Celebrate Canada Day With Our Ten Favorite Canadians
You'd never suspect some of these imports from the Great White North. They walk among us!
Actor William Shatner signs copies of his new book "Star Trek Academy Collision Course" at Book Soup November 20, 2007 in West Hollywood, CA -
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It tends to get overshadowed by that other big national holiday in the first week of July, but the 1st celebrates the anniversary of the 1867 act that made Canada a country. So in honor of our neighbors to the North, here are our ten favorite Canadian actors. No hockey, no Tim Hortons gags, no "eh"s, I promise.
10.Sandra Oh
The Korean-Canadian Ontario native started out on Canadian staple Degrassi High, and won a Best Actress Genie (Canada's Oscar) before moving on to Hollywood features like Under the Tuscan Sun and Sideways. In 2005 she won the role of Cristina Yang on Grey's Anatomy, where she's racked up four Emmy nominations and a Golden Globe.
8.Will Arnett
After years of failed pilots Arnett finally broke through playing G.O.B. Bluth, Jason Bateman's scene-stealing brother in Arrested Development. He was nominated for an Emmy for that role and for Best Guest Star for his appearances on 30 Rock, but his jump to the big screen hasn't been as successful so far (with exceptions, like his role as a figure skater opposite wife Amy Pohler in Blades of Glory). But watch, his day is coming.
7.Anna Paquin
After winning an Oscar at age 11, Paquin went on to balance big-budget spectaculars like the X-Men trilogy with indie fare like The Squid and the Whale. But recently her big successes have come on TV, where she was nominated for an Emmy for Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee and just won a Golden Globe for the steamy vampire series True Blood.
6.Ryan Gosling
Gosling started out in the'90s pop factory of The Mickey Mouse Club alongside Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, and Justin Timberlake. Instead of sticking with the formula he went on to acclaimed indie roles in movies like The Believer before breaking out in the romantic weepy The Notebook. But it was his role in Half-Nelson, playing a drug-addicted junior high school teacher, that earned him an Academy Award nomination. A year later, the true-love-with-a-sex-toy Lars and the Real Girl cemented his cred as an indie darling.
5.Phil Hartman
This Saturday Night Live mainstay was a genius mimic (Sinatra, Ed McMahon, Bill Clinton), a rock-solid straight man, and a perfect pompous ass on News Radio, the criminally underrated sitcom he starred in from 1995 until his death. He was killed by his wife in 1998, but still deserves an honorable mention. Troy McClure, R.I.P.
4.Michael Cera
Another Arrested Development alum who at just 21 already has an impressive big-screen record. Superbad, Juno, and Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist showed Cera fine tuning his awkward, sweet charm, and launched him to movie star status. And he's got his own mock Christian Bale-style on-set meltdown video! Now that's a star!
3.Sarah Polley
This former child star went from Road to Avonlea and The Adventures of Baron Munchausen to The Sweet Hereafter and Go, then turned to directing. Away From Her, her heartbreaking adaptation of a short story by the great Alice Munro (also Canadian) was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, and she was the first woman to win a Genie for Best Director.
2.Kiefer Sutherland
How do you not like a guy with The Lost Boys, A Few Good Men, and Dark City on his resume? And sure, there's always Jack Bauer. After being nominated four times he finally won an Emmy for Best Actor in 2006, and recently signed on for season eight of 24. And, his grandfather was the premiere of Saskatchewan. That's a province. It's right above Montana.
Sacha Howells is deeply troubled by the infiltration of Hollywood by the northern aliens, and fears that in the end, a wall may be the only solution. He is also Canadian.
Film.com's FREE movie of the week is "Love the Hard Way." Oscar-winner Adrien Brody and Charlotte Ayanna star in this drama about a thief who falls for a curious, beautiful young woman. As their intimacy grows, a slick cop (Pam Greer) is closing in.
