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33 Famous Actors Who 100% Tricked You Into Thinking They're American, But They Actually Aren't

I can't believe how many of these celebs fooled me with their American accents.

Spencer Althouse
by Spencer Althouse

BuzzFeed Staff

We asked the BuzzFeed Community to tell us which famous actor they were truly shocked to learn isn't American. Here are the wild results.

1. Melanie Lynskey

Melanie in "Yellowjackets"
Showtime

What you know her American accent from: Yellowjackets, Up in the Air, Two and a Half Men, and Togetherness

Where she's actually from: New Plymouth, New Zealand

"The biggest celeb who tricked me (since I’d never heard her real accent until a recent interview) was Melanie Lynskey! She has such a great American accent!" —sheap


2. Sarah Snook

Sarah in "Succession"
HBO

What you know her American accent from: Succession, Steve Jobs, and Black Mirror

Where she's actually from: Adelaide, Australia


3. Keiynan Lonsdale

Keiynan in "Love, Simon"
20th Century Fox

What you know his American accent from: Love, Simon, The Flash, and the Divergent series

Where he's actually from: Sydney, Australia


4. Emilia Jones

Emilia in "CODA"
AppleTV+

What you know her American accent from: CODA and Locke & Key

Where she's actually from: Westminster, London


5. Kirby Howell-Baptiste

Kirby in "Why Women Kill"
CBS

What you know her American accent from: Why Women Kill (and she also used an Australian accent in The Good Place)

Where she's actually from: London


6. Chiwetel Ejiofor

Chiwetel in "12 Years a Slave"
Fox Searchlight Pictures

What you know his American accent from: 12 Years a Slave, Z for Zachariah, and Salt

Where he's actually from: Forest Gate, London

—taylorowens


7. Florence Pugh

Florence Pugh in "Little Women"
Sony Pictures Releasing

What you know her American accent from: Little Women and Midsommar

Where she's actually from: Oxford, England

"I've seen Little Women a few times now, and she's so good in it. Recently I started watching her old YouTube videos and covers, and you can hear her English accent in them!"

—Nora Dominick

8. Will Poulter

Will in "We're the Millers"
Warner Bros. Pictures

What you know his American accent from: We're the Millers, Midsommar, and The Maze Runner series

Where he's actually from: Hammersmith, London

"I first saw him in The Maze Runner, where he put on an American accent, and I didn't realize until I saw him in Son of Rambow that he's English! He's actually from London."

—Costcoffee

9. Tom Holland

Tom on "The Graham Norton Show"
BBC America / youtube.com

What you know his American accent from: The Spider-Man and Avengers series

Where he's actually from: Kingston upon Thames, London

"He has such a good American accent that I was shocked when I heard him speak in an interview."

—aloranavarro101

10. Danielle MacDonald

Danielle in "Dumplin'"
Netflix

What you know her American accent from: Dumplin', Bird Box, and Unbelievable

Where she's actually from: Sydney

"Her Southern accent was so perfect in Dumplin' that I had no idea she wasn't from Texas, let alone Australia."

—bonniereinsch

11. KJ Apa

KJ on "Riverdale"
The CW

What you know his American accent from: Riverdale, A Dog's Purpose, and The Hate U Give

Where he's actually from: Auckland, New Zealand

"I saw a few videos online where he spoke with a Kiwi accent and got SO confused because I first saw him on Riverdale."

—Sarah Wainschel

12. Daniel Kaluuya

Daniel in "Get Out"
Blumhouse Productions

What you know his American accent from: Get Out and Widows

Where he's actually from: London

"He did such a great American accent in Get Out that I was completely shocked when I heard him speak in an interview."

—yung_cowboy

13. Isla Fisher

Isla in "Wedding Crashers"
New Line Cinema

What you know her American accent from: Wedding Crashers, Arrested Development, Confessions of a Shopaholic, and Now You See Me

Where she's actually from: Born in Muscat, Oman, but grew up in Perth, Western Australia

"I only found out like a week ago that Isla Fisher is Australian. I always thought she was American!"

—b481d76f3c

14. Katherine Langford

Katherine in "13 Reasons Why"
Netflix

What you know her American accent from: 13 Reasons Why, Love Simon, and Knives Out

Where she's actually from: Perth, Western Australia

"Her American accent is really good, and I was so shocked when I found out she wasn't American."

—a48b53e4ef

15. Rose McIver

Rose in "A Christmas Prince"
Netflix

What you know her American accent from: A Christmas Prince, The Lovely Bones, iZombie, and Eddie's Million Dollar Cook-Off

Where she's actually from: Auckland

"I always thought she was American because she's good at hiding her real accent in iZombie and Netflix's A Christmas Prince series. I watched a video on YouTube where she recapped the movie and was surprised to hear her thick Kiwi accent."

—s4bb472acb

16. Freddie Highmore

Freddie in "The Good Doctor"
ABC

What you know his American accent from: The Good Doctor and Bates Motel

Where he's actually from: Camden Town, London

"I had no idea he was English until I heard him speak in an interview!"

