The Elusive American Actress...

...is it just me, or is a majority of working actresses playing American characters, from either Australian or Canadian or British descent?

Help me out here, and name working actresses of American descent. Also - why do so many non-Americans play Americans? Have you guys lost all your acting talent, alongside funding for public schools? What gives?

Anne Hathaway

Natalie Portman

Kate Hudson

Reese Witherspoon

Non-Americans are cheaper.

Last I heard she ran Cerberus and was planning a strike on the Citadel!

@endaround said:

Natalie Portman

Actually, she's Israeli (in that she was born in Israel). Also, you stole my only example.

Last I heard she ran Cerberus and was planning a strike on the Citadel!

Really, dude?

@Video_Game_King: Yeah but she grew up in the US.

but there is still:

Chrsitina Ricci

Uma Thurman

Sigourney Weaver

Jennifer Lawrene

Jennifer Anniston

Kristen Stewart (well maybe not so much on the acting part...)

@SoothsayerGB said:

It's because non-Americans can't act. Especially English "talent". They are naturally bad and hammy. They just emote between edits. So they sell easier. British TV spawns some really horrible actors. Some of the worst to date.

Americans tend to be in the larger budget serious films because they have the unique ability for abstract thought. They understand nuance. But it's also easier to break them down and build them back up. While foreign performers are arrogant know-it-alls. Whom are known for being difficult to work with, so directors and produces like to set their assholely natures loose on stage and just have to work around them.

The audience thinks it's fun and neato that they can speak like the USA types. But in reality they sound horrible and send every line up. Kinda like how set designers use really bright colors, because the camera degrades it on film. The bright colors show up better.

Possibly the most ignorant, offensive, and generalising post I have ever read on the entire internet. Bravo?

Really, dude?

@SoothsayerGB: ... The fuck?

There's also non american actors and even north american actors doing southern accents, like in The Walking Dead and Nashville.

@AlexW00d said:

@SoothsayerGB said:

It's because non-Americans can't act. Especially English "talent". They are naturally bad and hammy. They just emote between edits. So they sell easier. British TV spawns some really horrible actors. Some of the worst to date.

Americans tend to be in the larger budget serious films because they have the unique ability for abstract thought. They understand nuance. But it's also easier to break them down and build them back up. While foreign performers are arrogant know-it-alls. Whom are known for being difficult to work with, so directors and produces like to set their assholely natures loose on stage and just have to work around them.

The audience thinks it's fun and neato that they can speak like the USA types. But in reality they sound horrible and send every line up. Kinda like how set designers use really bright colors, because the camera degrades it on film. The bright colors show up better.

Possibly the most ignorant, offensive, and generalising post I have ever read on the entire internet. Bravo?

Oh, come on, that's nothing compared to the regular scores of anti-American crap one has to read whenever there's a thread about the US.

I generally think we're just low on young actors and actresses these days in general. If we're talking older actors/actresses, there are plenty of Americans and non-Americans.

@AlexW00d said:

@SoothsayerGB said:

It's because non-Americans can't act. Especially English "talent". They are naturally bad and hammy. They just emote between edits. So they sell easier. British TV spawns some really horrible actors. Some of the worst to date.

Americans tend to be in the larger budget serious films because they have the unique ability for abstract thought. They understand nuance. But it's also easier to break them down and build them back up. While foreign performers are arrogant know-it-alls. Whom are known for being difficult to work with, so directors and produces like to set their assholely natures loose on stage and just have to work around them.

The audience thinks it's fun and neato that they can speak like the USA types. But in reality they sound horrible and send every line up. Kinda like how set designers use really bright colors, because the camera degrades it on film. The bright colors show up better.

Possibly the most ignorant, offensive, and generalising post I have ever read on the entire internet. Bravo?

Yeah, has he seen The Wire, one of the most widely praised and lauded television series with two English actors playing American characters brilliantly.

@Seppli: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_American_film_actresses

There you go.

@Seppli said:

Why do so many non-Americans play Americans? Have you guys lost all your acting talent, alongside funding for public schools? What gives?

This type of logic hurts my brain

This fucking thread.

All being descended from convicts, Australians are particularly adept at stealing things. Even jobs.

Australia's local media production is quite small and if, God forbid, you manage to score a role on something Home and Away, you're probably set for life. The rest typically move about low-paying, low budget films that are seen by an incredibly limited audience. Alternatively, there's theatre, probably Australia's strongest thespian offering. The strength of the Australian dollar has driven foreign productions out of the country, removing an avenue for work. Original television series tend to fail.

If you want screen acting and don't live in Sydney or Melbourne, you should think about fixing that because you aren't going to get work otherwise. Since you're moving anyway, why not jump through the hoops to go to the US? I'm not at all sure of the relative proportions, but I don't think you're any less likely to get work and if you do actually manage to get a semi-decent list of credits together, it holds far more opportunities than Australia.

As for what makes Australian's so successful that they can replace Americans as Americans? It's the physiology of the accent. We are naturally pre-disposed to imitating them. Anecdotally, I can vaguely recall the several times my sister has accused me of sounding "American".

Don't forget Meryl Streep, The Best Actress.

wat?

@CaptainTightPants said:

@Seppli: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_American_film_actresses

There you go.

I see a link and of course I click on it, so Im scrolling very quickly down this page I have no interest in reading and suddenly find that there is only one person on that list that doesnt have a wiki page. Its too sad, someone needs to make a wiki entry for Ermadean Walters asap.

Do we really need threads like these, that could easily be solved with a single Google search?

We are all citizens of the world fuckers

@endaround said:

Anne Hathaway

Natalie Portman

Kate Hudson

Reese Witherspoon

Non-Americans are cheaper.

Nathalie Portman is Israli dude. Guess the other three are Americans born and bred.

Might be a Unions thing? Or the Canadian Conspiracy for North American Dominance.

See how the tossed that public schools thing in there? Pretty sneaky, sis.

@Seppli said:

Have you guys lost all your acting talent, alongside funding for public schools? What gives?

Might be a Unions thing? Or the Canadian Conspiracy for North American Dominance.

...and these statements (especially the former) convinces me you're only starting this topic to troll the American userbase with lame insults.

We don't need any more of that around here, thanks.