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BS: Whic Actor best represents Canada?

24 Aug 01 - 02:27 PM (#534587)
Subject: Which actor best represents Canada?
From: Jack the Sailor

Pete T thinks it might be William Shatner. I'm not so sure.

How about Keanu Reeves? Appears in action moves, but never quite looks comfortable. His main source of appeal seems to be that he is similar to an American, but that he is blander and more polite, making him more appealing to grandmothers and teenaged girls.


24 Aug 01 - 02:32 PM (#534594)
Subject: RE: BS: Whic Actor best represents Canada?
From: InOBU

I think John Cleese best represents Canada, what better image is there than I'm a lumberjack and I'm OK? Cheers Larry


24 Aug 01 - 02:32 PM (#534595)
Subject: RE: BS: Whic Actor best represents Canada?
From: Clinton Hammond

Gordon Pinsent or Rick Mercer...

Keanu Reeves isn't Canadian...

http://us.imdb.com/Bio?Reeves,+Keanu


24 Aug 01 - 02:34 PM (#534597)
Subject: RE: BS: Whic Actor best represents Canada?
From: Clinton Hammond

Oops...

read it all before you post...

"Maintains Canadian citizenship and passport."

Sorry...

;-)


24 Aug 01 - 02:38 PM (#534602)
Subject: RE: BS: Whic Actor best represents Canada?
From: Peter T.

I am afraid the representative Canadian actors are Bob and Doug MacKenzie. They really are. yours, Peter T.


24 Aug 01 - 02:46 PM (#534606)
Subject: RE: BS: Whic Actor best represents Canada?
From: catspaw49

Martin Short and Mike Myers?

Spaw


24 Aug 01 - 02:51 PM (#534613)
Subject: RE: BS: Whic Actor best represents Canada?
From: Jack the Sailor

Pinsent and Mercer are both Newfoundlanders, hardly the Canadian mainstream. But, being one step removed, may make them better at portraying Canadians.

Keanu ACTs Canadian, as Jim Carey, for example, doesn't.

How about Mike Myers, or Peter Sutherland?

Lorne Green or that dude that did Perry Mason?

Was it Cleese that did the lumberjack?


24 Aug 01 - 02:59 PM (#534617)
Subject: RE: BS: Whic Actor best represents Canada?
From: Clinton Hammond

Mike Myers?? I've yet to see anything with him in it, with the exception of Shrek (where I'd recast him with Craig Ferguson in a flash) that was even remotely funny...


24 Aug 01 - 03:13 PM (#534627)
Subject: RE: BS: Whic Actor best represents Canada?
From: Mudlark

Michael Palin was the lumberjack....I vote for Martin-his friends-call-him-Marty Short. I've not seen him do anything really funny in years, but he once did a turn as Kathryn Hepburn that STILL makes me laugh, just remembering it....


24 Aug 01 - 03:27 PM (#534636)
Subject: RE: BS: Whic Actor best represents Canada?
From: Little Hawk

Martin Short also did a GREAT Pierre Trudeau and a stunning "Brock" Linehan...but you've got to be Canadian to truly appreciate those characters.

John Cleese is not a Canadian. Unless I'm a Barbary Ape, that is...

- LH


24 Aug 01 - 03:31 PM (#534640)
Subject: RE: BS: Whic Actor best represents Canada?
From: Justa Picker

Donald Sutherland.


24 Aug 01 - 03:35 PM (#534646)
Subject: RE: BS: Whic Actor best represents Canada?
From: black walnut

Female: Megan Follows?

~b.w.


24 Aug 01 - 03:38 PM (#534648)
Subject: RE: BS: Whic Actor best represents Canada?
From: Little Hawk

Brian Mulroney. The biggest act of all time!

- LH


24 Aug 01 - 03:42 PM (#534651)
Subject: RE: BS: Whic Actor best represents Canada?
From: black walnut

Moreso than Mike Harris? You've got to be kidding...

~b.w.


24 Aug 01 - 03:49 PM (#534657)
Subject: RE: BS: Whic Actor best represents Canada?
From: Little Hawk

Unfortunately, I think Harris means what he says a good deal of the time...thus to call him an "actor" doesn't quite do it for me, but I get your point, BW. Who would I rather have next door? Mulroney, hands down.

