19. Godfrey Gao
Godfrey Gao’s family immigrated to Canada from Taipei, Taiwan when he was a young boy. He grew up in Vancouver, British Columbia. In 2004, he returned to Taiwan to work as a model, and his status as a Chinese heartthrob was quickly established. Gao is the first Asian male to ever model for Louis Vuitton. He’s starred in numerous TV dramas and films in China, including the hugely popular (we’re talking billions of views) God of War, Zhao Yun from last year. He’s definitely one to watch.
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20. Ryan Gosling
There’s not much hotter Hollywood property these days than Ryan Gosling. Hailing from London, Ontario, Gosling has catapulted from his young days on the set of The Mickey Mouse Club and Young Hercules to his Golden Globe Award-winning role in last year’s La La Land.
Gosling has a string of big screen hits to his name and multiple Oscar and Golden Globe nominations for his work. The Notebook, Half Nelson, Lars and the Real Girl, Blue Valentine, The Ides of March, Drive, The Big Short, The Nice Guys are just a smattering of his acclaimed films. Ryan Gosling is in a relationship with fellow Hollywood star Eva Mendes. Together, they have two daughters.
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21. Bruce Greenwood
Born in Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec, Bruce Greenwood has had a long and steady career on the screen, both big and small. This Canadian has played two American presidents, including JFK in Thirteen Days. For Trekkies, he’s Christopher Pike in the Star Trek reboots.
His handsome mug was just seen as Baby’s father in this year’s Dirty Dancing reboot. He was the heartthrob of the hospital series St. Elsewhere during the 80s. He’s voiced Bruce Wayne/Batman for many years. Greenwood had a recurring role on Mad Men. He won a Gemini Award (a Canadian Emmy) for his guest appearance on Road to Avonlea back in the day.
Yes, the man has had and continues to have a varied career, with a slew of roles – both big and small – to his credit.
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22. Paul Greene
A Hallmark hunk, starring in many an original Hallmark production, Paul Greene was born and raised on the family farm in Wetaskiwin, Alberta.
Besides being a regular leading man on the Hallmark Channel, Greene has appeared in many commercials, guest-starred on many shows, including When Calls the Heart, and had a recurring role on Bitten. He resides in LA with his son.
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23. Paul Gross
Although never really breaking through into the American market, Paul Gross is a much beloved, homegrown actor, performing in and producing many Canadian productions, including Due South, Slings and Arrows, The Republic of Doyle, Men with Brooms, to name a few. He has also done much theater work and has won numerous Gemini Awards, Canada’s version of the Emmy Awards.
Hailing from Calgary, Alberta, Gross’ best known role is as the RCMP Constable Benton Fraser in the popular TV series Due South, which was created by Paul Haggis, the Canadian writer and producer who went on to win Oscars for Million Dollar Baby and Crash.
Gross has been married for 29 years and has two children.
24. Corey Haim
A 1980s teen idol along with that other famous Corey, namely Corey Feldman, Corey Haim started his life and his acting career in Toronto, Ontario. He starred in numerous teen flicks through the 80s, including Lucas, Silver Bullet, License to Drive, Dream a Little Dream, and who could forget the megahit The Lost Boys. The two Coreys – Corey Haim and Corey Feldman – were an iconic 80s duo, starring in a total of seven films together and later reuniting for a brief-lived reality series, The Two Coreys, on A&E.
Unfortunately, they both ran into the problems of young stardom: drugs and alcohol addiction. Corey Haim struggled with his addictive demons for much of his young life. He died in 2010 of pneumonia, his body ravaged and weakened by substance abuse. He was 38 years old.
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25. David Haydn-Jones
David Haydn-Jones was born and raised in Kyle, Saskatchewan, in a household that he describes as half-American (mother), half-British (father), and all-Canadian. His family moved to Calgary, Alberta when he was in his teens. Haydn-Jones then attended the prestigious McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, studying architecture and the performing arts. Upon graduation, he moved to Toronto to start an acting career.
David Haydn-Jones currently has a recurring role on Supernatural and shows up in Hallmark films every now and again.
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26. Robert Ito
For many Canadian kids in the 1980s, afterschool programming included reruns of the 70s TV series, Quincy M.E., a precursor to the many CSI spin-offs of our day. Jack Klugman starred as Quincy, a slightly brash and decidedly opinionated medical examiner, but behind him – always steady and stable and supportive and sound – was Sam, the dutiful Asian sidekick. Vancouver-born Robert Ito played Sam Fujiyama.
