Saturday.Stars || 15 Celebs You Didn’t Know Were Canadian
As a Canadian, it is not uncommon to find one’s self saying “did you know that ________ is Canadian?” to Americans. Because Canada is inundated with everything US-made, there is a certain pride in revealing that a celebrity that is assumed to be American is in fact a Canuck. In many cases, it is easy for a Canadian to take for granted that a star’s (Canadian) nationality is known. Typical example is Jim Carrey; all Canadians should know that he is one of them, and it is often assumed that Americans know as well. The following list consists of stars that are less obviously Canadian. Enjoy.
15 Celebs You Didn’t Know Were Canadian
Alex Trebek
Born: Sudbury, Ontario
Claim to Fame: Host of Jeopardy and former owner of rad mustache.
Carrie Ann Moss
Born: Burnaby, British Columbia
Claim to Fame: Played the role of Trinity, in a little movie called The Matrix. Also starred opposite Guy Pearce in Memento.
Drake
Born: Toronto, Ontario
Claim to Fame: Starring as Jimmy Brooks on Degrassi: The Next Generation. Oh, and he’s in every rap song on every radio station. Lil Wayne has taken a liking to him, and Kanye helped with the video to “Best I Ever Had”.
Evangeline Lilly
Born: Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta
Claim to Fame: Plays the role of Kate Austen in ABC’s Lost, her first speaking role.
Hayden Christensen
Born: Vancouver, British Columbia
Claim to Fame: Starred as Anakin Skywalker in the second and third Star Wars prequel trilogy. Also starred opposite Jessica Alba in Awake and Samuel L. Jackson in Jumper. Shows up below Hayden Panettiere in Google suggestions.
Jay Baruchel
Born: Ottawa, Ontario
Claim to Fame: Most recently in Tropic Thunder, with Ben Stiller. Also in Knocked Up alongside Seth Rogen. And way back when, in Judd Apatow’s Undeclared.
Linda Evangelista
Born: St. Catharines, Ontario
Claim to Fame: She’s a model. You’ve seen her.
Lorne Michaels
Born: Toronto, Ontario
Claim to Fame: Creator and producer of Saturday Night Live. Also produced the wildly-popular (in Canada, at least) Kids in the Hall sketch comedy show, featuring Dave Foley, Kevin McDonald, Bruce McCulloch, Mark McKinney, and Scott Thompson.
Michael Cera
Born: Brampton, Ontario
Claim to Fame: Starring opposite Jason Bateman in Arrested Development. Also featured in Superbad, Juno and Year One. Nobody famous in those movies, though.
Natasha Henstridge
Born: Springdale, Newfoundland
Claim to Fame: Plays an alien succubus in the movie Species. She is a fashion model turned actress, but unfortunately has not gotten the greatest roles.
Neve Campbell
Born: Guelph, Ontario
Claim to Fame: You probably know her from Party of Five, where she played Julia, the sister of Mattthew Fox and Scott Wolf. She subsequently starred in Scream, The Craft and Wild Things.
Ryan Gosling
Born: London, Ontario
Claim to Fame: One of his most notable roles is from The Notebook, also starring Rachel McAdams (Canadian). Had amazing performances in The United States of Leland, Stay and Lars and the Real Girl (not to mention The Believer, Half-Nelson and Fracture).
Ryan Reynolds
Born: Vancouver, British Columbia
Claim to Fame: Starred in Two Guys and a Girl on ABC. Also had small parts in National Lampoon’s Van Wilder, Waiting, Just Friends, Definitely, Maybe and The Proposal. He was pretty bad-ass in Blade: Trinity, too.
Sandra Oh
Born: Ottawa, Ontario
Claim to Fame: Best known for her roles in Rick, 3 Needles and Defendor. I think she might be on Grey’s Anatomy, too, but I’m not sure.
Will Arnett
Born: Toronto, Ontario
Claim to Fame: Also stars in Arrested Development. You may know him from his roles in Semi-Pro, Blades of Glory or Hot Rod. Maybe Let’s Go to Prison, or Brothers Solomon.
5 More You Probably Knew Were Canadian
Sat, Oct 10, 2009
Saturday, Stars