- LH


24 Aug 01 - 03:55 PM (#534662)
Subject: RE: BS: Whic Actor best represents Canada?
From: black walnut

You're saying this horror story is real, not fiction? I can't take it, I can't take it.....

~b.w.


24 Aug 01 - 04:03 PM (#534670)
Subject: RE: BS: Whic Actor best represents Canada?
From: Jack the Sailor

Yeah, I remember Mike Harris.. At least he must be keeping the protest singers busy!

There aren't so many females.. Margot Kidder... Andrea Martin???


24 Aug 01 - 04:13 PM (#534677)
Subject: RE: BS: Whic Actor best represents Canada?
From: Bardford

The late John Candy. Large, like Canada. Funny, like Canada. An underlying subtext of pathos, kinda like Canada. Well meaning, generally polite. Cheerful underdog. Yup, I'd say Candy's the guy.

Cheers, Bardford

Female actor - Pamela. No question. Large,like Canada.... :-)


24 Aug 01 - 04:54 PM (#534704)
Subject: RE: BS: Whic Actor best represents Canada?
From: InOBU

Hi Little Hawk... I know Cleese is not Canadian... it was a play on "Representing Britain in the World Cup, this year will be Argentina..." Likely right, it was Palin... How about, representing Canada will be Charo? Larry


24 Aug 01 - 05:09 PM (#534719)
Subject: RE: BS: Whic Actor best represents Canada?
From: CRANKY YANKEE

Donald Sutherland and his son Keefer. Needs no qualification.


24 Aug 01 - 05:15 PM (#534725)
Subject: RE: BS: Whic Actor best represents Canada?
From: John MacKenzie

Marilyn in Northern Exposure.

Jock


24 Aug 01 - 05:22 PM (#534736)
Subject: RE: BS: Whic Actor best represents Canada?
From: CarolC

They're all amazing and wonderful. How can you pick just one?


24 Aug 01 - 05:43 PM (#534758)
Subject: RE: BS: Whic Actor best represents Canada?
From: Jimmy C

Gordon Pinsent, saw him first in " The Rowdyman", has been a favourite ever since. John Candy (R.I.P) is right up there as well.


24 Aug 01 - 05:52 PM (#534766)
Subject: RE: BS: Whic Actor best represents Canada?
From: Rick Fielding

Well, Brent Carver was the "toast of broadway" for Kiss of the Spiderwoman.

Glen Ford was pretty good in his day.

Don't forget Marie Dressler.

The late Sharon Tate come to mind.

One of the best hollywood "villains in a suit" was Lloyd Bochner.

but my fave.........Leslie Nielson!

Rick


24 Aug 01 - 06:01 PM (#534773)
Subject: RE: BS: Whic Actor best represents Canada?
From: AliUK

Mike Myers? Isn't he actually scots? Just as Robin Williams is actually english. My vote is for Dan Ackroyd Canadian and he's proud of it. And more high profile than the rest.


24 Aug 01 - 09:07 PM (#534881)
Subject: RE: BS: Whic Actor best represents Canada?
From: sophocleese

Mary Pickford?


24 Aug 01 - 09:12 PM (#534884)
Subject: RE: BS: Whic Actor best represents Canada?
From: Steve Latimer

Rick,

Sharon Tate was Canadian?


25 Aug 01 - 01:56 AM (#534993)
Subject: RE: BS: Whic Actor best represents Canada?
From: Rick Fielding

Indeed she was Steve...and I even met her when she and some other actors came into the Royal York one night! Prior to that I didn't know she was Canadian, but that's what I was told. Poor soul...for those that may not remember, she was a victim of the Manson rampage.

Rick


25 Aug 01 - 10:22 AM (#535072)
Subject: RE: BS: Whic Actor best represents Canada?
From: Willie-O

AbsoLUTEly:
  • Donald Sutherland; angular, gawky, unique & brilliant
  • Genevieve Bujold; the last two adjectives above, plus bilingual and gorgeous in a modestly sexual sort of way...
Willie-O


25 Aug 01 - 10:24 AM (#535074)
Subject: RE: BS: Whic Actor best represents Canada?
From: Justa Picker

Lest we not forget Christopher Plummer.


25 Aug 01 - 02:40 PM (#535158)
Subject: RE: BS: Whic Actor best represents Canada?
From: Lee Shore

How could you have left out the guy from the Red Green show?!