—chloeisme16

17. Ryan Kwanten

Ryan in "True Blood"
HBO

What you know his American accent from: True Blood

Where he's actually from: Sydney

"Hearing him speak in his normal Aussie accent instead of his Southern Jason Stackhouse accent broke my brain."

—Arya Snark

18. Hugh Laurie

Hugh on "House"
Fox

What you know his American accent from: House

Where he's actually from: Blackbird Leys, Oxfordshire, England

"The first time I heard him talk in an interview, I thought he was faking an English accent. I never would have guessed he was actually from England."

—K8M517

19. Dominic West

Dominic in "The Wire"
HBO

What you know his American accent from: The Wire, Chicago, and The Affair

Where he's actually from: Sheffield, West Riding of Yorkshire, England

"I was a huge fan of The Wire, but one day I watched an interview with him for the movie 300, and I was blown away by his English accent."

—fbailey6

20. Charlie Cox

Charlie in "Daredevil"
Netflix

What you know his American accent from: Daredevil

Where he's actually from: London

"I was genuinely shocked when I found out he's English because his American accent is flawless!"

—joolzr2

21. Mark Addy

Mark in "The Flintstones"
Universal Pictures

What you know his American accent from: Still Standing and The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas

Where he's actually from: York, England

"He was the dad on Still Standing, and how could anyone forget him as Fred Flintstone? Who knew he was a total Brit?!"

—cocopa

22. James McAvoy

James on "The Graham Norton Show"
BBC America / YouTube / Via youtube.com

What you know his American accent from: Wanted and Split

Where he's actually from: Glasgow

"I’m usually pretty good at spotting a hidden accent, especially when the character needs to shout, but I only recently found out that he isn't American."

—emrayy

23. Henry Cavill

Henry as "Superman"
Warner Bros.

What you know his American accent from: The Justice League series and Mission: Impossible — Fallout

Where he's actually from: Saint Helier, Jersey (a British Crown dependency)

"I've only ever seen Henry Cavill in Man of Steel, so I really thought he was American. Was totally shocked to learn he’s not!"

—Pizzatime

24. Gugu Mbatha-Raw

Gugu in "Black Mirror"
Netflix

What you know her American accent from: Black Mirror's "San Junipero" episode

Where she's actually from: Oxford

"I didn't find out she was actually English for the longest time."

—daynam4b6e28fa3

25. Colin Farrell

Colin in "Widows"
20th Century Fox

What you know his American accent from: Horrible Bosses, Phonebooth, Total Recall, and Widows

Where he's actually from: Castleknock, Dublin

"When I heard Colin Farrell give an interview, I couldn’t believe he was Irish. Like, really Irish! I had no idea!"

—shannonj4e8508118

26. Tom Hardy

Tom in "Venom"
Sony Pictures Releasing

What you know his American accent from: Venom, The Revenant, and The Dark Knight Rises

Where he's actually from: Hammersmith, London

"He just doesn’t give off British vibes to me!"

—anyarosem16

27. Millie Bobby Brown

Millie in "Stranger Things"
Netflix

What you know her American accent from: Stranger Things

Where she's actually from: British, but born in Marbella, Málaga, Andalusia, Spain

"I had no idea she was English when I first watched Stranger Things."

—evp722

28. Christian Bale

Christian as Bruce Wayne
Warner Bros.

What you know his American accent from: The Fighter, The Dark Knight, The Big Short, American Psycho, and Vice

Where he's actually from: Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, Wales

"I’ve seen so many movies of his, and he mostly plays an American character. I never would have known he wasn't American. His accent is spot on."

—ser19

29. Cynthia Erivo

Cynthia in "Bad Times"
20th Century Fox

What you know her American accent from: The Color Purple on Broadway, Harriet, Widows, and Bad Times at the El Royale

Where she's actually from: Stockwell, London

"I saw her in The Color Purple on Broadway, and she was so fantastic. Then I did a deep dive and watched a few interviews with her, and I was so surprised to learn she's English."

—Spencer Althouse

30. Andrew Lincoln

Andrew in "The Walking Dead"
AMC

What you know his American accent from: The Walking Dead

Where he's actually from: London

"I had never seen Love Actually, but I had seen him on The Walking Dead, where he had a Southern accent. I was shook to find out he’s actually English."

—mirandat439cd0bf9

31. Margot Robbie

Margot in "I, Tonya"
Neon

What you know her American accent from: Pan Am, I, Tonya, Suicide Squad, The Wolf of Wall Street, and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Where she's actually from: Dalby, Queensland, Australia

"She just never sounded Australian to me!"

—eskimokiss

32. Kate Beckinsale

Kate in "Click"
Sony Pictures Releasing

What you know her American accent from: Click, Total Recall, and The Aviator

Where she's actually from: Chiswick, London

"I seriously just learned that she's English last week. I had no idea."

—hh

33. And Toni Collette

Toni in "Knives Out"
Lionsgate

What you know her American accent from: Knives Out, Unbelievable, Little Miss Sunshine, The Sixth Sense, and Hereditary

Where she's actually from: Plumpton, New South Wales, Australia

"She’s extremely convincing when it comes to different accents. For the longest time, I was convinced that she was actually American, until I saw an article that mentioned she’s actually Australian. It blew my mind."

—jessiep4a178bc93

Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.