Celebrities you may not have known are in fact, Canadian! [Warning: Long post]

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
Ybot's List of American Film/TV/Comedy/Music Celebrities Who Are in Fact, Canadian!



Okay, don't ask me why I've compiled a list like this...I just did. I thought it might bring up some interesting conversation about the people mentioned here. Anyway, here they are:



Category 1: Actors



Name: Graham Greene

Picture: <a href="http://i.imdb.com/Photos/CMSIcons/N/000/12/95/Headshot.jpg"; target="_blank">http://i.imdb.com/Photos/CMSIcons/N/000/12/95/Headshot.jpg</a>;

Mini-Bio: Graham was born on June 22, 1952 on the Six Nations Reserve just outside of Brantford, Ontario. In 1974 he graduated from The Centre for Indigenous Theatre's Native Theatre School program. In the 1980s he began to get some acting roles but really burst onto the big screen with his role as Kicking Bird in the 1990 Kevin Costner film Dances With Wolves.



Since then he has made numerous appearances on the big and little screen as varied as X-Files, The Red Green Show and Die Hard. Graham's latest film is The Green Mile.



Name: Donald Sutherland

Picture: <a href="http://i.imdb.com/Photos/CMSIcons/N/000/06/61/Headshot.gif"; target="_blank">http://i.imdb.com/Photos/CMSIcons/N/000/06/61/Headshot.gif</a>;

Mini-Bio: Born July 17,1934 in Saint John, New Brunswick, he has had a long and successful career. We all know his son Kiefer Sutherland. Here are some films you may remember Donald from: The Dirty Dozen, MASH (the movie), National Lampoon's Animal House, JFK, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Six Degrees of Separation, Disclosure, Final Fantasy, Outbreak, and A Time to Kill.



Name: Natasha Henstridge

Picture: <a href="http://i.imdb.com/Photos/CMSIcons/N/000/04/49/Headshot.gif"; target="_blank">http://i.imdb.com/Photos/CMSIcons/N/000/04/49/Headshot.gif</a>;

Mini-Bio: Natasha lived in Newfoundland until age five and was then raised in Alberta. At age 14 she went to Paris to become a model. By age fifteen she graced the cover of the French Cosmopolitan. Her break-out performance came in the film Species. She's also done Bruce McCulloch's film Dog Park. Most recently she co-starred in the film The Whole Nine Yards with Bruce Willis and fellow Canadian Matthew Perry.



Name:Joshua Jackson

Picture: <a href="http://i.imdb.com/Photos/CMSIcons/N/000/50/45/Headshot.gif"; target="_blank">http://i.imdb.com/Photos/CMSIcons/N/000/50/45/Headshot.gif</a>;

Mini-Bio: This native Vancouverite was born June 11, 1978. Many people first took note of him on the big screen in the Mighty Ducks films which centered around the great sport of hockey.



His next move to make people sit up and take note was his continuing role as Pacey Witter on the television show Dawson's Creek. Now know as a teen heartthrob he's been in many successful teen films over the last few years. They include: Scream 2, Urban Legend, Cruel Intentions and most recently a couple of great roles in The Skulls and Gossip.



Name: Neve Campbell

Picture: <a href="http://i.imdb.com/Photos/CMSIcons/N/000/01/17/Headshot.gif"; target="_blank">http://i.imdb.com/Photos/CMSIcons/N/000/01/17/Headshot.gif</a>;

Mini-Bio: Born October 3, 1973 in Guelph, Ontario, Neve started her foray into the world of entertaining through ballet. She started dancing at age 6; by age 9 she was training with the National Ballet School of Canada. A few injuries made dancing as a career impossible, she then moved onto to acting.



She started out with the Canadian television series Catwalk which might still be shown in re-runs on YTV. She was also on the popular show Party of Five, as well as some movies she has made. The Craft and Scream in 1996, Scream 2 and Wild Things. She was also on the list of People's 50 most beauftiful people in 2000.



Name: Pamela Anderson Lee

Picture: <a href="http://i.imdb.com/Photos/CMSIcons/N/000/00/97/Headshot.jpg"; target="_blank">http://i.imdb.com/Photos/CMSIcons/N/000/00/97/Headshot.jpg</a>;

Mini-Bio: Pamela was born in the small town of Ladysmith B.C. on Canada's 100th birthday (July 1, 1967). She was the first baby born that day (4:08 am), so she was given the title The Centennial Baby.