25 Aug 01 - 05:10 PM (#535237)
Subject: RE: BS: Whic Actor best represents Canada?
From: DougR

Donald Sutherland is AWFULLY good. Leslie Nielson, who I believe now lives here in Arizona, is AWFULLY funny.

DougR


25 Aug 01 - 05:34 PM (#535248)
Subject: RE: BS: Whic Actor best represents Canada?
From: Mark Clark

So... you don't think the answer is Peter Jennings?

      - Mark


25 Aug 01 - 07:53 PM (#535311)
Subject: RE: BS: Whic Actor best represents Canada?
From: Little Hawk

Christoper Plummer made a particularly fine Sherlock Holmes, IMO.

- LH


25 Aug 01 - 07:56 PM (#535314)
Subject: RE: BS: Whic Actor best represents Canada?
From: Justa Picker

And a most excellent Klingon as Shakespeare- quoting "General Chang".
(H


25 Aug 01 - 09:17 PM (#535349)
Subject: RE: BS: Whic Actor best represents Canada?
From: GUEST,NFLD not mainstream?

Must be from Ontario then I guess. Man........


25 Aug 01 - 10:16 PM (#535363)
Subject: RE: BS: Whic Actor best represents Canada?
From: Steve Latimer

Rick,

So I did a google search on Sharon Tate. I found a very credible site saying she was from Texas.

Check out www.swinginchicks.com/sharon_tate.htm


25 Aug 01 - 11:25 PM (#535389)
Subject: RE: BS: Whic Actor best represents Canada?
From: Lepus Rex

I dunno. Dave Foley, I guess. I like him.

---Lepus Rex


26 Aug 01 - 10:48 AM (#535498)
Subject: RE: BS: Whic Actor best represents Canada?
From: Art Thieme

Herve Villachez ? Bela Lugosi? Tor Johnson? Pierre Trudeau?


26 Aug 01 - 11:55 AM (#535531)
Subject: RE: BS: Whic Actor best represents Canada?
From: GUEST,Sheepish

Rick Mercer (22 Minutes), Michael J. Fox, Paul Gross (the Mountie from Due South, which I never saw but keep hearing about), and the fellow in that new TV show "Ed" -- all self-effacing, polite, and attractive without being DDG (drop dead gorgeous).

I personally like Leslie Nielsen but wouldn't want to think of him as "typically" Canadian!

CE


26 Aug 01 - 01:08 PM (#535555)
Subject: RE: BS: Whic Actor best represents Canada?
From: Little Hawk

Amen to the Leslie Nielsen comment. He strikes me as typically Hollywood. Not even a hint of Canada there.

- LH


26 Aug 01 - 01:26 PM (#535567)
Subject: RE: BS: Whic Actor best represents Canada?
From: ard mhacha

Wayne Morris,Will the Canadian Government compensate us for cruelty to children, what?, you don`t remember him, lucky you. Slan Ard Mhacha.


26 Aug 01 - 04:02 PM (#535664)
Subject: RE: BS: Whic Actor best represents Canada?
From: GUEST,kendall

I remember Wayne Morris, one of the three worst actors, along with Bert Ward and Adam West.

For best Canadian actor, I'd have to say Donald Sutherland.


26 Aug 01 - 04:08 PM (#535671)
Subject: RE: BS: Whic Actor best represents Canada?
From: ard mhacha

Kendall, I`ll go with you on Donald Sutherland.Slan Ard Mhacha.


26 Aug 01 - 04:16 PM (#535678)
Subject: RE: BS: Whic Actor best represents Canada?
From: Little Hawk

Sutherland's a bit odd, but he's interesting. I liked the movie "Klute" with him and Jane Fonda in it.

- LH


26 Aug 01 - 04:17 PM (#535679)
Subject: RE: BS: Whic Actor best represents Canada?
From: Justa Picker

I loved his short but very sweet role in "JFK".


26 Aug 01 - 08:04 PM (#535777)
Subject: RE: BS: Whic Actor best represents Canada?
From: GUEST,kendall

He did a great job in "Eye of the needle"


26 Aug 01 - 08:22 PM (#535787)
Subject: RE: BS: Whic Actor best represents Canada?
From: Little Hawk

He was fine in "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" too, but the original movie was still the better of the two...not Sutherland's fault, though. The whole Body Snatchers concept somehow fit the 1950's era perfectly...something hideous lurking behind the bland suburban surface of life in Eisenhower's America.

