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For Life actor Nicholas Pinnock was incredible on the American legal drama series — so much so, we hadn’t realized he’s English. One check of his Instagram account confirms it… listen below as he introduces a challenge he took on during the coronavirus pandemic.
And, a little research shows he actually played Leon in award-winning British television series Top Boy and stars in Criminal: UK on Netflix.
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Pinnock isn’t the only star that has surprised us in this way. Christian Bale won a Golden Globe for his role in Vice at the 2019 award ceremony and thanked satan in his speech. But somehow, what most people were shocked about was his foreign accent. Were you today-years-old when you realized The Dark Knight actor is British?
There have been a ton of other celebrities we, for quite some time, presumed to be American. Very recently, rising star Ella Mai, for example.
Ella Mai rose to stardom after her hit song “Boo’d Up” won hearts all over our country. She sings with an American accent on the track, so when she started doing press, people were surprised to learn the young superstar-in-the-making is actually a south London native.
Keep scrolling for other celebs we definitely thought were American as apple pie… the last on the list will really surprise you.
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Iris Elba
Maybe it’s all the years Mr. Elba played a kingpin from Baltimore on The Wire that had folks confused. People not only thought he was American, they thought he was faking when he did interviews in his native English accent.
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Lindsay Lohan
Hilariously enough, Lindsay Lohan really is from New York…but has randomly started speaking in somewhat of an English accent at times, acting as though it’s genuine. We can’t keep up.
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Iggy Azalea
Like Ella Mai, Iggy Azalea rose to stardom by way of music. When Iggy rapped, she didn’t have a foreign accent and it wasn’t until she started doing press that everyone realized she’s actually Australian.
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Alfred Enoch
This seems to be at least one that folks were aware of…still, his American accent on How To Get Away With Murder is so good, from time to time everyone forgets he’s English.
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Thandie Newton
Thandie Newton has played so many American characters, it’s been easy to assume she’s from the States. Nonetheless, she was born in Westminster, London.
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Damson Idris
Perhaps the most surprising of them all is Damson Idris, who plays the lead character on the FX series Snowfall. The show is all about how the crack cocaine epidemic took over South Central L.A. in the ‘80s but surprise, surprise…he’s English!