Pop Culture

CANADIAN CONNECTIONS

Much is still said about the "Aussie invasion" of Hollywood. Even some of Channel Seven's promotion of the latest season of "24" (which ended last week) focused on two of the support cast, "Sarah Wynter -- Australian" and "Australia's Alan Dale". Aussie actors are everywhere!

Wonderful. But next time we see a promotion or a magazine article spruiking the success of Australian actors, we should put it in perspective. No, not everyone in Hollywood (or even every second person) is an Australian. If there is one non-American nationality that is ubiquitous in Hollywood, it is Canadians. In fact, so many actors are culled from Canada's population of 28 million that you sometimes wonder if the US produces ANY home-grown stars.

Even in the US, there is not so much fuss made about the Canadian talent. Canada is closer, and Canadian actors don't tend to win Oscars as frequently as Aussies. However, they are so reliable that nobody gives it a second thought when Canadian stars hit the big time -- or even realises, in many cases, that these stars are not American. (They might sound the same to us, but as Canadians will point out, their accents are quite different from the various US accents. If that sounds surprising, note that North Americans can't tell us apart from New Zealanders.)

Canada has produced movie stars as long as movie stars have been around. Truly! Though the star system was a Hollywood invention, the first marquee name was Florence Lawrence, star of classics like "Resurrection" (1909) and "The Forest Ranger's Daughter" (1910), who hailed from Hamilton, Ontario.

Hollywood has always imported its talent. The biggest box-office star of the silent era was not Charlie Chaplin (an Englishman), but another Canadian, Mary Pickford, who became known as "America's Sweetheart". Her title was later changed to "the World's Sweetheart", after she had been ranked the world's most popular woman.

Many Canadians have followed her to Hollywood, from Walter Huston to Michael J Fox, from Raymond Massey to Anna Paquin, from Christopher Plummer to Michael Ironside, from Leonard Nimoy to the currently ubiquitous Carrie Anne Moss. Many of Hollywood's top comedians (John Candy, Rick Moranis, Mike Myers, Jim Carrey) have also been Canadian.

Oh, and let's not get started on Canadian directors! (Ever heard of James Cameron?)

Yes, Canada has been good to Hollywood. So what do they get in return? Not only have offshore productions been running away (due to the World Health Organisation temporarily naming Toronto as a SARS hot spot), but the most popular Canadian movie character, Wolverine ("X2"), is played by an Australian, Hugh Jackman. (Ironically, Jackman was a last-minute replacement for Canadian actor Dougray Scott, who was stuck in Sydney filming "MI-2".) At least Dudley Do Right, the most famous Royal Canadian mountie (though a US creation), was played on film by Brendan Fraser, whose PARENTS were Canadian.

Hollywood might steal Canadians shamelessly, but Australia's film industry isn't totally innocent. Pamela Rabe moved here in 1983, attracted to the Australian film boom. "I ran away from Hollywood," she once recalled, "as I think a lot of Canadians do." Even Tom Burlinson ("The Man from Snowy River" himself) was born in Toronto.

In case we feel overshadowed by this vast array of talent, we Aussies can still boast our "24" connection, right?

Well, even on "24", the Canadians outnumbered us. Elisha Cuthbert, Sutherland's on-screen daughter, hails from Calgary. His ill-fated wife was played by Leslie Hope, another Canadian. Even his acerbic boss (who died saving Los Angeles this season) was played by Canadian actor Xander Berkeley. As for Kiefer himself... though he was born in London (the one in England, not Ontario), his parents were Canadian, including his equally famous father Donald. Before moving to LA, the younger Sutherland was already a star in Canada.

Don't like Hollywood actors? As the song suggests, "Blame Canada".