- LH


26 Aug 01 - 09:15 PM (#535823)
Subject: RE: BS: Which Actor best represents Canada?
From: Jack the Sailor

Wow great response!

I've seen VIP exactly once but Pamela's character did mention that she is Canadian. I'll give her points for that. We have had less attractive exports, like softwood lumber, Cod Liver Oil and Tom Green.

I believe that Mike Myers can be claimed by three countries, US UK and Canada. But he considers Canada home because that's where he grew up.

I vote for Tom Green as the actor which worst represents Canda.


27 Aug 01 - 02:45 AM (#535942)
Subject: RE: BS: Whic Actor best represents Canada?
From: Milkdud22

Keanu Reeves may be Canadian, but he's not that great an actor. Provided the only thing he has to do is run around in a tight shirt and shoot people with little to say, he's great. For example: Loved the Matrix! They couldn't have picked anyone who looked better in leather, and there wasn't any huge emotional scenes, so he was great. The fact is, I didn't even know he was canadian. when I hear Canada, I think Mike Myers and Michael J. Fox. (at least I think he's Canadian. He is, isn't he?)


27 Aug 01 - 06:04 AM (#535975)
Subject: RE: BS: Whic Actor best represents Canada?
From: GUEST,kendall

Sutherland was also outstanding in M.A.S.H. the original movie. He says he is very shy and nervous about being in the public eye.
I dont know if it is on video, but, if it is, see Eye of the Needle. He is a German spy, stuck on a small island in Scotland. A real thriller.


27 Aug 01 - 09:22 AM (#536033)
Subject: RE: BS: Whic Actor best represents Canada?
From: Jack the Sailor

Michael J. Fox is from British Columbia. He was a child actor in Vancouver before Family Ties. He's a big hockey fan and a proud Canadian. thought he lives in the USA now.


27 Aug 01 - 07:47 PM (#536425)
Subject: RE: BS: Whic Actor best represents Canada?
From: SINSULL

Anybody see "Johanna"? I believe it was Sutherland's debut. Brilliant.


27 Aug 01 - 09:33 PM (#536490)
Subject: RE: BS: Whic Actor best represents Canada?
From: AliUK


27 Aug 01 - 09:36 PM (#536493)
Subject: RE: BS: Whic Actor best represents Canada?
From: AliUK

whoops, hit the wrong button. Anyway...isn't Donald Sutherland too old? He was great in that film with Michael Douglas, the one where he had sex with Demie Moore. I don't know how Catherine Zeta Jones got pregnant, she never made a movie with Michael Douglas before the bairn was born. I mean doesn't he make films when he's feeling horny?


28 Aug 01 - 01:18 AM (#536580)
Subject: RE: BS: Whic Actor best represents Canada?
From: Kaleea

Donald Sutherland and Christopher Plummer are two of my favorites-especially Plummer. Lest we forget, as I'm sure the trekkers out there will remind us, he played a Klingon in a Star Trek movie. And speaking of Trek, Patrick Stewart (Captain Jean Luc Picard, next generation) is terrific, and he knows, unlike Shatner, also from up north, that bald is beautiful! Then there's James Doohan (Scotty)who must use a wheel chair for all but the briefest walk--neverless, fathered a child a couple of years ago. Trek just had to come up, didn't it?


28 Aug 01 - 05:04 AM (#536609)
Subject: RE: BS: Whic Actor best represents Canada?
From: Linda Kelly

Alberta Finney???


28 Aug 01 - 05:53 AM (#536621)
Subject: RE: BS: Whic Actor best represents Canada?
From: gnu

While I agree with CarolC, if forced to choose, I would have to vote for Steve Smith, aka Red Green. Just a good ol' boy with a warped sense of humour. Duct tape, old cars, always jury-rigging up something, huntin n' fishin n' drinkin lodge, tall tales, advice on how to lie to the wife, etc, etc. And he's quite a musician and singer.

While no where close in sheer acting talent as Sutherland, et al, he represents the typical Canadian male, in character and spirit.

Keep yer stick on the ice.


