North America is made up of several countries, but the United States tends to get most of the focus, especially when it comes to our film and TV industries. But not everyone in Hollywood with a convincing American accent is actually from the US. Several of showbiz's biggest stars actually come from the "Great White North," aka Canada.
You probably know that celebs like Drake are from Canada, since he's always rapping about Toronto and he grew up starring in the Canadian series Degrassi. You may have even known that Justin Bieber grew up in Canada because of the call from many that he be deported following a string of bad behavior in the mid-2000s.
But did you know that these 20 other stars are proud Canadians, too?
Rachel McAdams
According to IGN, Rachel McAdams had to work with a dialect coach for two months to learn Allie's South Carolina accent for the Notebook. And good thing, too, because it would have been jarring to hear Allie say something like "aboot," since Rachel is originally from London, Ontario. The Canadian accent isn't as strong as, say, a British one, but it's definitely there.
Ryan Gosling
Rachel McAdams' love interest in the Notebook eventually became her real-life flame, as she and Ryan Gosling dated for a couple of years after filming the movie. They were basically destined to meet since they are both from the same town in Canada — London. Reportedly, they were even both born at the same hospital.
Ryan Reynolds
Another famous Ryan from Canada is Ryan Reynolds. He was born in Vancouver and has a total love for his home country, even as he now has to spend a lot of time in the US or traveling for his film career. He visits when he can, though, often bringing his wife, Blake Lively, and their three children along. "I want my daughters to experience the same natural playground I grew up in," he tweeted about his British Columbia hometown in 2019.
Jim Carrey
In 2004, the Ontario-born Jim Carrey became an American citizen, so he was allowed to vote in US elections. But he said on Late Night With Conan O'Brien that he would always be Canadian at heart. "I have no intention of giving up my Canadian heritage," he said. "My upbringing in Canada made me the person I am. I will always be proud to be a Canadian."
Kim Cattrall
The Sex and the City star may have made New York her playground on the show, but in real life she has ties to Canada. According to InStyle, though she was born in England, Kim Cattrall moved to Canada at just 3 months old, and she's retained a love for the country ever since. She currently lives in Vancouver after relocating there in 2020. "I'm coming home again. The mountains, the orcas — when I was a teenager I didn't appreciate it. But now they're bringing me back," she told ET Canada.
Seth Rogen
The famous funnyman was born in Vancouver and became the voice of the city's public transportation in 2018. Imagine stepping on a bus or train and hearing Seth Rogen say, "Stand clear of the closing doors," with his signature laugh. Public transportation use must have gone way up just because people were curious to hear him.
Matthew Perry
The Friends star was born in Massachusetts but grew up in Canada, where he attended the same Ottawa school as Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Matthew Perry joked on Jimmy Kimmel Live that he and his friends used to pick on Justin. "I think he was excelling in a sport that we weren't, so it was pure jealousy," he said.
Sandra Oh
Her Grey's Anatomy character worked in Seattle, but Sandra Oh grew up across the border in Nepean, Ottawa. Even as she's traveled for her Hollywood career, though, she's never forgotten her roots. In fact, when she played "Is It Canadian?" with Jimmy Kimmel, she got a perfect score. We'd expect nothing less from our brilliant Dr. Cristina Yang.
Caroline Rhea
Caroline Rhea most famously played Sabrina Spellman's aunt Hilda on the '90s hit Sabrina the Teenage Witch, but she got her acting start in Canada. The Montreal-born actress first appeared in the Canadian comedy Meatballs 3 before moving to New York City a few years later to pursue a career in stand-up comedy and acting.
Shania Twain
Shania Twain may be the reigning "Queen of Country Pop," but she's not even from this country! The singer was born in Windsor, a city in Ontario. Understandably, Canada is enormously proud to be able to claim Shania as its own, and she was even inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 2011.
Avril Lavigne
Another singer from Ontario is Avril Lavigne, who was born in the city of Belleville. The Canadian music scene isn't huge, so it's not that surprising that Shania kind of took teenage Avril under her wing. Shania and Avril performed together before Avril made it big, and the country singer helped propel Avril to stardom.
Shawn Mendes
The Canadian singer took a similar path to fame as fellow Canadian Justin Bieber. The Biebs was discovered after posting his music on YouTube, and Shawn Mendes' fame came after he started posting videos to Vine. Before that, Shawn was just a kid with a dream from Pickering in Canada's Ontario area. And now he's a world-famous singer.
The Weeknd
The Weeknd (real name: Abel Makkonen Tesfaye) was born in Toronto, just like his fellow Canadian musician Drake. The Weeknd's nationality makes him yet another Canadian dated by Selena Gomez, who also infamously dated Canadian Justin Bieber. Guess Selena has a thing for the maple leaf country, huh? (For her part, Selena was born in Texas.)
Cobie Smulders
How I Met Your Mother may be a fictional show, but Cobie Smulder's character, Robin, did share one major trait with her — they're both Canadian and proud. The actress was born in Vancouver and says that her Canadian identity is always with her. "I like to bring it with me wherever I go. It's always in my back pocket," she told Maclean's.
Shay Mitchell
Maybe it's because Shay Mitchell is always showing her travels on Instagram, but we had no idea she's actually Canadian at heart. The Pretty Little Liars star is from Mississauga in Ontario, and she talks about her home country fairly often. In 2017, she even posted a video to her YouTube channel about her favorite Canadian foods (including Tim Hortons, of course).
Will Arnett
In addition to being a regular actor, Will Arnett is also a voice actor, so we're surprised that we've never noticed he's from Canada. He's from Toronto originally, but he's gotten good at disguising his accent for his various roles. But in 2018, he filmed a video with Vanity Fair about Canadian slang, and his accent was on full display.
Patrick J. Adams
Actor Patrick J. Adams must have felt right at home when filming Suits. Although the show is set in New York, production took place in Toronto, which is also where Patrick was born. Hopefully, that meant he was able to show costar Meghan Markle around the city when she first moved up there to play Rachel Zane.
Check out our Meghan Markle page for all the latest news about Meghan, Prince Harry, and their growing family.
Anna Paquin
Anna Paquin has such a strong New Zealand accent, but that's totally misleading because she was actually born in Canada. She's originally from Winnipeg, but she grew up in New Zealand before coming back to North America for her acting career. She returned to Canada for several of her recent projects, including Bellevue and Alias Grace.
Elliot Page
The Juno actor may be an American film favorite, but Elliot was actually born up north in Nova Scotia, Canada. According to Time magazine, Elliot's big break in acting came at age 10 thanks to the Canadian TV movie and ensuing series Pit Pony, which aired in the late '90s. Hollywood is a tough business with a lot of people clamoring for the same jobs, so starting with smaller productions in Canada isn't actually a bad idea.
Eugene & Dan Levy
The Levy family makes Canada proud every day. Eugene Levy may be a famous actor, but he loved growing up in Hamilton, Ontario, so much that he chose to stay there when having children. His son, Dan Levy, was born in Toronto, and the duo stayed close to home with the series Schitt's Creek, which was shot in Ontario.
