It’s Independence Day in the U.S., and that means fireworks and celebration for the folks down south, including celebrities.
There are a lot of stars in Tinseltown who have Canadian lineage and ancestry; A-listers like Ryan Reynolds, Rachel McAdams, Ryan Gosling and Jim Carrey are open Canucks, but there are several stars who have an almost-secret Canadian history.
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Here are a few of the stars you (probably) didn’t realize are actually Canadian.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson
Yes, The Rock hails from the Great White North. Well, kinda. His father is Nova Scotia-born wrestler Rocky Johnson, which makes him, at the very least, half-Canadian. And lest we forget Johnson’s brief stint in the CFL.
Steve-O
The Jackass alum and all-round dare-taker is proud of his Canadian heritage, frequently flashing his Canuck passport as proof. Steve-O, whose real name is Stephen Glover, is actually something of a self-proclaimed “mutt,” with relatives in Canada, the U.S. and the U.K.
James Doohan
The man who played the beloved Scotty on the original TV series Star Trek, James Doohan, is another Canadian who may have fooled you into thinking he was of another nationality. Nope, he wasn’t Scottish by birth. Doohan, who died in 2005, was born in Vancouver, B.C.
Matt Groening
Before you cry foul, read this and rejoice: the man who created arguably the greatest animated series of all time is Canadian. OK, half-Canadian. Groening’s father (named Homer, natch) was born in Main Centre, Sask.
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Anna Paquin
We’ve been duped into thinking that Paquin is from the deep south after her time on True Blood, but nope. She was born in Winnipeg, Man. and raised in New Zealand.
Norm Macdonald
This hilarious fellow may seem like a hard-as-nails American, but Macdonald is pure Canuck, originally from Quebec City and raised in Ottawa, Ont. You just wouldn’t know it, because Macdonald absconded to the U.S. as soon as possible to pursue his career in comedy (and he never looked back).
Nathan Fillion
The star of Firefly and Castle is another example of a flying-under-the-radar Canadian. Fillion blends in so seamlessly with the hunky stars of primetime TV, it’s like no one bothered to check his Canadian pedigree. The uber-popular dreamboat was indeed born and raised in Edmonton.
Brendan Fraser
OK, so we haven’t seen Fraser in a while, but if you’re a ’90s kid, you’ll recall his star power in films like Encino Man and School Ties, among many others. Fraser spent a lot of time travelling around the world, but stopped for a while in Toronto (at the prestigious Upper Canada College) before moving on to the U.S. Both of his parents are Canadian.
James Cameron
Cameron is so huge in the movies biz, it’s easy to forget he was born in Kapuskasing, Ont. At least he’s — sort of — returning to his roots; in 2014, he purchased Beaufort Vineyard and Estate Winery in Courtenay, B.C., at the cool price of $2.7 million. Hey, at least he’s giving back, eh?
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