28 Aug 01 - 10:07 AM (#536719)
Subject: RE: BS: Whic Actor best represents Canada?
From: GUEST,mg

red green for sure. Almost as funny as Steve Erkel. mg


28 Aug 01 - 12:03 PM (#536765)
Subject: RE: BS: Whic Actor best represents Canada?
From: Justa Picker

Aliuk,
"I don't know how Catherine Zeta Jones got pregnant, she never made a movie with Michael Douglas before the bairn was born."

I guess you didn't see "Traffic".
(Excellent movie b.t.w.)


28 Aug 01 - 12:26 PM (#536779)
Subject: RE: BS: Whic Actor best represents Canada?
From: Jack the Sailor

I may have an idea how she got pregnant but if you don't know I'm not tellin'


28 Aug 01 - 12:48 PM (#536786)
Subject: RE: BS: Whic Actor best represents Canada?
From: GUEST,Paddy in PEI

The Friendly Giant. He's big, shy, kind to children and animals, literate, and wears Mountie-like boots.


28 Aug 01 - 01:12 PM (#536803)
Subject: RE: BS: Whic Actor best represents Canada?
From: Jack the Sailor

Mr. Dressup?

Only in Canada could the host of a kid's show get away with that name! Especially when he kept putting his hands in the "tickle trunk"!


28 Aug 01 - 07:56 PM (#537108)
Subject: RE: BS: Whic Actor best represents Canada?
From: Armen Tanzerian

Hey! David Steinberg. Used to tell stories on talk shows about playing hooky and riding the bus in Winnipeg among the Hassidim. Pretty Canadian, that.


28 Aug 01 - 08:29 PM (#537116)
Subject: RE: BS: Whic Actor best represents Canada?
From: ddw

I think Celine Dion, hands down. She's been pretending to be a singer for decades — which makes her a consistant, if not good, actor — and now spends all of her time in Florida — what could be more Canadian than that?


30 Aug 01 - 07:22 PM (#538521)
Subject: RE: BS: Whic Actor best represents Canada?
From: CarolC

While I would never presume to tell Canadians who best represents their country, and while I laugh hardest at Gordon Pinsent, and I think Paul Gross is astounding in every respect... I must admit, gnu, that Steve Smith is kind of cute. (And funny.)


30 Aug 01 - 08:19 PM (#538563)
Subject: RE: BS: Whic Actor best represents Canada?
From: AliUK

Yes but did our Cath and Manic Mike actually shag in the movie?


31 Aug 01 - 12:24 AM (#538700)
Subject: RE: BS: Whic Actor best represents Canada?
From: ddw

Carol C — Just an aside to your comment about Paul Gross. Until last fall my only awareness of him was as the Mountie in Due South, which has to be one of the STUPIDEST shows I've ever seen — right on a par with Murder, She Wrote — but he starred in Hamlet at the Stratford (Ont.) Festival and did a wonderful job. Certainly changed my estimation of his talent, but only made me angry that such a craftsman should stoop to the level of DS.

Of course, I've met people on both sides of the border who think DS is a great show. Go figure.

david


31 Aug 01 - 12:40 AM (#538709)
Subject: RE: BS: Whic Actor best represents Canada?
From: Metchosin

Late on, but would have to agree with Barford, John Candy wins hands down.....hmmm or maybe Chief Dan George.....


31 Aug 01 - 12:52 AM (#538717)
Subject: RE: BS: Whic Actor best represents Canada?
From: CarolC

Boy, this is tough...

ddw, I'm afraid I'm going to have to reveal myself as one of the poor misguided fools who love Due South ;-)

I actually don't see any resemblance to Murder, She Wrote, which I personally can't stomach.

I see it more as being in the quirky, oddball spirit of Northern Exposure. What really bothers me is that they seem to have only made one or two seasons of it. I believe that Paul Gross was the executive producer of that show.

I guess there's just no accounting for my taste (or lack of it). *g*


31 Aug 01 - 05:22 AM (#538795)
Subject: RE: BS: Whic Actor best represents Canada?
From: English Jon

No mention of Terrance and Phillip?

EJ


31 Aug 01 - 09:31 AM (#538875)
Subject: RE: BS: Whic Actor best represents Canada?
From: Jack the Sailor

Terrance and Phillip!!!!!!! AAARRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGG!!!!!!!

