Comments on: Popular expat American actors?

Question: Popular expat American actors?

Brian James — Fri, 22 Dec 2006 23:09:13 -0800

Are there any popular American actors/actresses that do mostly productions not targeted for Americans?

I don't mean American actors in American stuff that catches on overseas, or an American that does a guest star or cameo bit in a foreign production. I mean an American who lives in and works on primarily stuff produced in another country, maybe even non-English speaking stuff, and has been fairly successful doing so.

By: Rhomboid

Rhomboid — Fri, 22 Dec 2006 23:15:14 -0800

He's Canadian but Mark Rowswell is the quintessential example.

By: nakedcodemonkey

nakedcodemonkey — Fri, 22 Dec 2006 23:52:32 -0800

Robert Vaughn is an American currently starring in the BBC's "Hustle", a UK production which the A&E Network imports to the US. So he might fit your criteria. The majority of his long career has been in American productions, so "mostly" would only apply if you're talking about current work.

By: a.

a. — Sat, 23 Dec 2006 00:27:19 -0800

Don Lane did a lot for Australian television in his day. I'm not sure if your after current examples only though.

By: toxic

toxic — Sat, 23 Dec 2006 00:54:18 -0800

David Hasselhoff?

By: Lokheed

Lokheed — Sat, 23 Dec 2006 03:03:56 -0800

Would John Barrowman count? He was born in Scotland, but was raised in the United States from a very young age. He returned to the UK after finishing college and is very successful there now, between his role of Captain Jack Harkness in Doctor Who / Torchwood plus his very popular participation in Dancing on Ice.

By: veedubya

veedubya — Sat, 23 Dec 2006 03:07:33 -0800

Ruby Wax.

Not particularly well known as an actress, but still well known as a 'personality' in the UK. She's been in sitcoms, and was the ambassador's secretary in Omen2.

By: Chuckles

Chuckles — Sat, 23 Dec 2006 04:08:15 -0800

I'm sure you don't mean for this question to be political, but.. You need to figure out what you mean by American.

Any American citizen (Jet Li, I think)
People born in the USA (Bruce Lee)
People with n (where n >= 5?) generations of American ancestors (presumably Jim Kelly)
White people born in the USA (I won't even bother..)

And who knows what other categories..

There are lots of famous Hong Kong and Indian actors/performers who hold Canadian or American citizenship, for example. Also, lots of children of immigrants go back to their families home country to become famous.

By: PlusDistance

PlusDistance — Sat, 23 Dec 2006 07:05:00 -0800

They're not all Americans, but in Japan, gaijin tarento often appear on game show panels and other TV shows. The Wikipedia page lists a number of them.

By: junkbox

junkbox — Sat, 23 Dec 2006 07:36:11 -0800

Mark Dacascos is an American martial artist featured in several movies made for foreign audiences in Europe and Asia, most notably Brotherhood of the Wolf.

By: HotPatatta

HotPatatta — Sat, 23 Dec 2006 08:54:57 -0800

Woody Allen's films make a lot more money in Europe than they do in the US.

By: smackfu

smackfu — Sat, 23 Dec 2006 08:56:10 -0800

Rich Hall was once pretty popular in the US (I think) but now seems to only do UK stuff, like being a panelist on HIGNFY and QI.

By: nebulawindphone

nebulawindphone — Sat, 23 Dec 2006 09:22:15 -0800

Rachel DeWoskin, daughter of an American Sinologist, went to work in China about ten years ago and got sort of accidentally famous as a soap opera star. I seem to remember hearing that a few other people had the same thing happen — unexpected fame as a "token American" on TV at a time when there weren't so many Mandarin-speaking Americans in China — but DeWoskin's the one I always remember because she went to my high school.

By: teleskiving

teleskiving — Sat, 23 Dec 2006 09:33:22 -0800

How about Stuart Milligan (Jonathan Creek and other TV shows)? A familiar face in the UK, if not exactly a household name. Mac McDonald (Red Dwarf and others) is another one.

I also second Lokheed's suggestion of John Barrowman.

By: blue_beetle

blue_beetle — Sat, 23 Dec 2006 09:34:50 -0800

Megan Dodds

By: mycapaciousbottega

mycapaciousbottega — Sat, 23 Dec 2006 10:34:37 -0800

Laura Linney is the first that springs to mind. She also does a faultless British accent.n

By: plinth

plinth — Sat, 23 Dec 2006 10:35:01 -0800

Molly Ringwald has done quite a number of films for European audiences. Since Breakfast Club, most of her significant roles were not in US films.

By: jrb223

jrb223 — Sat, 23 Dec 2006 11:41:56 -0800

Not an actor, but a singer, this NPR report is about a normal USian who is making in big in Nepal.

Oh, and I too have heard of Americans making it big in Chinese soap operas, might be a good area to research.

By: Kraftmatic Adjustable Cheese

Kraftmatic Adjustable Cheese — Sat, 23 Dec 2006 13:14:36 -0800

Tata Young is a huge pop singer and movie star in Thailand, and there are many other Thai-American actors working in Thai films and TV.

Todd "Tongdee" Lavelle is a white guy from New Jersey who is a big folk singer in Thailand and has done some TV shows as well.

By: booksherpa

booksherpa — Sat, 23 Dec 2006 13:33:57 -0800

Actually, Mark Dacascos is probably currently best known for playing the Chairman on Iron Chef America.

By: rob511

rob511 — Sat, 23 Dec 2006 14:33:21 -0800

There's also The Lady Esther, née M. L. Ciccone in Bay City, Michigan.

By: rob511

rob511 — Sat, 23 Dec 2006 14:36:04 -0800

The above comment interprets the word actor extremely generously, of course.

By: web-goddess

web-goddess — Sat, 23 Dec 2006 15:30:55 -0800

Who's the guy who plays Ridge on The Bold and the Beautiful? Ron Moss, I think. He's actually fairly famous in Australia. He always seems to be out here for appearances. A few years ago, an Australian band wrote a song called "The Bold and the Beautiful" and Ron Moss actually performed it with them on the big late night chat show. He also recently did a hilarious commercial here where he parodied "The Man from Snowy River" and put on an atrocious Ocker accent. As David Hasselhoff is to German, Ron Moss is to Australia.

By: codswallop

codswallop — Sat, 23 Dec 2006 15:45:08 -0800

Speaking of Ruby Wax, anyone notice her Wikipedia entry lists her as having died on both July 22, 1999 _and_ this past Wednesday on December 20, 2006? Whisky Tango Foxtrot, over.

By: grumblebee

grumblebee — Sat, 23 Dec 2006 16:02:41 -0800

I worked on a film for the BBC and was surprised to run into Elizabeth McGovern on the set (I had a nice lunch with her in the BBC cafeteria). She's married to a British producer/director, lives in the UK, and does most of her work for British TV.

By: Dreama

Dreama — Sun, 24 Dec 2006 03:40:15 -0800

Whisky Tango Foxtrot indeed, Ruby Wax isn't dead, not in 1999 or this past Wednesday nor today.

By: macadamiaranch

macadamiaranch — Mon, 25 Dec 2006 19:49:04 -0800

Suzi Quatro has always been more popular overseas than in the US. Well, except for her role as Leather Tuscadero.