The image of the most successful and celebrated actors and actresses in Hollywood is one of American excellence.
Even though there are plenty of award-winning actors and actresses from the United States, a surprising number of top Hollywood stars are Canadian.
If you do not closely follow the celebrity gossip surrounding Hollywood stars, you may not even be aware that some of the actors and actresses below are from Canada.
There is a reason they call Toronto the Hollywood of the North! Below are some of the top Canadian actors and actresses from recent times.
Kiefer Sutherland
When a person thinks about Canadian acting, their mind is very unlikely to shift in the direction of Kiefer Sutherland. That is not a knock on his acting skills, or his passion for casino games.
Kiefer Sutherland, son of fellow Canadian Donald Sutherland, is often seen as the quintessential American actor from the past few decades. Kiefer has been a star in several hit movies and television shows during his career, while he has a number of promising projects in the pipeline.
If there is one role that a film or television enthusiast would associate with Sutherland, it is his starring turn as Jack Bauer in the hit television series 24. A show that ran for nearly a decade, 24 was a mammoth hit in the mid-2000s to early-2010s.
The way Sutherland portrayed Jack Bauer, an American counter-terrorism officer who saves the day on more than one occasion, endeared him to the hearts of the nation. What so many of his fans may not even realize is that he is British-Canadian, having been born in the UK and spent a lot of his life in Canada.
Anna Paquin
Anna Paquin is another famous Canadian actor, who has played a leading role in several exciting movies and television shows. Paquin made history when she won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress at the age of 11.
She is still the second-youngest winner of the award in Oscar history, having claimed the honor for her performance in The Piano in 1994.
Despite not winning another Oscar in her career, Paquin does have plenty of other awards to her name. She won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress relating to her role in True Blood, the hit HBO television series. She also picked up a London Film Critics’ Circle award for Best Actress in 2011, this time winning for her role in the movie Margaret.
Her most recent roles include a small part in the Netflix movie The Irishman in 2019, along with a starring role in American Underdog, which is set to release sometime in 2021.
Will Arnett
Will Arnett is one of the most well-respected and celebrated comedians in Hollywood, often winning awards for his hilarious and emotional turns in movies and television shows.
Arnett is best known for playing Gob Bluth in the series Arrested Development, which aired on Fox and later on Netflix. He even received a nomination for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor, but lost out to another actor.
While he may not appear in the show in the flesh, Arnett also received a great deal of praise for his turn in BoJack Horseman. Arnett voices the main character on the cartoon series, which is a significant cult and critics hit on Netflix.
Much like the other actors and actresses on this list, Arnett is not typically thought of as being Canadian. If one were to watch a show that featured him in a starring role, they would assume they were watching an American actor.
Ryan Reynolds
If there is one actor in Hollywood who has enjoyed such a varied and somewhat surprising career, it may be Ryan Reynolds. He first burst onto the scene in his 20s, when he played a starring role in the Canadian teen show Hillside from 1991 to 1993.
He then landed a major role in the United States, playing one of the leads on Two Guys and a Girl, a comedy show that lasted from 1998 to 2001. Such a role propelled Reynolds into movies, but he spent most of his time starring in romantic comedies that were not particularly loved by fans or critics.
Reynolds eventually turned around his career in 2016, when he pushed for the production and eventual release of Deadpool, an action-packed superhero movie. Reynolds plays the lead character in both Deadpool and its sequel Deadpool 2.
His performance in Deadpool cemented him as one of the most celebrated actors of his generation. Reynolds may be 44, but he is still going strong as he has several major projects due to be released or in production.
Jim Carrey
If there is one name that is synonymous with American comedy since the 1990s, it’s Jim Carrey. What if we told you that he is not American, but Canadian? Carrey is another actor that has done his country proud, moving to the United States early in his career and achieving remarkable success.
The world first got a glimpse of Carrey in 1990, when he got a recurring role in the TV show In Living Color, which ran from 1990 to 1994. His performance was so impressive that it led to several major acting roles in movies, including Ace Ventura, Dumb and Dumber, and The Mask.
Carrey was the face of comedy in the late 1990s and early 2000s, starring in most of the commercial and critical hits in this genre. While his career has stalled somewhat over the past few years, Carrey is still taking on new projects as he seeks the roles that may propel him to mega-stardom again.
Catch Up on Gambling Movies
Many of the best Canadian actors and actresses from the past few decades are gambling enthusiasts.
If you enjoy a flutter on the blackjack table or a cheeky bet on a sports game, you may want to experience the most exciting gambling movies from the past few years. Who knows, some of them may even feature Canadian actors and actresses!
