Our Favorite Canadian Actors

Tag : Ladies' T-Shirt

Given that the United States and Canada closely share days of pridein their country on the calendar, it seemed only logical to singleout the many wonderful people that our neighbors to the north have proudly shared for allto enjoy. Following are some of the many comedic, talented, andgorgeous celebrity men and women that call Canada "home."
THE GENTLEMAN
Dan Aykroyd
Born in Ottawa, Ontario on July 1 (Canada Day!), Aykroyd's face hasbeen seen on many a movie screen. He started his comedy with SecondCity Stage Troupe in Toronto and moved on to pursue an actingcareer at Carleton University. From there he began acting in majorfilms alongside major stars from Jamie Lee Curtis to Adam Sandler . His acting brought him an Academy Award nomination for BestSupporting Actor in Driving Miss Daisy . Most notable for his hilarious stint on Saturday Night Live , Aykroyd was also remembered for his character, Elwood Blues, in The Blues Brothers with the late John Belushi .
Jim Carrey
This funny man was brought into the world on January 17 inNewmarket, Ontario. His slapstick and over-the-top humor is mostapparent in…well…everything he does! While he playedone heck of a Grinch in How the Grinch Stole Christmas , he also has a very serious side to him. Sure, the Ace Ventura and Lloyd Christmas side of him is hard to forget, but his roles in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Man on the Moon reminded folks that, golly, Jim Carrey is actually an ACTOR! The Cable Guy and Lemony Snicket aside, Jim Carrey has the right bang for the buck.
Phil Hartman
May 28, 1998 was a sad day for many fans that enjoyed Phil Hartman.Born on September 24 in Brantford, Ontario, Phil Hartman played amajor role during the classic years of SNL and was the heart of Newsradio . Hartman also frequented The Simpsons as the fading actor Troy McClure. What many don't know aboutHartman was his part-time work as a graphic artist. He created manycover-albums for mainstream rock bands, from Poco and FiresignTheatre to America and Crosby, Stills & Nash . On May 28, his intoxicated wife Brynn shot him multiple times. Hewas remembered on the 25th Anniversary SNL show in 1999. AdamSandler gave Hartman the nickname "Glue" because Hartman had theincredible ability to work well with others and keep many episodestogether.
Michael J. Fox
Born in Edmonton, Alberta on June 9, Michael J. Fox became ahousehold name during the 80s with his character Marty McFly in the Back to the Future series. He also won three Emmy Awards and one Golden Globe Awardfor his work on the show Family Ties , and one Emmy, three Golden Globe Awards, and two Screen ActorsGuild Awards for his work as Mike Flaherty on Spin City . Fox was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 1991, but wasn'toutward about it until 1998. He retired from acting in 2000 afterthe symptoms of the disease became too much for him to control. Foxis extremely active in advocating research on the disease, creatinghis own foundation called the Michael J. Fox Foundation.
John Candy
This lovable actor was born on October 31 in Toronto, Ontario. Johnwas known to play lovable losers and characters with big hearts butbad luck. His breakout role was playing the brother of Tom Hanks ' character in Splash , but his more comedic roles include Uncle Buck , National Lampoon's Vacation , and appearing on SNL (not once, but twice). He also played anumber of supporting roles in goofball films from Spaceballs to Planes, Trains & Automobiles . He also played a washed-up Olympic bobsled coach, helping form aJamaican bobsled team in Cool Runnings . Despite his best efforts to avoid the line of heart attacks inhis family, Candy died of a heart attack on March 4, 1994.
THE LADIES
Rachel McAdams
On October 7 in London, Ontario, Mean Girls star Rachel McAdams was born. She first thought that pursuingtheater would be "a bit of a joke", but graduated with honors fromYork University with a B.F.A. in theater. Her first on-screenappearance was on the Disney series "The Famous Jett Jackson",followed by bigger roles, including The Notebook . She is currently dating Ryan Gosling (a fellow Canadian), whom she met while working with him on theset of that film. McAdams also starred in Red Eye .
Catherine O'Hara
Who could forget Kate McCallister, mother of Kevin in the Home Alone movies? Born on March 4, in Toronto, Ontario, O'Hara began hercareer doing voice-overs for several cartoons. Notable filmsinclude The Nightmare Before Christmas (the voice of Sally), Beetlejuice (as Delia), and Best in Show playing Cookie Guggelman Fleck. Her career has far from slowed,and with many project either in the works or on the way, O'Hara islikely to be seen for a long time to come.
Carrie Anne Moss
Born on August 21, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Moss' firstinterest in "the biz" was modeling. She moved to Europe to pursueit, but ended up in Spain with a regular role on the show "DarkJustice". The show was moved to Los Angeles in 1992, and has beenacting since. Aside from playing Trinity in The Matrix , Moss played a character on a TV show called "Matrix" in 1993. Shealso worked with Joe Pantoliano (Cypher from "The Matrix") in the 2000 film Memento . Moss had a string of film and television appearances in 2007 andalso 2008 including the films Fireflies in the Garden and Disturbia , and the TV show "Suspect."
Caroline Rhea
Born in Montreal, Quebec on April 13, Rhea was on 142 episodes of " Sabrina, the Teenage Witch " as Sabrina's Aunt Hilda Spellman. Rhea has played a number ofsmall comedic roles from Bonnie on " The Drew Carey Show ", and Candi in the film Christmas with the Kranks . She had a small role in "Man on the Moon," and has been doing anumber of voice roles so far this year on the "Phineas and Ferb"show on the Disney Channel. Rhea is also a regular on "HollywoodSquares."
Pamela Anderson
Another Canada Day birthday (July 1), Pamela was born in Ladysmith,British Columbia. She was discovered in a very extraordinary way.While attending a British Columbia Lions football game, 21-year-oldAnderson was shown on the stadium wide screen wearing a Labatt'st-shirt and the crowd went wild. Literally. She was brought down tothe 50 yard line to be introduced and received an immense amount ofapplause for her beauty. She was approached by Labatt's with amodeling contract and became their "Blue Zone" girl. The success ofthe ad campaigns did not go unnoticed by Playboy Magazine, and hasappeared on the cover an amazing five times. Anderson had asuccessful role as C.J. Parker on " Baywatch " and Lisa, the Tool Time Girl on " Home Improvement ." Her hectic schedule with both shows caused Anderson to leave thelatter to pursue the former. Anderson was formerly married to Tommy Lee from Motley Crue , and Kid Rock . She's not only blonde hair and boobs. Anderson writes a regularcolumn for Jane Magazine and has a laundry list of charitable work,specifically for PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment ofAnimals). She has appeared in a number of slapstick films from Scary Movie 3 to Scooby-Doo.

Story by Kristin M. Koltz
Starpulse contributing writer