Actors you didn’t know were British

Sometimes, you’ll be minding your own business, watching one of the latest blockbusters from the comfort of your own home, then it suddenly hits you that you’ve seen “that actor” somewhere before. A quick Google search will tell you their filmography, but then you come to find out that their American accent (which was eerily convincing) is actually fake… and they’re British!

It happens to the best of us. As an Englishwoman myself, I couldn’t count the number of times I’ve Googled a certain actor to find out that they are, in fact, “one of us.” You’ll have no doubt heard about the most famous Brits out there, such as Benedict Cumberbatch or Daniel Craig, but what about the celebrities who had you fooled all those years?

Daniel Kaluuya

He rose to prominence for portraying Chris Washington, a Black photographer, in Get Out. Ever since, Kaluuya has been a crucial component to any Jordan Peele feature, most recently appearing as “OJ” in Nope. There’s no doubt that acting out a disgruntled and misunderstood African-American has become Kaluuya’s bread and butter, but so many people are caught unawares to discover that he’s actually an Englishman.

Kaluuya was born in London to Ugandan parents and studied at Torriano Primary School in Kentish Town, and St Aloysius’ College in Islington.

Naomi Watts

Naomi Watts, 54, made her feature film debut in 1986’s For Love Alone as Leo’s girlfriend, a supporting character. A whole decade later, Watts would then land the main role in Children of the Corn IV: The Gathering, which then lead to success in TV shows such as Twin Peaks and The Watcher.

She was born in Kent, England, then moved to Australia when she was 14, wherein she attended Mosman High School and North Sydney Girls High School.

Andrew Garfield

The whole world knows him as Peter Parker in 2012’s The Amazing Spider-Man, a role he inherited from Tobey Maguire. In the last few decades, Garfield has proven that there isn’t much he can’t do. After returning for The Amazing Spider-Man 2, he went on to star in Hacksaw Ridge, The Eyes of Tammy Faye, Spider-Man: No Way Home, and recently made a cameo appearance in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.

Garfield also hosted two episodes of Saturday Night Live and joined RuPaul and Michelle Visage as a special guest judge on Series 1 of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK. Despite portraying a crime-fighter from Queens and being born in LA, Garfield was raised in Epsom, England, and holds dual citizenship.

Naomie Harris

We’d bet that the majority of the United States recognizes Naomie Harris from her stint as Tia Dalma in the second and third Pirates of the Caribbean films or Frances Barrison/Shriek in Venom: Let There Be Carnage. As for the English crowd, they’ll fondly remember her as Eve Moneypenny, an associate of Daniel Craig’s James Bond in Skyfall (2012), Spectre (2015), and No Time to Die (2021).

Harris also starred as Paula in the award-winning coming-of-age drama Moonlight. She was born in Islington, London, but her mother emigrated from Jamaica.

Aaron Taylor-Johnson

You’ll have seen him in recent promotional material for Kraven the Hunter, a film under the umbrella of the Sony Pictures Spider-Man Universe that tells the story of Sergei Kravinoff, a member of Spider-Man’s rogues’ gallery and one of the founding members of the Sinister Six.

Although Aaron Taylor-Johnson had you fooled as Pietro Maximoff in Avengers: Age of Ultron and gave a kick-ass impression of an American in Kick-Ass, he was born in High Wycombe and attended the Jackie Palmer Stage School, where he studied drama, tap, jazz, acrobatics, and singing. He’s also Jewish and shares two children with his wife of 11 years, Sam Taylor-Johnson.

Andrew Lincoln

He’s our very own Rick Grimes on The Walking Dead, and he gives a mighty convincing American accent. Before making it big on HBO’s most successful drama, Lincoln appeared on the British comedy TV series Teachers and six episodes of the spy-drama Moonshot. He’ll be reprising his role as Rick Grimes in the upcoming TV miniseries The Walking Dead: Rick & Michonne alongside Danai Gurira.

Lincoln was born in London, but eventually moved with his family to Hull, and then to Bath in Somerset. In his adulthood, he moved back to London with his wife Gael Anderson and two children, Matilda and Arthur. As a teenager, he attended Beechen Cliff School in Bath.

Chiwetel Ejiofor

First finding success as Peter in Love Actually, Ejiofor went on to star as Simon/Lola in the feature film adaptation of the broadway musical Kinky Boots, which is based on a true story. He then rediscovered popularity after landing the lead role in 2013’s 12 Years a Slave. In 2019, he migrated over to the MCU to portray Karl Mordo in Doctor Strange and its sequel, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

Next year, he’ll appear in an undisclosed role for the untitled Venom: Let There Be Carnage sequel. Ejiofor was born in Forest Gate, east London, to middle-class Nigerian parents and studied at Dulwich College, where he joined the National Youth Theatre.

Will Poulter

It doesn’t matter if you’re an avid moviegoer, a binge-watcher, or a lifelong gamer. You’ll know Will Poulter from a whole host of roles. He recently appeared in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 as Adam Warlock, and the accent he used — albeit exaggerated slightly to sound more pronounced — is identical to his real one. If you’re a fan of Supermassive Games (the developers of Until Dawn), you’ll know Poulter from his role as Andrew/Anthony/Abraham in The Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope.

He also appeared as Luca in the currently trending comedy-drama series The Bear. Poulter was born in Hammersmith, London, and studied drama at the University of Bristol in 2012 but dropped out after a year.

Dominic Cooper

He’s Agent Carter‘s Howard Stark, Ian Fleming in the semi-biographical miniseries Fleming: The Man Who Would Be Bond, and Sky in Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again. You know his face, but did you know he was British? He made his feature film debut as an uncredited Constable in 2001’s From Hell.

His stint as Howard Stark would’ve fooled you, but Cooper grew up in Greenwich, London. He attended John Ball Primary School in Blackheath, London, and Thomas Tallis School in Kidbrooke, then completed his training at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) in Professional Acting.

Rosamund Pike

Alright, we’ll bite. The name “Rosamund” does sound awfully British, doesn’t it? We’ll accept the stereotype just this once. Pike made her film debut as Bond girl Miranda Frost alongside Pierce Brosnan’s James Bond in Die Another Day. After roles as Kate Summer in Johnny English Reborn and Sam Chamberlain in The World’s End (part of the ‘Cornetto trilogy’ starring Simon Pegg and Nick Frost), you’d think everyone would know that Pike is English, but her performance as Amy Dunne in the live-action adaptation of Gone Girl had everyone thinking she was American.

Pike also grew up in Hammersmith, London, then attended Badminton School in Bristol. After facing rejection from every stage school she applied to, Pike had the chance to read English literature at Wadham College in Oxford.