International Actors Who Play Americans
by faradaygrean | created - 26 Apr 2016 | updated - 06 Jun 2016 | PublicA list of actors that master the American accent, or at least Canadian...
1. Hugh Laurie
Actor | House M.D.
Hugh was born in Oxford, England on June 11, 1959, to Patricia (Laidlaw) and William George Ranald Mundell "Ran" Laurie, a doctor, both of Scottish descent. He was educated at Eton and Cambridge. Son of an Olympic gold medalist in the sport, he rowed for the England youth team (1977) and for ...
House
2. Andrew Lincoln
Actor | The Walking Dead
Andrew Lincoln is a British actor. Lincoln spent his early childhood in Hull, Yorkshire before his family relocated to Bath, Somerset when he was age 10. He was educated at Beechen Cliff School in Bath, and then the prestigious Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. His father is a civil engineer...
The Walking Dead
3. Christian Bale
Actor | The Dark Knight
Christian Charles Philip Bale was born in Pembrokeshire, Wales, UK on January 30, 1974, to English parents Jennifer "Jenny" (James) and David Bale. His mother was a circus performer and his father, who was born in South Africa, was a commercial pilot. The family lived in different countries ...
4. Lauren Cohan
Actress | The Boy
Lauren Cohan is a British-American actress and model, best known for her role as Maggie Greene on The Walking Dead (2010) and recurring roles on The Vampire Diaries (2009), Supernatural (2005), and Chuck (2007). After her film debut on Casanova (2005) as Sister Beatrice, she starred in the sequel ...
The Walking Dead
5. Lennie James
Actor | The Walking Dead
Lennie James was born in Nottingham to Trinidadian parents, and grew up in South London. His mother, Phyllis Mary James, died when he was 12. Lennie and his older brother went into a council children's home. When he was 16 he was fostered with a social worker who had two older children, and they ...
The Walking Dead
6. David Morrissey
Actor | The Walking Dead
David Morrissey started acting at Everyman's Youth Theatre in Liverpool, where he was born and raised. He made an auspicious debut in One Summer (1983), a series about two Liverpool runaways. Following a degree at RADA, he worked with the theatre company Cheek By Jowl. He has also worked at theatre...
The Walking Dead
7. Cliff Curtis
Actor | Risen
Cliff Curtis was born in Rotorua, New Zealand, on July 27, 1968.
He is of New Zealand Maori descent (with Ngati Hauiti and Te Arawa tribal affiliations). He enrolled at the New Zealand Drama School, and then the Teatro Dmitri Scuola in Switzerland.
After returning to New Zealand from Europe, he was ...
Fear the Walking Dead
8. Frank Dillane
Actor | In the Heart of the Sea
Frank trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (R.A.D.A.), graduating in 2013.
As a child he played Christopher Henderson in 'Welcome to Sarajevo' (Channel 4/Miramax/Dragon Pictures) directed by Michael Winterbottom. Aged sixteen Frank played Tom Riddle in 'Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince...
Fear the Walking Dead
9. Alycia Debnam-Carey
Actress | Into the Storm
Alycia Jasmin Debnam-Carey was born on July 20, 1993. She is an actress from Australia. She grew up in Sydney, and graduated from Newtown High School of the Performing Arts in 2011 where she was a percussionist. In 2010, in partnership with the Berlin Philharmonic, she and around 40 other musicians...
Fear the Walking Dead
10. Michelle Ang
Actress | Fear the Walking Dead
Michelle is well known around the world from her early work as a regular cast member on the Australian show "Neighbours" and the hit teen shows "The Tribe" and "Underemployed".
Emmy-nominated for her role of Alex in "Fear the Walking Dead; Flight 462", she won "Best Actress in A Feature Film" at the...
Fear the Walking Dead
11. Nicole Kidman
Actress | Moulin Rouge!
