Loads of Hollywood’s greatest skills first known as Canada dwelling, and it’s no secret that we as Canadians are at all times rooting for our hometown celebs.
And whereas many people really feel a connection to those huge title actors and musicians, there’s usually loads we’ll by no means find out about them attributable to lengths many celebrities go to maintain their non-public lives out of the press.
So, it’s thrilling when a Canadian A-lister pulls again the curtain and provides us a humorous or fascinating reality from their life earlier than they made it huge.
In honour of Canada Day, and within the spirit of sharing, we’ve dug up some little-known details from a few of our nation’s greatest names in Hollywood.
1. Sandra Oh stood out by laying down
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Earlier than her success on Gray’s Anatomy, Sandra Oh was simply one other younger face in an audition room. Nevertheless, the Nepean, Ont., actor earned her first huge position and stood out from the group by laying down.
When Oh, 52, auditioned for the titular position in The Diary of Evelyn Lau, she requested director Sturla Gunnarsson for a second to centre herself — by laying flat on the ground for 5 minutes.
“I assumed it was outstanding that at 19 she had the boldness — and audacity — to do this,” Gunnarsson mentioned of the younger actor, who was competing with over 1,000 different ladies for the half.
Oh would find yourself profitable the position of Evelyn Lau, and would go on to attain a Gemini Award nomination.
2. Tommy Chong helped signal the Jackson 5
Chris Younger / The Canadian Press
At the moment, most know Tommy Chong as one-half of the comedy stoner duo, Cheech and Chong — however earlier than that, Chong waxed musically with a few of Motown’s best skills.
The Edmonton-born actor was as soon as the guitarist and songwriter for the band Bobby Taylor & the Vancouvers. The group was greatest identified for his or her tune Does Your Mama Know About Me, which was co-written by Chong, now 86.
In his 2009 e-book Cheech & Chong: The Unauthorized Biography, Chong mentioned he met the Jackson 5 throughout a Chicago present in 1967. The Jackson siblings had but to be signed to Motown Data, however had been invited onto the label by Bobby Taylor.
Chong mentioned Joe Jackson, father of the Jackson 5 members, had him evaluation the Jackson 5 contract with Motown Data. Chong inspired Jackson to have his sons signal the contract, thereby taking part in a small position in launching the Jackson 5 — and later the Prince of Pop, Michael Jackson — into superstardom.
3. Drake’s uncle performed bass for Prince
Nathan Denette / The Canadian Press
Drake could also be one of many best-known Canadian celebrities, however he’s not the one member of his household to own a particular musical expertise. Drake’s uncle, Larry Graham, performed bass for the band Sly and the Household Stone — and even labored extensively with Prince.
Graham and Prince collaborated on a number of events, and collectively produced the album GCS 2000 by the band Graham Central Station.
Graham Central Station, for which Graham performed the bass, opened for Prince on his “Welcome 2 America” tour in 2011.
Additionally a Rock and Roll Corridor of Fame inductee, Graham is usually credited with the invention of the slapping approach on the electrical bass guitar.
4. Céline Dion gained the Eurovision Track Contest… for Switzerland
Kevin Winter / Getty Photographs for The Recording Academy
In Canada, we don’t pay a lot consideration to the annual Eurovision Track Contest, however throughout the pond it’s a fairly large deal.
So, not solely was it large when Quebec’s personal Céline Dion gained the competitors in 1988, beating out the runner up by only one level, however it helped propel the chanteuse to new heights in her profession.
The competitors entails numerous European nations sending a musical act to carry out an authentic tune, and smart-thinking Switzerland selected Dion to carry out their submitted entry — a French-language energy ballad titled Ne Partez Pas Sans Moi (Don’t Go away With out Me.)
Europeans who tuned in on the time bear in mind the 1988 competitors as one of the crucial thrilling voting sequences in Eurovision historical past and Dion has mentioned she is grateful to have had the chance, because it launched tens of millions of viewers to her excellent vocals and charming stage presence.
5. Ryan Gosling was suspended from elementary faculty for throwing knives
Richard Shotwell / Invision / AP
Ryan Gosling may come throughout as a cool, collected and laid-back actor, however it appears like his childhood was a little bit wild.