Born in 1931, Ito lived through a time in Canada when resentment of Japanese Canadians was at its highest. During WWII, thousands upon thousands of Japanese Canadians living along the BC coast were rounded up, all their worldly goods repossessed, and sent to internment camps in the interior of British Columbia and southern Alberta. It is a dark period in Canadian history – Canadian citizens losing their rights because of their race. Ito was a boy during all this.
Robert Ito went on to study ballet and danced, for many years, with the National Ballet of Canada. By the mid-60s, he decided to try his hand at acting, having many small roles, until Quincy M.E. With the current blossoming of Asian dramas and their international acclaim, it’s hard not to think what might have been for the beautiful and talented Robert Ito had he been born in another time.
27. Joshua Jackson
Joshua Jackson was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, but spent his young years in California, before returning to Vancouver in his teens. His first major acting role was in the film The Mighty Ducks, but his true breakthrough came with The WB teen drama, Dawson’s Creek, where he became a part of the infamous Joey, Dawson, Pacey love triangle.
Dawson’s Creek was a defining show for The WB, just as Pacey was a defining role for Jackson. He’s had a steady career on both the big and small screens since, starring in the supernatural drama Fringe and currently in the award-winning The Affair.
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28. Stephan James
Born and raised in Toronto, Ontario, Stephan James is a star on the rise.
After starring for two seasons in the hit Canadian series Degrassi: The Next Generation, James landed a role in the big Hollywood biopic of Martin Luther King, Selma. He played civil rights activist John Lewis. Last year, he played Jesse Owens in the biopic Race. James can currently be seen in the FOX series, Shots Fired. He’s one to watch.
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29. Paul Johansson
He was the man you loved to hate on One Tree Hill, playing the villainous father Dan Scott.
Prior to playing the big baddie, Paul Johansson was born in Spokane, Washington, but raised in Kelowna, British Columbia. A gifted basketball player, Johansson played basketball for the University of British Columbia and was named an All-Canadian Basketball Player. He graduated university with a degree in English Literature and moved to LA, choosing to pursue an acting career.
Johansson had a recurring role on Beverly Hills 90210, starred in the series Lonesome Dove, and guest-starred on many hit shows including Mad Men, CSI, Once Upon a Time, to name a smattering. Johansson wrote, directed and produced the TV film The Incredible Mrs. Ritchie, for which he won an Emmy. He also directed more than a few episodes of One Tree Hill.
30. Dwayne Johnson
The Rock is Canadian. Well, actually, he’s both American and Canadian.
Born in California to a Canadian father, Dwayne Johnson inherited his Canadian citizenship. He spent his youth in New Zealand, Hawaii and Pennsylvania, always playing football. He received a full football scholarship to the University of Miami and was signed by the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League upon graduation. It was a short-lived career.
With many professional wrestlers in his family, including his own father Rocky, Johnson decided to cast himself into the wrestling ring. He quickly became a fan favorite in the WWF/WWE, a popularity that helped to launch his acting career. He starred in The Mummy Returns with fellow Canadian Brendan Fraser, and has continued to play comedic action heroes in a slew of blockbuster hits, including The Fast & the Furious film franchise, San Andreas, Get Smart, to name but a few. Dwayne Johnson was also the world’s highest paid actor in 2016.
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31. Taylor Kitsch
One of three boys raised by a single mom, Taylor Kitsch was born in Kelowna, British Columbia, and raised in Port Moody, British Columbia. Kitsch was a talented hockey player in his youth, but a serious knee injury put a stopper on his potential hockey-playing future. He briefly attended the University of Lethbridge in southern Alberta before heading to New York to start a modelling career.
Modelling led to acting, and he eventually landed a leading role in the hit NBC series Friday Night Lights. He has since portrayed Gambit in X-Men Origins: Wolverine (who is Canadian, by the way – the cartoon character Wolverine, that is), starred as the titular character in Disney’s flop John Carter, and had a leading role in the second season of True Detective.
32. Nicholas Lea
Krychek is Canadian.
For fans of the The X-Files, Alex Krychek was the beautiful man we loved to loathe. You never could trust him – sometimes helpful, ofttimes despicable, he was one of the show’s primary antagonists. And he was played by Nicholas Lea, who was born and raised in New Westminster, British Columbia.
Prior to his X-Files fame, Lea was a regular on the series The Commish. After The X-Files, he’s guest-starred on many shows, including Continuum, The Killing, Arrow, Men in Trees, NYPD Blue, CSI, Andromeda and on it goes. He starred in ABC’s sci-fi series Kyle XY and can be seen in a supporting role in the indie teen drama film, released earlier this year, Before I Fall.