Her family moved to Comox, B.C., and she graduated from Highland Secondary School in 1985. In 1988 Pam moved to "The Big City" (Vancouver), and became a fitness instructor.



In 1989 she was at a CFL game between the B.C. Lions and the Toronto Argonauts. During a break between plays a camera man spotted Pamela and put her up on the big screen. She was a huge hit. She happened to be wearing a borrowed Labatt's T-shirt at the time. She was soon after made Labatt's Blue Zone girl.



And the rest is pretty much history; Playboy, Lisa on the show Home Improvement, Baywatch, Barb Wire, and Tommy Lee.



Name: Gloria Reuben

Picture: <a href="http://i.imdb.com/Photos/CMSIcons/N/000/53/49/Headshot.gif"; target="_blank">http://i.imdb.com/Photos/CMSIcons/N/000/53/49/Headshot.gif</a>;

Mini-Bio: Gloria was brought to most Canadians' attention with her role as Jeanie Boulet on ER for which she received multiple Emmy and Golden Globe nominations. After leaving the show she pursued her singing passion for a time and sung backup for Tina Turner on tour. These days she can be seen in her new prime time series The Agency.



Name: Jillian Hennessy

Picture: <a href="http://i.imdb.com/Photos/CMSIcons/N/000/50/07/Headshot.gif"; target="_blank">http://i.imdb.com/Photos/CMSIcons/N/000/50/07/Headshot.gif</a>;

Mini-Bio: Whereas Jillian Hennessy was previously best known for portraying assistant district attorney of New York County, Claire Kincaid on the television series Law & Order, she is now garnering attention as Jordan Cavannagh, the starring role of a new one-hour drama, in Crossing Jordan. She plays a Boston Medical Examiner with a checkered past, imperfect family life, and a tendency to go beyond her duties in solving mysterious deaths.



Jill Hennessy was the second of two twins born on November 25, 1969 in Edmonton, Alberta. Her twin sister Jacqueline was born three minutes before her. At around age twelve Jillian first expressed her interest in acting. At fifteen, she began modeling in Toronto. Her grandmother took on the role of driver to take her all over town. Her first role on the big screen was the 1988 film Dead Ringers where her twin sister also had a role. There have been times on Law & Order when sister Jacqueline stepped in to cover Jillian when Jillian was needed in two places at once, but Jacqueline has opted not to pursue acting as a career.



Jillian's talents are wide ranging. She speaks Italian, French and Spanish. She's known to play the guitar and someday hopes to use this talent to release a CD with her sister. In 2000 the comedic film titled The Acting Class which Jillian wrote, directed, produced and starred in was released and compared favorably to the likes of Waiting for Guffman and Spinal Tap. Highlights of her television and film acting credits include: television miniseries Jackie, Ethel, Joan: The Women of Camelot as Jacqueline Kennedy, the film Autumn in New York as Lynn with Richard Gere, television miniseries Nuremberg as Elsie Douglas, and the 1996 film I Shot Andy Warhol as Laura. Jillian won a Golden Satellite Award from the International Press Academy for her work on Nuremberg.



Jillian now lives in Manhattan when not busy shooting Crossing Jordan in Los Angeles.



Name: Carrie-Anne Moss

Picture: <a href="http://i.imdb.com/Photos/CMSIcons/N/000/52/51/Headshot.gif"; target="_blank">http://i.imdb.com/Photos/CMSIcons/N/000/52/51/Headshot.gif</a>;

Mini-Bio: I, and most others found out about Carrie-Anne Moss through her work as Trinity in the blockbuster film The Matrix alongside fellow Canadian Keanu Reeves. She plans to continue her role as Trinity in the next two Matrix films. And her next film was Red Planet about the first manned mission to Mars, and most recently she had an integral role in the intriguing film Memento.



Carrie-Anne was born August 21, 1967 in Vancouver, B.C. At age 11 she joined the school theatre. She later launched her modeling career in Spain, but always wanted to be an actress. Her first leap to the small screen was in the television series Dark Justice, she later moved onto F/X The Series and Aaron Spelling's Models Inc. She also earned herself a Gemini Award nomination for Best Performance by an Actress in a Guest Role for her portrayal of Irene Zuko in the episode "Juliet is Bleeding" on Due South (1996).