Due South spent a lot of time ridiculing Canadian Stereotypes. The Mountie that Paul Gross played was right out of the old Nelson Eddy movies. They only made a couple of seasons because the ratings weren't great. Gordon Pincent reprising his role from "the forest rangers" was the best part.


31 Aug 01 - 11:27 AM (#538960)
Subject: RE: BS: Whic Actor best represents Canada?
From: SharonA

Kaleea: I thought Patrick Stewart was from Britain (?).

Just peeking in to see which actor(s) I should be watching to get the most accurate impression of Canada!

SharonA (the ignorant American)


31 Aug 01 - 12:35 PM (#539016)
Subject: RE: BS: Whic Actor best represents Canada?
From: SDShad

Well, there are some mighty fine performers mentioned on this thread (esp. Sutherland, Plummer (didn't know 'bout him), Pinsent, Myers, Short, Follows, Candy, Ackroyd, Bujold) but I must admit, when I saw the thread title, I thought of Paul Gross pretty much immediately. So I'll be over here in the "Due South" fans' corner with CarolC. Gotta admit, I've never heard it compared to "Murder She Wrote" either. Just don't see any similarities there. Among many other marked differences, MSW doesn't have a fraction of the wit or attitude of DS.

And of course, as a "Due South" fan and before that an "Airplane" and "Naked Gun" fan, I think Leslie Nielsen's a hoot.

And to add some musical content (not to mention drift) to this thread, a word or two should be said about the outstanding use of music in "Due South," not just in its selection (Loreena McKennitt, Sarah McLachlan, Dire Straits, Crash Test Dummies, Klaatu, Ashley MacIsaac, Leahy, and a bunch of other interesting-sounding stuff you and I may never have heard of), but in the often-seamless was it was used to accent the story line. I must also sheephishly admit that I was mostly unaware of the marvelous music of Stan Rogers until exposed to "Barrett's Privateers," "Northwest Passage," and "Watching the Apples Grow" in episodes of "Due South."

The show also included a fair number of original songs, much of them written or co-written by Paul Gross. My personal favorite is "Ride Forever," which Gross's character, Constable Benton Fraser, sings with the RCMP Musical Ride on a train:

Ride Forever - Paul Gross
(by Paul Gross & David Keeley)

I was born north of Great Slave, 1898
And I rode near all my life on a ranch near Devil's Gate
And I've seen this world about me bend and flip and change
Hey, it feels like rain - that's a thunder cloud

We'll, I've been called a coward, but I've seen two world wars
And I lost my son Virgil, my Korean reward
And my Lucy died last summer - you ask me if I cry?
Hell, I'll show you tears, they're all over this ground
They're falling from these blue Alberta skies

But I'm going to ride forever
You can't keep horsemen in a cage
Should the angels call, well it's only then
I might pull the reins

They tell me I'm an old man, they tell me I am blind
They took my driver's license, this house ain't far behind
I say jump back all you big suits, 'cause you've got something wrong
I ain't gone, no I ain't gone

I am still breathing, and I still have my pride
And I have my memories, your life it never dies
Like the wind that blows in thunder
Or the stallion on the fly - I got it all
And I'm standing tall underneath these blue Alberta skies
And I'm going to ride forever
You can't keep horsemen in a cage
Should the angels call well it's only then
I might pull in the reins

So I say to all you old men - don't let yourself get broke
If you think the world's gone crazy, and it's scratching at your throat
It's time to dust off that old saddle, get it on a horse Kick up your spurs, we're gonna run like stink
We're gonna tear across these blue Alberta skies

We're gonna ride forever
You can't keep horsemen in a cage
Should the angels call
It's only then
I might pull in the reins

And you know, how can you not just love a show where one of the most interesting characters is a domesticated wolf named "Diefenbaker?"

Chris


31 Aug 01 - 01:38 PM (#539055)
Subject: RE: BS: Whic Actor best represents Canada?
From: Jack the Sailor

Diefenbaker

Of couse "Diefenbaker" was named after one of Canada's crustier prime ministers. He started out the series as a DEAF wolf. I remember looking at the dog and realizing "That isn't a wolf its a sled dog!" and thinking that they might get away with that for the U.S. audience but a lot of Canadians can tell a wolf from a dog. Sure enough, few episodes later Paul Gross' charater was calling Diefenbaker a part wolf and soon enough it became a running joke with Gross saying, with an exasperated look on his face, "I don't know what he is!"