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33. Steve Lund
Born and raised in Halifax, Nova Scotia, on Canada’s east coast, Steve Lund is known for role as Nick on Bitten, as well as his recurring role on Haven. He’s a romantic lead more than a few Hallmark films, and can currently be seen in Reign.
Prior to his acting career, Lund was a promising hockey player, but decided to hang up the skates to pursue his passion for performing. He moved across the country to study acting at Vancouver Film School and is steadily landing roles.
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34. Cameron Mathison
Born and raised in Sarnia, Ontario, Cameron Mathison attended McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering. Upon graduation though, his modelling and acting career started to take off. He landed a role on the daytime soap opera All My Children as Ryan Lavery. It was a fan favorite part, which he played for 13 years, until All My Children went off the air.
He’s guest-starred on many shows, including Desperate Housewives, Hope & Faith, Castle, to name a few. He’s been a regular host and correspondent with Good Morning America and is currently host/correspondent with Entertainment Tonight. Mathison is also a regular face on the Hallmark Channel, starring as Mike Kingston in the Murder She Baked series, as well as other original rom-coms. He lives in LA with his family.
35. Niall Matter
It was a life-altering injury that finally pushed Niall Matter into pursuing his acting aspirations. Born in Edmonton, Alberta, Matter grew up on his parents’ dairy farm, and by the age of 17, he was working on the oil rigs in Northern Alberta. After 8 years on the rigs, he nearly lost his right leg in a serious accident. After intensive therapy, he once again learned to walk, but decided it was time to quit the rigs and continue his schooling at Vancouver Film School.
Matter has had numerous starring and recurring roles on many series and TV films, and can currently be seen on Hallmark’s When Calls the Heart as Shane Cantrell.
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36. Cory Monteith
Born in Calgary, Alberta, Cory Monteith was raised in Victoria on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. A troubled teen, Monteith dropped out of school at age 16 and then bounced around from one odd job to another. He also developed a substance abuse problem, which, unfortunately, would plague him the rest of his young life.
Monteith eventually moved to Vancouver to pursue acting and had some guest roles on a number of shows before landing the role of Finn Hudson on the hugely popular series, Glee. The role won him a 2011 Teen Choice Award for Best Actor in a TV Comedy.
Cory Monteith was found dead in a Vancouver hotel room the 13th of July 2013. He was 31 years old.
37. Dylan Neal
Born in Richmond Hill, Ontario, Dylan Neal was raised just west of Toronto, in Oakville, Ontario. A talented squash player in his youth, Neal represented Canada internationally at the highest amateur levels. Deciding that a professional career in racket sports was not in the cards, Neal decided to pursue his other great interest – acting – and moved to Los Angeles.
Dylan Neal has had a steady presence on the small screen ever since. He’s had recurring and lead roles in The Bold and the Beautiful, Pacific Palisades, Hyperion Bay, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Dawson’s Creek, Blood Ties, Arrow and on it goes. Neal recently had the lead role opposite Andie MacDowell in Hallmark’s Cedar Cove and can also be seen in Hallmark’s Gourmet Detective series.
What a great list. I found myself reading it thinking, “so he’s Canadian..” with so many of these. Plus, I had no idea so many of Hallmark actors are Canadian!
Thanks — my work is done, if I’ve enlightened others as to the many Canadians who are out there (-: And Hallmark shoots many of their series and films in Canada, so that’s probably why they’ve got so very many Canadians in their programs…There could also be something with funding — if they’re getting Canadian funds, they probably need to have a certain percentage of locals working for them on and off the screen…
Fun list! I had no idea that so many of these actors were from Canada! Very cool. 😀
Thanks!
OMG this list is perrrrfect! Eric Schweig! Yannick Bisson who I loved on Sue Thomas FBI. Lucas Bryant. *GULP*. Godfrey Gao – oh helllooo! Great job!
Thanks. And here I figured that I was the only one who remembered Yannick on Sue Thomas F.B.Eye (-:
Aww! I have so many crushes on this list! Stephen (I mean, I fangirl so hard for Arrow even though I’m *way* behind on its current seasons right now); Nathan (I mean, who didn’t love Castle??); Yannick (his Murdoch is TOO cute); Andrew is one of my favorite leading men in Hallmark; and of course, Gilbert aka Jonathan Crombie. *Swoon*
Oh, yes! And Ryan Reynolds, too. 😉
I was surprised myself with how many lovely men were Canadian — and I’m Canadian! So it was fun to research this list (-: