Celebrity

12 Actors You Definitely Didn't Know Were British

Let’s just say they do a very convincing American accent.

by L'Oréal Blackett
Millie Bobby Brown in 'Stranger Things'
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Millie Bobby Brown

The Stranger Things star lived in Bournemouth until the age of eight. Remastering the English accent for Enola Holmes was a bit a struggle though. “I’m so used to speaking American,” she told Radio Times at the time. “I found it really challenging being British, even though I am a Brit.”

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John Boyega

As Finn in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Boyega has a flawless American accent, but the London-born actor actually hails from Peckham. His most recent project including Steve McQueen’s Small Axe films.

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Kim Cattrall

Most famously known as Sex And The City’s Samantha, Cattrall was actually born in Liverpool, before moving to Canada. She returned age 11, and it was then that she fell in fell in love with acting, through a relative who worked for the BBC.

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Daniel Kaluuya

London-born Kaluuya made Britain proud when he won an Oscar earlier this year, but the son of Ugandan parents has previously spoken about not seeing himself as British: “I don’t internalise that perspective on me, especially when I’m building a character.”

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Cynthia Erivo

First she took Broadway, then Hollywood – winning a Grammy, Emmy, and Academy Award nomination in the process. But Erivo is from South London, and described herself as “first-generation African” in a Guardian interview. “My mother came from Nigeria, so that is very much my culture as well.”

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Max Minghella

Widely lusted over for his role as Nick Blaine in The Handmaid’s Tale, Minghella grew up in London’s Hampstead Heath.“I feel like I grew up in a very small town,” he told Bustle. “When I went to New York, I felt I was going to the big city.” Adorable.

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Alfred Enoch

How To Get Away With Murder stans will recognise Enoch instantly. But before killing it as Wes, Enoch was a Harry Potter star. Born in Westminster, Enoch attended Oxford and read Portuguese and Spanish.

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Mischa Barton

Yes, really. The O.C star was born in Hammersmith, West London, and moved to New York at the age of six. “I like people to discern that I’m an English-Irish girl who grew up in New York,” she told BBC America in 2011.

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O.T Fagbenle

Another The Handmaid’s Tale fave – and soon to be Marvel legend – Fagbenle was born and raised in London. Fagbenle’s 12 siblings include music producer Rockwell XL, singer Tito, basketball star Temi, music video producer Daps, and TV producer Luti.

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Naomi Watts

Born in Shoreham, the King Kong star grew up between Anglesey and Kent. Her family relocated to Australia when she was 14, but Watts loved her childhood home. “Even when I was in Australia I went back to England a lot,” she said in 2007. “I still have my British passport. I consider myself British.”

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Christian Bale

Christian Bale is best known for his iconic American roles – think Bruce Wayne in The Dark Night and Patrick Bateman in American Psycho – but he was born in Wales to English parents.

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Angela Lansbury

The Murder She Wrote legend was born in London, and though the Bedknobs and Broomsticks actor left the UK for the U.S. after World War Two, she was made a Dame by the Queen in 2014.

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