In 2011, he shared with Firm journal that he was launched to the 1982 film First Blood when he was in Grade One and actually recognized with Sylvester Stallone’s character, John Rambo.
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“After I first noticed Rambo, that film put a sort of spell on me and I really thought I used to be Rambo,” he mentioned. “A lot in order that at some point, I took a bunch of steak knives to highschool and threw them round at recess time as a result of I assumed we had been within the film.”
Gosling mentioned he discovered his lesson after the harmful stunt — not solely was he suspended, however his mother informed him he wasn’t allowed to look at R-rated films anymore.
6. Ryan Reynolds failed drama class
Charles Krupa / The Related Press
Ryan Reynolds may be one of many wittiest guys within the performing biz, however he admits he wasn’t at all times such a winner — particularly in highschool.
Prior to now, the Deadpool actor admitted to being suspended from his Vancouver highschool after he stole a instructor’s automotive. At one level, he additionally flunked math.
Nevertheless, one in all Reynold’s admissions proves that prime faculty achievements or failures aren’t essentially a determinant for the way your life will end up. Regardless of failing his highschool drama class, he went on to turn out to be one in all Hollywood’s most in-demand stars.
7. Keanu Reeves went from Pace to Winnipeg Shakespeare
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Scorching off the heels of starring within the mega field workplace blockbuster Pace, Keanu Reeves made a stunning subsequent transfer — he hightailed it to Winnipeg to tackle the titular position in a stage manufacturing of Hamlet.
An up-and-coming actor on the time, Reeve’s efficiency within the Manitoba Theatre Centre’s 1995 manufacturing was an enormous draw for locals and the present offered out each night time of its run.
In a evaluation of the present, Maclean’s theatre critic wrote “though he was out of his depth within the huge swatches of textual content, Reeves proved adept within the comedian scenes,” and that he “instructions the stage with acrobatic finesse, leaping and rolling like a real motion hero,” throughout the play’s motion scenes.
Apparently, the theatre was overrun with younger girls desperate to get Reeve’s autograph after every present, to which he obliged and patiently signed signatures every night time.
8. Matthew Perry made up that humorous speech inflection as a child
Wealthy Fury / Invision / AP
The late Matthew Perry will eternally be tied to Chandler Bing, the sarcastic however big-hearted character he grew to become so well-known for enjoying on Pals.
His character’s distinctive speech patterns had been one thing Perry himself performed round with since he was a okid – he and his pals used to toy with emphasis once they had been at college, creating an altered means of talking that amused them to no finish.
“Might it be any colder?” or “Might you be any extra annoying?” they’d ask one another – an emphasis that grew to become synonymous with Bing and bled into our on a regular basis language, to the purpose it’s now known as “Chandler-speak.”
“It was as if somebody had adopted me round for a 12 months, stealing my jokes, copying my mannerisms, photocopying my world-weary but witty view of life,” Perry wrote in his memoir about auditioning for the half. “It wasn’t that I assumed I might play Chandler. I was Chandler.”
9. Rachel McAdams labored at McDonalds, however was a nasty worker
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Like many younger children, Rachel McAdams labored at McDonald’s as one in all her first jobs, however the quick meals large isn’t more likely to need her again behind the counter any time quickly.
“(I labored there) for a great three years,” she informed Glamour journal. “I used to be not an amazing worker; I broke the orange juice machine at some point.”
She additionally mentioned she was a little bit of a germaphobe when she began working on the restaurant and her obsessive hand washing would hold clients ready.
“They had been like, ‘Hey, the drive-thru’s backing up. Cease washing your arms!’”
Regardless of being a nasty worker, McAdams says she nonetheless loves McDonald’s meals.
10. Will Arnett is one in all Conan O’Brien’s favourites
Richard Shotwell / Invision / AP
Will Arnett is a brilliant humorous Canuck with a wealthy, baritone voice; two traits that make him an amazing particular person to interview, in accordance with Conan O’Brien.
The late night time present host-turned-podcaster thinks the Arrested Improvement alum is so nice, in actual fact, that he’s listed him in his prime three friends of all time.
