Actors who are from a different country than you thought.

[james2025a]

This has happened to me a few times when i have been introduced to a new actor and they do such a good job at a different accent. There are a few TV shows that have really done this to me. Damien Lewis from Band of Brothers was one. I had seen him in this and also Dreamcatcher and did not realize he was English. The Wire also did this with Idris Elba. And also Eamonn Walker from Oz. All really great American accents.

Anyone that caught you be surprised when you found out there heritage?

[Ash Ketchum]

Anna Kashfi and Acquanetta positioned themselves as "ethnic" actresses, one East Indian, one Latina, but were actually white. Marlon Brando married Kashfi thinking she was Indian (she was actually Welsh) and lost interest in her when he found out otherwise.

Kashfi:


Acquanetta:

[cungar]

Took me a while to figure out Christian Bale was a Brit.

[Ash Ketchum]

I knew a black woman once who insisted that there were lots of black actors passing for white in Hollywood. I pressed her on the issue and she only came up with three names:

Dinah Shore
Joseph Cotten
Linda Darnell

At the time (this was 30 years ago), two of them were still alive and still working.

Judge for yourself:

Joseph Cotten:


Linda Darnell


Dinah Shore, before going blonde and after:


When I questioned other black people about this, Dinah Shore was the only one they agreed on.

[Shazam]

Originally Posted by cungar

Took me a while to figure out Christian Bale was a Brit.

Huh, and here I thought he was the Batman.

[Howie2000]

I used to think Joseph Cotten was mixed and either 1/2 or 1/4 Black because of his hair.

[Groucho]

Always thought Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje was from Africa, given his name and the accent he has in almost everything he's in. Never heard his real (English) accent until G.I. Joe of all things.

[Goat3001]

Originally Posted by cungar

Took me a while to figure out Christian Bale was a Brit.

Same here. I always heard he was kind of an asshole and just assumed that meant he was American.

[Draven]

Always weird to hear Yvonne Strahovski from Chuck use her real Australian accent.

[inri222]

Raquel Welch (Jo Raquel Tejada) & Rita Hayworth (Margarita Carmen Cansino) were both born in the US but are of Spanish descent.

[covenant]

Originally Posted by Ash Ketchum

I knew a black woman once who insisted that there were lots of black actors passing for white in Hollywood. I pressed her on the issue and she only came up with three names:

Dinah Shore

When I questioned other black people about this, Dinah Shore was the only one they agreed on.

really???

Born to Solomon and Anna Stein Shore, Jewish immigrants from Russia...

Must have been black russians!

[Ash Ketchum]

Originally Posted by covenant

really???

Born to Solomon and Anna Stein Shore, Jewish immigrants from Russia...

Must have been black russians!

I don't make the news, I only report it.

That is pretty funny, though. But, hey, Russian writer Alexander Pushkin was part black.

See this:
http://kirjasto.sci.fi/puskin.htm

[Burgundy LaRue]

Ava Gardner was rumored to be part black for years, but I think her father was part American Indian.

[BJacks]

I didn't know Hugh Laurie was British until a couple years ago.

[Ash Ketchum]

Originally Posted by Burgundy LaRue

Ava Gardner was rumored to be part black for years, but I think her father was part American Indian.

Years before LADY SINGS THE BLUES, Ava Gardner wanted to play singer Billie Holliday in a biopic, but her close friend (Ava's, that is), James Baldwin, talked her out of even trying.

[Deftones]

Originally Posted by cungar

Took me a while to figure out Christian Bale was a Brit.

Yeah, that one was the same for me. Probably because he's sort of a media recluse so you don't hear many interviews with him. That's changed over the past few years with his increasing success, though.

[Mondo Kane]

Hmm. I thought a LOT of people long knew of Christian Bale being British thanks to a certain Spielberg film in the 80's. Guess not.

Originally Posted by Ash Ketchum

Marlon Brando married Kashfi thinking she was Indian (she was actually Welsh) and lost interest in her when he found out otherwise.

Speaking of other Welsh chicks, Catherine Zeta-Jones STILL has my entire family stunned in thinking that she's not Mexican or Spanish.

Few others:

Gary Oldman-State of Grace was the first film I ever saw him in. Naturally, I thought he was American.

Peter Lorre-Germany would've been my last choice for his country of origin (And yes, this was loooong before I first saw M)

Bob Hoskins-I remember when I saw a Making-Of Roger Rabbit special on TV and thought he was just playing around by doing the interview with a Brit accent.

Lou Castel-Always thought he was one of those anglo-northern Italian actors who couldn't speak a lick of english (The were always problems in dubbing his mouth in english for spaghetti westerns or giallos) Come to find out, he's Columbian(!) and speaks perfect english.

[Ash Ketchum]

Originally Posted by Mondo Kane

Lou Castel-Always thought he was one of those anglo-northern Italian actors who couldn't speak a lick of english (The were always problems in dubbing his mouth in english for spaghetti westerns or giallos) Come to find out, he's Columbian(!) and speaks perfect english.

Similarly, I always assumed Tomas Milian was Italian:
a) because he looked it
b) because I saw him in nothing but Italian films, e.g. COMPANEROS.


Turns out he's Cuban. I just saw him recently in THE AGONY AND THE ECSTASY (1965), the earliest film I've ever seen him in. An American film shot in Italy.

Later in life, he played a Cuban in JFK. And, I believe, a Mexican in TRAFFIC.

[Boba Fett]

Anthony Quinn is probably the most well-known example of this.

I think a lot of people associate him with playing Greeks and Arabs, but he was actually Mexican.

[Drexl]

I'm sure there are quite a few actors I didn't realize were British, until I actually heard them speak outside of the movie. I think the latest was Andrew Garfield.

But hey, he was born in the United States and then moved to Britain as a child. So I assumed wrong twice!

Then of course there are actors that were actually born somewhere across the globe but certainly seem to be Americans - Amy Adams, Charlize Theron, Natalie Portman. Then again, I'm not sure if some of them would say they are "from" their birth country.

[davidh777]

Anyone who uses an American accent on American TV

[Boba Fett]

One I routinely forget is Eli Wallach. He's Jewish not Mexican.

[Robert]

Originally Posted by Draven

Always weird to hear Yvonne Strahovski from Chuck use her real Australian accent.

She also uses it in Mass Effect 2.

[eXcentris]

A lot of "your" comics were/are Canadian, and that includes: John Candy, Dan Ackroyd, Martin Short, Eugene Levy, Rich Little, Mike Myers, Jim Carrey, Leslie Nielsen, Phil Hartman and Seth Rogen. Heck, even SNL was founded/produced by a Canadian, Lorne Michaels.

[MoviePage]

Naveen Andrews (Sayid from Lost, Kip from The English Patient) - British