’s not Welsh, he’s English. > [@GuanoLad](#): > > He had one in _Reign of Fire_, though I don’t think that was his natural accent either. He’s done British accents in the following films: Empire of the Sun Henry V Treasure Island A Murder of Quality Prince of Jutland Pocahontas (At the time I saw this, I’d only seen him in Little Women and Newsies, and thought he did a great accent for a non-Brit!) Metroland Velvet Goldmine (definitely not his real accent) Mary, Mother of Jesus A Midsummer Night’s Dream The Prestige What’s weird though, is that he _didn’t_ have much of an accent when he played John Rolfe in The New World. It seems that his real accent sounds most like the one in Metroland; the ones in The Prestige and Reign of Fire sound a little heavier than how he sounds in interviews talking normally. ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2010, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-you-were-surprised-to-learn-are-not-american-or-canadian/530067/71 "2010-02-24T13:13:48Z")
> [@Purd\_Werfect](#): > > Ian McShane in Deadwood. It wasn’t until quite a few episodes had gone by that I realized he was Lovejoy. His character on Deadwood, I believe, was supposed to British, though he didn’t really have what you’d think of as a British accent on that show (personally I thought it sounded like Daniel Day Lewis in Gangs of New York). ---
**Author:** ![Aeris](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a183cd/32.png) [@Aeris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeris)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2010, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-you-were-surprised-to-learn-are-not-american-or-canadian/530067/72 "2010-02-24T18:00:48Z")
Marianne Jean-Baptiste. I know, the name should have been a dead give away but I didn’t know her name until just now. She plays Vivian Johnson on Without A Trace on which she has a very thick and convincing New York accent. But in real life she has a very thick cockney accent. Blew my mind. Also, I agree with one of the previous posters about Hugh Laurie. I didn’t watch one episode of Black Adder until after I heard that Hugh Laurie was English. I had no idea, his accent is amazing! ---
**Author:** ![FallenAngel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@FallenAngel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FallenAngel)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2010, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-you-were-surprised-to-learn-are-not-american-or-canadian/530067/73 "2010-02-25T23:10:07Z")
Gary Oldman. I’d never heard him speak off camera until well after I’d seen him in True Romance and Leon. Blew my mind to hear a convincing British accent on him. Ditto Minnie Driver. The first thing I saw her in was Grosse Pointe Blank. A couple years later I saw her in an interview promoting some other movie and was, uh, what’s the word? Gobsmacked? ---
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2010, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-you-were-surprised-to-learn-are-not-american-or-canadian/530067/74 "2010-02-25T23:20:56Z")
> [@River\_Hippie](#): > > The lady that played Josh Brolin’s wife in _No Country For Old Men._ I watched the special features and damn, she has a very heavy Scottish accent. Sure nailed Texan! [Kelly Macdonald](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0531808/) is her name, BTW. ---
**Author:** ![nivlac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/3bc359/32.png) [@nivlac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nivlac)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2010, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-you-were-surprised-to-learn-are-not-american-or-canadian/530067/75 "2010-02-26T00:18:36Z")
When Hugh Laurie hosted SNL I wondered why every sketch had him playing someone with a British accent. Until it dawned on me that he actually does an American accent in House! Quite a surprise for me. The only other thing I’ve seen him in was Stuart Little, which also had him doing an American accent. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2010, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-you-were-surprised-to-learn-are-not-american-or-canadian/530067/76 "2010-02-26T02:09:39Z")
Alan Cumming surprised me. I’ve seen him doing American, British, and German accents in movies and found him believable. Then I saw him speaking as himself and I found out he has a Scottish accent, which I had never expected. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2010, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-you-were-surprised-to-learn-are-not-american-or-canadian/530067/77 "2010-03-10T00:16:40Z")
(Hope it’s not too late for a bump) Reading the AV Club today, I just found out that Melanie Lynskey is from New Zealand. I know her as Rose the crazy neighbor from **Two and a Half Men**. I also just found out from the same article that she’s married to the guy that played the creepy neighbor in **It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia** , and was Lyle the Intern on Letterman. ---
**Author:** ![Taomist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@Taomist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taomist)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2010, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-you-were-surprised-to-learn-are-not-american-or-canadian/530067/78 "2010-03-10T00:20:28Z")
Lee Adama’s actor on BSG. I’m watching the series \ and I have yet to catch him ever, not even once, not even for a microsyllable, sounding anything but American flyboy. Which is kinda funny, since there IS no America there, but whatever! =p ---
**Author:** ![Rodgers01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b19c9b/32.png) [@Rodgers01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodgers01)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2010, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-you-were-surprised-to-learn-are-not-american-or-canadian/530067/79 "2010-03-10T00:46:41Z")
> [@Morbo](#): > > (Hope it’s not too late for a bump) > > Reading the AV Club today, I just found out that Melanie Lynskey is from New Zealand. I know her as Rose the crazy neighbor from **Two and a Half Men**. If you’re a fan of hers, you should really see her in [Heavenly Creatures](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0110005/) (by fellow Kiwi Peter Jackson). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrities-you-were-surprised-to-learn-are-not-american-or-canadian/530067.md?page=3)