Elegant Nicole Kidman, known as one of Hollywood's top Australian imports, was actually born in Honolulu, Hawaii, while her Australian parents were there on educational visas.
Kidman is the daughter of Janelle Ann (Glenny), a nursing instructor, and Antony David Kidman, a biochemist and clinical ...
12. Bradley James
Actor | The Liberator
British-American actor, Bradley James, won his first role on the BBC pilot Dis/Connected. Show creators were so impressed with his work that they would go on to cast him as the young King Arthur in the hit show Merlin (2008) which aired on BBC & NBC. Of the eventual cast, James was the only cast ...
Damien-
13. George MacKay
Actor | 1917
George MacKay was born in 1992 in Hammersmith, London, England, to Kim Baker, a British costume designer, and Paul Christopher MacKay, an Australian stage/lighting manager, from Adelaide. One of his grandmothers is from Cork, Ireland.
At the age of ten, George was scouted to audition for a role in ...
11.22.63- I really thought he was southern!
14. Daniel Webber
Actor | Billy the Kid
Daniel (Peter) Webber was born 28th of June, 1988 in Gosford, NSW, Australia. His parents, Vick and Peter Webber, ran a tree removal company for 20 years. Daniel's the middle child, between older sister, Kylie and a younger sister Sarah. Daniel first came to notice in David Field' controversial ...
11.22.63- Even though I think he's sounds like a hearing impaired person...
15. Kathryn Prescott
Actress | Skins
Kathryn Prescott (born 4 June 1991 in London, England) is an English actress best known for her role as Emily Fitch in the double BAFTA-winning teen drama Skins (2007). Prescott was born in Palmers Green, London, and is six minutes older than her twin sister Megan Prescott. Prior to professional ...
16. Colin Farrell
Actor | The Lobster
Colin Farrell is one of Ireland's biggest stars in Hollywood and abroad. His film presence has been filled with memorable roles that range from an inwardly tortured hit man, to an adventurous explorer, a determined-but-failing writer, and the greatest military leader in history.
Farrell was born on ...
The Phone Booth-
17. Toni Collette
Actress | The Sixth Sense
Toni Collette is an Academy Award-nominated Australian actress, best known for her roles in The Sixth Sense (1999) and Little Miss Sunshine (2006).
Collette was born Toni Collett (she later added an "e") on November 1, 1972, in Blacktown, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. She is the first of three...
18. Jamie Bamber
Actor | Battlestar Galactica
Jamie Saint John Bamber Griffith known professionally as Jamie Bamber, is a British actor, known for his roles as Lee Adama in Battlestar Galactica and Detective Sergeant Matt Devlin in the ITV series Law & Order: UK. He also had a supporting role as 2nd Lt. Jack Foley in the HBO miniseries Band of...
Battlestar Galactica
19. Hugo Weaving
Actor | The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Hugo Wallace Weaving was born on April 4, 1960 in Nigeria, to English parents Anne (Lennard), a tour guide and teacher, and Wallace Weaving, a seismologist. Hugo has an older brother, Simon, and a younger sister, Anna, who both also live and work in Australia. During his early childhood, the ...
20. Idris Elba
Actor | Beasts of No Nation
An only child, Idrissa Akuna Elba was born and raised in London, England. His father, Winston, is from Sierra Leone and worked at Ford Dagenham; his mother, Eve, is from Ghana and had a clerical duty. Idris attended school in Canning Town, where he first became involved in acting, before he dropped...
21. Charlie Hunnam
Actor | Sons of Anarchy
Charles Matthew Hunnam was born on April 10, 1980 in Newcastle, England, to Jane (Bell), a business owner, and William Hunnam, a scrap metal merchant. At 18 years of age, he made a guest appearance in popular TV series Byker Grove (1989).
He gained fame in Britain thanks to his television role as ...
22. Naomi Watts
Actress | Mulholland Dr.