SharonA, I really think that the mounties on Due South, as played by Paul Gross, Gordon Pincent, and Leslie Neilson are Prototypes for the best parts of how Canadians like to see themselves. Polite, fair, accomodating, respectful of other cultures, Self depreciating sense of humour.

Where the motto of the United States is "Life Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness" Canada's Motto is "Peace, Order and Good Government" There is no greater symbol of that than the Mounties and those three actors have played Mounties so well!


31 Aug 01 - 01:53 PM (#539068)
Subject: RE: BS: Whic Actor best represents Canada?
From: CarolC

SharonA, in order to get the most accurate impression of Canada, I recommend going there (as the guest of Canadians, if possible) and staying for as long as they'll let you. It will be worth it.


31 Aug 01 - 02:44 PM (#539125)
Subject: RE: BS: Whic Actor best represents Canada?
From: GUEST,Steven G.

I agree with SDShad with Paul Gross. I am fan of Due South. Paul Gross done a great job with the show, doing the writing and producing of the show. And he is a great songwriter as well with Ride Forever.

And also being a big fan of Stan Rogers music, it was great to see the show exposing some of Stan Rogers music like Barrett's Privateer, Northwest Passage, but I never heard Watching for the Apples Grow on the show. And also playing material from other great singer/songwriters in Canada like Sarah MacLauchlin.

He is a great actor, and fans in the States, and over in Britain enjoyed the show, a shame it was cancelled so many times. And there is other great actors that came from Canada like Jim Carrey, and Leslie Nielsen. You can go on and on, and all are doing great now.

S.G.


31 Aug 01 - 02:56 PM (#539130)
Subject: RE: BS: Whic Actor best represents Canada?
From: SDShad

I didn't realize it until I went to a DS website, Steven, but when the ghost of the elder Constable Fraser set up his own "office" in the closet of Benton's office, on two or three occasions "Watching the Apples Grow" was the music only Benton could hear coming from the closet....

Chris


31 Aug 01 - 03:08 PM (#539145)
Subject: RE: BS: Whic Actor best represents Canada?
From: SharonA

CarolC: So when can I come over to your place and how long can I stay? ;^) (just kidding!)

That's a good thought, though; from southeastern PA how long would it take to drive to Canada? 10-12 hours? But I'm not sure a short vacation would give me a truly accurate impression... maybe I should just move up there (at least until Dubbya is out of office)!

No one's mentioned Ryan Stiles or Colin Mockrie (the correct spelling?) of the American version of "Whose Line Is It, Anyway?" Where do they fall on the Canada-representation scale?


31 Aug 01 - 03:49 PM (#539177)
Subject: RE: BS: Whic Actor best represents Canada?
From: Jack the Sailor

I could tell Colin was from Canada in a couple of minutes of seeing him perform. Ryan was tougher but I believe he only claims to be 1/2 Canadian. They both have a quick wit and off-beat sense of humour, like so many Canadians, many of who are honoured in this thread. While few of my friends in Canada approach these comedians in stature, I've spent many an evening back in Canada, sitting around a barrom table entertaining each other.

About getting an accurate impression of Canada. Canada is a very diverse country. You would certainly have to visit many cities and meet many people. You can spend a lifetime at it and probably not repeat yourself.


31 Aug 01 - 04:37 PM (#539202)
Subject: RE: BS: Whic Actor best represents Canada?
From: CarolC

Sharon A, I wish!

I'm in West Virginia. But I've been to all the major cities and a few wilderness areas (and a lot of road in between) in three of the eastern provinces as a tourist, and I spent about a month and a half in Ontario last winter as the guest of Canadians. Being there as a guest of Canadians was an entirely different experience than being a tourist, and I highly recommend it if you can find a way to do it.

I'd seriously consider moving to Canada if they would let me.


31 Aug 01 - 05:21 PM (#539241)
Subject: RE: BS: Whic Actor best represents Canada?
From: ddw

It's OK, CarolC — you're probably a pretty good human being, despite your affinity for Due South.

Seriously, I just can't be bothered with a show that is just a parody of itself. I've never found much in that kind of humor. Murder, She Wrote is about on a par in terms of quality. Very stilted acting, silly plot lines and every line a groaner.

Oh well, to each his own. You can watch DS again when it's my turn, OK?

cheers,

david