Have you ever gone down the stalking-your-favourite-actor-on-IMDB rabbit hole and thought, huh, they’re Canadian? The number of times I’ve been shocked to realize that a great actor was Canadian is astronomical.

Canada has given us many wonderfully talented actors and actresses that we now see on the big screen. You may have heard of some of them, but a few may come as a shock. Check out these notable Canadian movie stars who make the franchises we know and love complete.

Hayden Christensen – Star Wars

Born in Vancouver, and raised in Markham, Ont., Hayden Christensen started starring in several TV roles at the mere age of 13.

You’ll most likely recognize him from his portrayal of Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader in Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones and Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith. Despite others defining Hayden’s performance as monotone, the persona he put on moulded the character we’re so fond of today. Christensen plays with Anakin’s raw emotions in a robust fashion before brilliantly and visibly reeling them back in throughout the entire franchise, making his performance an unforgettable one.

Keanu Reeves – Matrix

Born in Beirut, Lebanon, actor Keanu Reeves was raised in Toronto from the age of six. In high school, Reeves took an interest in hockey but eventually dropped out of school to pursue an acting career.

After landing several roles throughout his early career, Reeves landed his role as Neo in The Matrix franchise, comprising four seminal movies that shaped the action genre as we know it today. He portrays the role of a cybercriminal through an arguably reticent delivery that makes it truly unique. He received a Blockbuster Entertainment Award and two MTV Movie Awards in his role as Neo.

Tatiana Maslany – Marvel Cinematic Universe

Tatiana Maslany was born in Regina on Sept. 22, 1985, and started working towards her acting career at just nine years old when she joined a community theatre, according to an interview with the Toronto Film School.

Maslany came to fame while starring in the award-winning series Orphan Black (2013). In 2022, she made another big career move in her latest Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) show as She-Hulk in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law. Maslany said she had anxiety about entering the MCU because she felt more comfortable in smaller roles. However, she felt drawn to both the script and the character, which convinced her to take on the endeavours. The Saskatchewan actress helped to create a strong, relatable female superhero that stood in stark juxtaposition to anything else the MCU had previously done.

William Shatner – Star Trek

William Shatner was born in Montreal on March 22, 1931. After graduating with an economics degree from McGill University, he joined a local theatre group as an assistant manager and performed with the National Repertory Theatre of Ottawa. He came to the attention of New York critics and was soon playing essential roles on major live television shows like The Brothers Karamazov (1958).

In 1966, Shatner boarded the USS Enterprise for three seasons of Star Trek As Captain James Kirk. After the show’s series finale in 1969, Shatner spent the following decade making guest appearances on many television series such as Petrocelli (1974), Barbary Coast (1975) and The Bastard (1978). However, the ‘80s saw a major Shatner revival with renewed interest in the original Star Trek, which led the actor to return to his character for a seven-movie franchise.

At the age of 91, Shatner recently became the oldest person to travel to space and followed that experience up with the 2022 release of his book, Boldly Go Reflections on a Life of Awe and Wonder.

Cobie Smulders – Marvel Cinematic Universe

Cobie Smulders was born in Vancouver, on April 3, 1982. Starting her acting career as a teenager, she quickly landed guest spots on television series such as Jeremiah (2000) and Special Unit 2 (2001). Smulders is well known for her role as Robin in the popular sitcom How I Met Your Mother, which ran from 2005 to 2014.

In 2012, Smulders landed her role as Maria Hill in the MCU franchise The Avengers, spanning over four movies. She continued her role with appearances in Agents of S.H.E.I.L.D and several other Marvel films. In an interview with Evening Standard, Smulders said she was grateful for the opportunity to do something so different from a sitcom. “If you’re lucky enough to get a job as an actor, I don’t think you can ever be picky,” she said, explaining why she initially took the role. She will be continuing this role in Marvel’s Secret Invasion series alongside Samuel L. Jackson in 2023.

Simu Liu – Marvel Cinematic Universe

Raised in Mississauga, Ont., Simu Liu is a Chinese-Canadian actor born in Harbin, China on April 29, 1989.

After getting laid off from an accounting firm after working there for nearly a year, Liu decided to pursue work in TV and film instead. Liu mentions walking through a set as a background actor, saying, “Oh my god this is incredible, I want to do that,” according to an article by The Shorthorn. He later landed his well-known lead role in Kim’s Convenience (2016), which was a sensational hit, and took its denomination from a real store in Toronto.

In 2021, Liu landed his breakthrough role as Shang-Chi in the MCU’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. Liu was the first person of Asian heritage to be cast as the lead role in a Marvel movie. “I loved comics as a kid, I loved superheroes, but I really didn’t see myself represented in that space,” he said in a Time article. “I really hope with this movie, kids who are like me, who grew up similarly, can have that.”

Michael J. Fox – Back to the Future

Michael J. Fox was born in Edmonton on June 9, 1961, and developed his desire to act as a young child, leading to his role in a series titled Leo and Me (1978) at age 15. Three years later, he moved to Los Angeles and featured in a few films before landing his role as Marty McFly in Back to the Future (1985), which resulted in three movies that earned him two best actor awards.

While Director Robert Zemeckis had his eye on Fox as a bright young leader to play McFly, Fox was currently starring in the popular sitcom Family Ties and wasn’t able to commit to any other work. It wasn’t until months later after Zemeckis had tried and failed to find another suitable Marty McFly, that Fox was finally eager to sign on, according to an article by People Magazine. If the film starred an entirely different actor, the movie might not have been the instant classic hit it is today.

Fox, along with costar Christopher Lloyd, recently designed and released their first-ever Back to the Future merchandise collection, bringing back a lot of nostalgia for old fans.