Naomi Ellen Watts was born on September 28, 1968 in Shoreham, England to Myfanwy Edwards "Miv" (Roberts), an antiques dealer and costume/set designer, and Peter Watts (Peter Anthony Watts), Pink Floyd's road manager. Her maternal grandfather was Welsh. Her father died when she was seven and she ...
Insurgent
23. Kate Winslet
Actress | Titanic
Ask Kate Winslet what she likes about any of her characters, and the word "ballsy" is bound to pop up at least once. The British actress has made a point of eschewing straightforward pretty-girl parts in favor of more devilish damsels; as a result, she's built an eclectic resume that runs the gamut...
Divergent Reading, Berkshire, England, UK
24. Alan Cumming
Actor | The Anniversary Party
Alan Cumming was born on January 27, 1965, in Aberfeldy, Scotland, to Mary (Darling), an insurance company secretary, and Alex Cumming. His family lived nearby in Dunkeld, where his father was a forester for Atholl Estate. The family (including his brother, Tom) moved to Fassfern near Fort William,...
The Good Wife Aberfeldy, Perthshire, Scotland, UK
25. Marianne Jean-Baptiste
Actress | Without a Trace
Marianne Raigipcien Jean-Baptiste is an English actress. She is known for her role in the 1996 comedy-drama film Secrets & Lies, for which she received acclaim and earned nominations for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress and the Golden Globe and BAFTA Award in the same category. ...
Blindspot London, England, UK
26. Sullivan Stapleton
Actor | Animal Kingdom
Sullivan Stapleton was born on June 14, 1977 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. He is an actor and producer, known for Animal Kingdom (2010), 300: Rise of an Empire (2014) and Gangster Squad (2013).
Blindspot Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
27. Rose Byrne
Actress | Spy
Rose Byrne was born in Balmain, Sydney, Australia. She is the daughter of Jane, a primary school administrator, and Robin Byrne, a semi-retired statistician and market researcher.
She landed her first role in a movie, Dallas Doll (1994), when she was 15 years old.
Since then, Rose has appeared in a ...
X-Men: Apocalypse Balmain, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
28. Emma Ishta
Actress | Stitchers
Emma Ishta is an Australian actress known for Stitchers (2015-2017), I Smile Back (2015), and Manhattan Love Story (2014). She studied as a vocalist at the Queensland Conservatory of Music until her modeling career brought her to Sydney, Paris, London, and eventually New York. She is married to New...
Stitchers Brookfield, Brisbane, Australia (actually a Canadian show, but still)
29. James McAvoy
Actor | Filth
McAvoy was born on 21 April 1979 in Glasgow, Scotland, to James, a bus driver, and Elizabeth (née Johnstone), a nurse. He was raised on a housing estate in Drumchapel, Glasgow by his maternal grandparents (James, a butcher, and Mary), after his parents divorced when James was 11. He went to St ...
Wanted Glasgow, Scotland, UK
30. Dominique Provost-Chalkley
Actor | Avengers: Age of Ultron
Dom P-C is a British-French Canadian activist, environmentalist, philanthropist, musician, singer, song writer, dancer, and an actor, best known for their role as Waverly Earp on the critically acclaimed television series Wynonna Earp (2016-2021). They were born in Bristol, England. They are also ...
Wynonna Earp Bristol, South West England
31. Dominic Cooper
Actor | The Devil's Double
Dominic Edward Cooper was born and raised in Greenwich, London, England. His mother, Julie (Heron), is a nursery school teacher and a keen theater-goer. His father, Brian Cooper, is an auctioneer. They divorced when Dominic was age 5. His maternal great-grandfather was film enthusiast E.T. Heron, ...
Preacher Greenwich, London, England, UK
32. Ruth Negga
Actress | Loving
Ruth Negga was born on May 4, 1981 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. She is an actress and producer, known for Loving (2016), Passing (2021) and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (2013).
Preacher orn in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Raised in Limerick, Ireland
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