Name: Colin Mochrie

Picture: <a href="http://staff.washington.edu/meganw/boy/colin.jpg"; target="_blank">http://staff.washington.edu/meganw/boy/colin.jpg</a>;

Mini-Bio: From Who's Line is it Anyway? fame Colin Mochrie is yet another comedian that Canadians have at their disposal to be proud of.



He was born on November thirtieth, 1957 in Kilmarnock, Scotland. He and his family moved to Montreal, Quebec in 1964 and then onto Vancouver, British Columbia in 1969. He involved himself in improv work through the Vancouver Theatresports league. Later on, after a move to Toronto, he became a member of the comedy troupe Second City.



In addition to his fame stemming from the British and American versions of the Who's Line is it Anyway? he has apparently had made appearances on the silver screen in several films as well as a slew of guest appearances on the small screen.



Name: Matthew Perry

Picture: <a href="http://i.imdb.com/Photos/CMSIcons/N/000/16/12/Headshot.gif"; target="_blank">http://i.imdb.com/Photos/CMSIcons/N/000/16/12/Headshot.gif</a>;

Mini-Bio: As well as continuing in his Friends character Chandler Bing, Matthew has been increasingly working on the big screen. His latest release was the film The Whole Nine Yards in which Perry co-stars with Bruce Willis and fellow Canadian Natasha Henstridge.



Matthew grew up in Ottawa (the nations capital) and was the area's #2 ranked jr. tennis player at age 13. At age 15 he moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in tennis. He quickly found out that it was not to be and acting became his passion. He made guest appearances on many sitcoms including Growing Pains, Charles in Charge, and Silver Spoons. He had a small part in the River Phoenix film A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon in 1988 and She's Out of Control in 1989. His first leading role was in Fools Rush In, which opened in 1997.



Name: Mike Myers

Picture: <a href="http://i.imdb.com/Photos/CMSIcons/N/000/01/96/Headshot.gif"; target="_blank">http://i.imdb.com/Photos/CMSIcons/N/000/01/96/Headshot.gif</a>;

Mini-Bio: Mike was born somewhere in southern Ontario in 1963 or 1964. At some point he joined Second City in Toronto. He was a cast member on Saturday Night Live from 1989-1994, where he played many characters. Including: Linda Richman, Dieter from Sprockets, Angus in All Things Scottish, Pat Arnold of Bill Swerski's Super Fans, Simon, Middle Age Man, and Wayne Campbell.



His character Wayne Campbell made a big splash in movie theatres across North America alongside Dana Carvey's Garth in the film Wayne's World, which Mike also co-wrote. His next big screen appearance was in the sequel, Wayne's World 2, which he also co-wrote, but unfortunately was not as successful as the original.



Next was So I Married An Axe Murderer. He not only played two characters in the film (Stuart and Charlie MacKenzie), he also co-wrote the script. Mike's last adventure onto the big screen was Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery. He plays two characters, Austin Powers, and Dr. Evil. He also wrote the script and produced the movie. And there's the sequel Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me and the sequel to THAT Austin Powers: Goldmember, coming soon.



Category 2: Musicians



Okay, while Canada has pumped out some cool actors and actresses, we have unleashed some of the most horrible musicians ever; and it is my duty to appologise to the American people for:



Celine Dion

Nelly Furtado

Jann Arden

K. D. Lang

Great Big Sea

The Moffats

Barenaked Ladies

Loreena McKennitt

Alanis Morissette

Paul Anka

Shania Twain

Amanda Marshall

Bryan Adams

Sum 41

Paul Shaffer (from The Late Show w/ David Letterman) Picture: <a href="http://www.vh1.com/insidevh1/shows/personalities/img/paulshaffer.jpg"; target="_blank">http://www.vh1.com/insidevh1/shows/personalities/img/paulshaffer.j pg</a>



And most of all, the scourge of all our existances: Anne Murray



Okay, not all of the people above suck. But surely some of them do. I don't dislike all the people up there, but I'm not die-hard fans of them all either.







So there you have it. Some good ones, some bad ones, but they're all Canadian. Some keep it quiet while others yell it proud.



