As a proud, hard working American, I’m concerned about jobs in America and trying to prevent the shipping of these jobs overseas. Today, I announce my commitment to try to stem the flow of high paying, high profile jobs to non-Americans in one specific industry. While we all know that much of our clothing, appliances, electronics, and even one Presidential candidates campaign hats were produced by oversea workers. We tend to overlook one of the biggest American industries that is bypassing American talent for foreign born alternatives. The entertainment industry. You bet. You think that All-American type actor on your favorite TV show or movie is an American? Think again. He’s probably British, Irish, Australian or even, God forbid, Canadian.
Did you know that two thirds of the Spidermen you saw in the movie ”Spiderman: No Way Home,” were English? Were you shocked when you heard Tom Holland and Andrew Garfield speak, outside their film roles? They both had English accents. Thank goodness for Tobey Macguire bringing a little of the red, white and blue to a truly American icon. Another All-American superhero role has been represented by 6 different actors and one third of them have been from across the pond. Christian Bale, considered by many the best Batman, and Robert Pattinson was the latest offering. Both have offered a darker version of the Caped Crusader. Remember when Superman was “Truth, Justice and the American Way?” How can that be with Brit Henry Cavill playing the latest Man of Steel? Does Superman bow to the throne at Buckingham Palace?
The one cross-border actor that their own country may want to disavow is Canadian, Ryan Renyolds, due to his turn as the “Merc With The Mouth,” Deadpool. He is definitely not playing a hero like Superman, and his superhero films are rated R. Do we want our kids growing up that foul mouth?
One of the most egregious examples of passing over American actors to choose someone from outside our borders was the Steven Spielberg film, “Lincoln.” Daniel Day-Lewis portrayed America’s greatest president. Yes, Day-Lewis did a phenomenal job, looked amazingly like our 16th president, and won the Academy Award for his effort, but for goodness sake, the actor is Irish. It could have been played by that very tall, Lincoln-like actor Liam Neeson…oops, my wife just let me know he’s Irish too. How about Raymond Massey? Oh, he’s dead, but he did portray our favorite president back in 1940. Come on, with 320 million people in this country, Spielberg couldn’t find an actor that looked like Abraham Lincoln? I know a guy down at the corner bar who could have done the trick, except the last time I saw him, he was asleep on the bar.
The most bizarre example of a foreign actor playing an iconic American is when Australian Cate Blanchett, played Bob Dylan in a movie. Not just the wrong nationality, also the wrong gender. That should get a bunch of highly wound up people in a tizzy!
There’s nothing I enjoy more than looking up the history of actors on my favorite TV shows on an app on my phone, while watching the show. Drives my poor wife nuts. She keeps asking why I don’t just watch the show. I have no answer. I guess it’s my curse. During my research I have discovered many surprises amongst my favorite actors. Did you know that Dr. Owen Hunt, Kevin McKidd, on Grey’s Anatomy is actually Scottish? Surprised, right? Delroy Lindo has portrayed some of our favorite characters in films, “Gone in 60 Seconds” is a great example. He is currently playing the head of the law firm in The Good Fight, and he is English. My jaw dropped when I found out. He has to be an American! Two more characters on that same show, Lucca Quinn, Cush Jumbo, and Maia Rindell, Rose Leslie, are both played by Brits.
I could go on forever, and I will. Millie Bobbi Brown, #11, from “Stranger Things,” English. The last two ADAs from the television series “Law and Order,” are both born in England. Linus Roache played Michael Cutter and Hugh Dancy is playing Nolan Price on the current version of the long running TV drama. You would think DA Jack McCoy would notice. Damine Lewis played the all American platoon leader, Richard Winters in the WWII mini-series Band of Brothers. He also played a former American prisoner of war in the Showtime series, Homeland. Very English. The autistic, young doctor on the popular series “The Good Doctor,” Freddie Highmore, was born in London.
As for Canadians playing Americans there are many and they blend in since the similarity of accents. Dan Aykroyd, John Candy, Eugene Levy, Rick Moranis, Martin Short, Catherine O’Hara, Jim Carrey and even Captain Kirk, William Shatner, are examples of our friends from the north taking jobs away from real Americans. Maybe we need to beam them back up to their frozen wasteland. Like what we do with all their snowbirds. And don’t get me started on all those Canadian hockey players imported to this country for our American teams.
It’s bad enough that all these foreign actors are taking American parts, Hollywood has to rub it in by having most actors in an historical or fantasy show speak with a British accent. I am a lover of the history of the Roman Empire. In every film or television series based on Rome, most of the characters speak with an English accent. I am sure, if we could be transported to ancient Rome, we would expect to be speaking the King’s English with a very strong British accent. It would be just the opposite. Since the Roman Empire covered such a large swath of the ancient Western world, many different languages would have been spoken, with Latin the official language of the empire. If English was spoken, it would be nothing like the language we know today. In the classic gladiator movie, “Spartacus,” Laurence Olivier, was the best example on how Hollywood perceived people of ancient times spoke. Who better to speak proper English, while portraying an ancient general?
In the same movie, the myth of ancient peoples speaking perfect English was almost shattered by another important character. Tony Curtis, who portrayed a Roman slave, came close to making the movie a laughing stock when he delivered his most famous line. When the Roman conquerors asked for Spartacus to reveal himself, Curtis stood up and yelled out “I am Spartacus,” in his best lower east side New York accent. He sounded like a kid hawking newspapers on a busy New York street. Well, he was playing a slave and they came from the most downtrodden locations of humanity…like the lower east side of New York.
I think we may have had our revenge when Robert Downey Jr. played the iconic detective, Sherlock Holmes, English accent and all. It was OK, but not a very strong effort. I’m sure many Brits were offended that a lowly American was chosen to play one of the most famous characters in literature. Maybe it will send a message to the British not to even try to portray any of our most revered characters, like the Simpsons.
©2022 BBRiley.net
bbriley.net 