Appears as if O’Brien may need a penchant for Canadian comedians, although — the opposite two prime friends chosen by him and his writing employees embrace the late Norm MacDonald and Half Baked funnyman Harland Williams.
11. Nina Dobrev is extraordinarily versatile… and had a shot on the Olympics
Gilbert Flores / Selection through Getty Photographs
A younger Nina Dobrev confronted a fork within the highway when mapping out her profession plans, having to resolve whether or not she needed to pursue a profession in Hollywood or double down on attempting to make the Olympics.
The Vampire Diaries star grew up honing her abilities within the gymnasium six days every week and had the Olympics in her sights, when she determined to comply with her dream of performing, as an alternative; a alternative she mentioned got here all the way down to longevity.
“It acquired to the purpose the place I needed to resolve what I needed to do: proceed coaching for this and perhaps go to the Olympics at some point and make that my life till I’m 20 after which retire, or attempt to determine performing, which can also be very scary and unreliable and lots of people don’t discover success in it,” Dobrev mentioned in 2015.
To this present day, although, Dobrev has held onto lots of what she discovered on the mat and stays wildly versatile.
12. John Sweet filmed Residence Alone for nearly 24 hours straight
Patti Gower / Toronto Star through Getty Photographs
Each vacation season, John Sweet is remembered because the fictional “Polka King of the Midwest,” Gus Polinski.
In accordance with director Chris Columbus, the Toronto-born actor improvised most of his iconic cameo in Residence Alone — and he had solely at some point to shoot his half. Columbus mentioned most of Sweet’s strains weren’t within the script, and had been made-up by the comic within the early hours of the morning.
Sweet, who appeared within the movie as a favour to screenwriter John Hughes, was reportedly paid solely US$414 for the cameo. Columbus mentioned Sweet was bitter in regards to the pay up till his loss of life in 1994.
13. Pamela Anderson’s CFL Jumbotron huge break
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Earlier than Pamela Anderson donned her iconic, pink Baywatch swimsuit, she acquired her begin at a B.C. Lions soccer sport in 1989.
Anderson, born in Ladysmith, B.C., attended a sport at BC Place Stadium in Vancouver with a bunch of pals when she was by probability broadcasted to the Jumbotron — and to viewers at dwelling. She was carrying a Labatt Blue T-shirt, allegedly prompting a flood of inquiries to the corporate, which might later use Anderson within the well-known ‘Blue Zone Woman’ marketing campaign.
From there, Anderson’s profession within the leisure world took off, making her one of the crucial well-known faces of the Nineties.
14. Michael Cera and the Pillsbury Doughboy
Theo Wargo / Getty Photographs for Tribeca Pageant
Michael Cera has been repping the dry, Canadian sense of humour in Hollywood for many years now. However earlier than that, Cera, who was born in Brampton, Ont., starred in a creepy ’90s business for Pillsbury cookie dough.
Within the advert, the would-be Superbad star molds a lump of cookie dough together with his arms, solely to have the raw dough evolve right into a crudely animated, table-sized monster. The monster is defeated by the pot bellied Pillsbury mascot and is changed into cookies, which a younger Cera, naturally, chows down on.
Bonus: Cera was additionally the voice of Brother Bear within the first two seasons of the kids’s TV sequence Berenstain Bears in 2003.
15. Seth Rogen and Ceph Rogen
Valerie Macon / AFP through Getty Photographs
In 2018, the Vancouver Aquarium selected to honour hometown hero Seth Rogen with a really particular privilege: a Large Pacific octopus named after the actor.
The aquarium’s cephalopod was appropriately named Ceph Rogan after the suggestion dominated a web based ballot, scoring greater than 90 per cent of the vote — and Rogen’s enthusiastic approval.
Ceph Rogen, the Vancouver Aquarium’s eight-armed resident.
Vancouver Aquarium
Although Rogen and the octopus had been hardly i-tentacle, Ceph Rogen was dropped at the aquarium as a part of the ability’s “cephalopod-in-residence” program, which rehabilitated octopuses for launch again into the wild earlier than sexual maturity, permitting them to repopulate.
