Does anyone here feel shocked or surprised when they find out someone/thing they think is American is actually British?

[Bullet Sniper]

Now as an American myself, I think I'm proud of our nation's arts, culture, entertainment, businesses, food, etc. and ALMOST every big-name thing to be hot and new in the Western world or probably most things that are loved and enjoyed internationally right now, seems to be either wholly or predominantly from the United States itself, what with Hollywood, Disney, Fox, ABC, etc.

But sometimes when you see some really iconic and mainstream or popular Western celebrities, characters, works, etc., especially when they are from the Anglopshere, there are sometimes British ones to celebrate like 007, The Beatles, Harry Potter, and Spice Girls, whom we all know from the start is British.

But when I find out that people like Rick Astley, some series like wH40K, Desiree (the woman who sings "You gotta be bad you gotta be bold"), Thomas the Tank engine, etc. are British when I have believed them all to be American all my life, I can't help but think... "Damn...." or "Huh? Really?".

Does anyone get the same reactions and feelings I'm having? i got nothing against the British and all, but...

[Michael24]

There's always surprises like that. I never knew Hugh Laurie was British for the longest time, and like you I was also taken aback to learn Thomas the Tank was British as well.

Canadian people and things, too. Michael J. Fox, William Shatner, Pamela Anderson, all Canadian? I grew up with them being such a part of American pop culture that I was surprised to later discover they were Canadian.

Not that surprises like that take away any value, of course. They're just that . . . surprises.

[Kirby101]

No, i figure every leading male on American Television is British.

[Shawn Hopkins]

Not really. It's interesting, especially if the British person has a perfect American accent like Laurie, but it's just a new fact. I don't feel like I've lost something.

Now, if I find out someone I thought was American is Canadian, I'm crushed ...

[Spike-X]

Yes .

[Bullet Sniper]

thanks for the responses guys.

i mean is it just me or is it that MOST British things that are popular and beloved with us Americans are actually just things we thought were American but were really British in disguise?

[t hedge coke]

I'm more shocked that there are people who think Thomas the Train is American.

[Old Man Ollie 1962]

Jazz is American. Baseball is American. And the Western is American. The Brits can have the rest.

[Spike-X]

Jazz is American. Baseball is American. And the Western is American. The Brits can have the rest.

Rock 'n roll is American (although the British took the ball and ran with it). Comic books are American.

[Old Man Ollie 1962]

Rock 'n roll is American (although the British took the ball and ran with it). Comic books are American.

Let's see. Rock and Roll sprang from several genres: jazz, gospel, blues, swing, and country. Yes. It's American. . Comic books? Hmm. Aboriginal people employed a method of pictographic script i.e. hieroglyphs. The Egyptians were highly skilled at the art. Some European illustrator in the 18th century produced what we would term comic books. Might want to get some clarification on that.

[Bullet Sniper]

another good example of a British person that an American would be familiar and have known to be British would be Jason Statham himself.

funny thing is when I watched the Expendables 2, i remember a final fight scene between Jason Statham and Scott Adkins. I was thinking "how cool would it be to have a good Brit fight an evil American in a hollywood action movie?", but then i looked up scott adkin's nationality and found out that he was British. I was like "Oh.....".

[CSTowle]

I wouldn't say I was shocked, but a bit surprised when I found out Damian Lewis was British. Especially because (though I enjoyed the movie) I thought his British accent in "Dreamcatcher" was distractingly awful. Shows what I know.

[Paradox]

Surprised, occasionally. I had no idea Mark Addy of "Still Standing" was British until he showed up as King Robert in Game of Thrones. And even then I had to double check to be sure which accent was "real". Some Brit actors do very very good American accents. Probably pound for pound way better than Americans doing a British one.

[PwrdOn]

It is kind of weird to think of it, but I'm not really bothered by it. In any event, modern British pop culture borrows far more from American styles than the other way around. After all, there's a reason all these British actors have to learn American accents.

[numberthirty]

It was a bit of a shock to find out that Sanford and Son was not entirely American.