It's always nice to see someone as famous as Jim Carrey ranting on about Canada on some American late-show deal. Despite the fact that he's a 'defector' to the 'dark side.'



[ 02-07-2002: Message edited by: Ybot ]



[ 02-07-2002: Message edited by: Ybot ]</p>

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 17
    glurxglurx Posts: 1,031member
    Actor



    Jim Carrey



    Michael J. Fox



    Musician



    Neil Young
  • Reply 2 of 17
    ybotybot Posts: 329member
    Hmm, I didn't know Neil Young was Canadian. I did know that Carrey was though.
  • Reply 3 of 17
    amorphamorph Posts: 7,112member
    The Canadians also gave us Leonard Cohen, for whom I am deeply grateful.
  • Reply 4 of 17
    glurxglurx Posts: 1,031member
    Let us not forget Actor and Singer <a href="http://www.williamshatner.com/"; target="_blank"> William Shatner</a>.
  • Reply 5 of 17
    glurxglurx Posts: 1,031member
    Geneviève Bujold
  • Reply 6 of 17
    glurxglurx Posts: 1,031member
    Leslie Nielsen
  • Reply 7 of 17
    So...? <img src="graemlins/bugeye.gif" border="0" alt="[Skeptical]" />



    Am I supposed to feel humbled or something? :confused:



    What about celebrities you may not have known are Australian? Or British? Or Italian? Or French? Or Swedish? Or Spanish? etc...



    [ 02-07-2002: Message edited by: starfleetX ]</p>
  • Reply 8 of 17
    glurxglurx Posts: 1,031member
    [quote]

    <strong>What about celebrities you may not have known are Australian? Or British? Or Italian? Or French? Or Swedish? Or Spanish? etc...

    </strong><hr></blockquote>



    How about <a href="http://wgate.users.netlink.co.uk/fame01.html"; target="_blank">famous people from Malta</a>?
  • Reply 9 of 17
    macaddictmacaddict Posts: 1,055member
    [quote]Barenaked Ladies

    Loreena McKennitt

    Alanis Morissette

    Paul Anka

    Shania Twain

    Amanda Marshall

    Bryan Adams

    Sum 41<hr></blockquote>



    Hey, I like Sum 41!



    BNL and Alanis are pretty good too.
  • Reply 10 of 17
    The Guess Who!
  • Reply 11 of 17
    ybotybot Posts: 329member
    [quote]Originally posted by starfleetX:

    <strong>So...? <img src="graemlins/bugeye.gif" border="0" alt="[Skeptical]" />



    Am I supposed to feel humbled or something? :confused:



    What about celebrities you may not have known are Australian? Or British? Or Italian? Or French? Or Swedish? Or Spanish? etc...



    [ 02-07-2002: Message edited by: starfleetX ]</strong><hr></blockquote>



    Yes, bow before the superior Canadian celebrities!



    I was just surprised to find out that they were Canadian, is all. And I thought some other people might find it interesting too. But there is always one person who manages to find even the most pointless and innocent post (ex: this one) offensive and/or upsetting.



    The only reason I cared about these people being Canadian is because I myself am Canadian. If I were Swedish I'm sure I'd be surprised to know that [Insert famous Swedish person living/working in the US] is Swedish.



    Sheesh.
  • Reply 12 of 17
    crusadercrusader Posts: 1,129member
    Yeah but Canada also gave us Peter Jennings the socalist fool.
  • Reply 13 of 17
    crusadercrusader Posts: 1,129member
    For this I can never forgive Canada
  • Reply 14 of 17
    powerdocpowerdoc Posts: 8,123member
    [quote]Originally posted by glurx:

    <strong>Let us not forget Actor and Singer <a href="http://www.williamshatner.com/"; target="_blank"> William Shatner</a>.</strong><hr></blockquote>

    i use to know, that William Shatner was canadian, but i ignore he was a singer also.
  • Reply 15 of 17
    timotimo Posts: 353member
    In our house, the celebrity rhetorical question du jour often is:



    "X -- dead or Canadian?"



    so,



    "Lorne Greene, dead or Canadian?"



    why both, of course.



  • Reply 16 of 17
    logan calelogan cale Posts: 1,281member
    Hey, Loreena McKennitt rules!
  • Reply 17 of 17
    Morley Safer
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