# English Actors - American TV



## YouSir (May 8, 2012)

Spurred by a random thought, are there any British characters on American TV who aren't either posh or super villains or both? I know Yanks can go in for their British stereotyping but do they ever get exposed to anything beyond that? Examples please.


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## phildwyer (May 8, 2012)

YouSir said:


> Spurred by a random thought, are there any British characters on American TV who aren't either posh or super villains or both? I know Yanks can go in for their British stereotyping but do they ever get exposed to anything beyond that? Examples please.


 
The cleaner out of "Frasier."


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## butchersapron (May 8, 2012)

Fraisier's dad.


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## Santino (May 8, 2012)

A little character called House.


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## Reno (May 8, 2012)

Most US series take place in US professional environments where you are not that likely to see many British working class people. It tends to be British people with higher education that get work visas there and they often tend to be middle-class or posh, like Eve Best's doctor in Nurse Jackie, Alex Kingston's doctor in ER or Jared Harris' ad man in Mad Men.


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## Termite Man (May 8, 2012)

Santino said:


> A little character called House.


British CHARACTERS


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## Santino (May 8, 2012)

Manc Hobbit guitarist out of Lost.


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## rekil (May 8, 2012)

Billy Connolly in the appalling Head Of The Class.


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## Belushi (May 8, 2012)

Santino said:


> Manc Hobbit guitarist out of Lost.


 
The episode when they went to Brixton was great


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## Reno (May 8, 2012)

Termite Man said:


> British CHARACTERS


 
The OP should have maybe titled the thread different then.


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## Santino (May 8, 2012)

Doctor Who


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## trabuquera (May 8, 2012)

Giles in Buffy the Vampire Slayer.


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## Santino (May 8, 2012)

Daphne's brothers in Frasier


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## YouSir (May 8, 2012)

How do I do multi-quote these days? But yeah, not actors, characters. And I suppose Daphne from Frasier is the closest to a non-posh English character I can think of. Al Swearengen maybe?

Also, didn't know Frasier's dad was English (the actor that is), learn something new every day.


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## Termite Man (May 8, 2012)

trabuquera said:


> Giles in Buffy the Vampire Slayer.


isn't he quite posh though?


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## YouSir (May 8, 2012)

trabuquera said:


> Giles in Buffy the Vampire Slayer.


 
Not posh..?


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## Santino (May 8, 2012)

Daphne's mum in Frasier


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## YouSir (May 8, 2012)

Reno said:


> The OP should have maybe titled the thread different then.


 
Or you should have read the OP, either way.


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## Santino (May 8, 2012)

Dr Bashir in Deep Space Nine


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## rekil (May 8, 2012)

Relic Hunter woman's wimpy sidekick.


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## Santino (May 8, 2012)

Harry Potter

(not posh, he's on a scholarship)


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## Reno (May 8, 2012)

Santino said:


> Harry Potter
> 
> (not posh, he's on a scholarship)


 
He's not in a TV series and the films are largely British.


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## Santino (May 8, 2012)

Fiona off of Burn Notice is a Northern Irish terrorist, which makes her legally British.


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## Buddy Bradley (May 8, 2012)

Emily from Friends? Or was she too posh?


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## Termite Man (May 8, 2012)

Santino said:


> Fiona off of Burn Notice is a Northern Irish terrorist, which makes her legally British.


 
what about the Irish gun dealers from sons of anarchy , are they republic or northern?


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## Santino (May 8, 2012)

Loads of people in that weird episode of Columbo set in London.


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## Santino (May 8, 2012)

Buddy Bradley said:


> Emily from Friends? Or was she too posh?


Rugby fan.


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## Santino (May 8, 2012)

Data's cleaner when he's a professor at Cambridge in the future in the penultimate episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation.


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## trabuquera (May 8, 2012)

ah. sorry. eyes skipped over the word 'posh' in the 'not posh or evil' exclusionary clause. (and of course his Ripper persona may have hinted at an evil side.) so, um ... er ... middle or working class British characters on US TV? no, can't think of any.

(but bear in mind this is a nation which depicts even its own underclass as never living in anything less than a mini Mc Mansion, so looking for a fully right-on limey may be just too much to ask. sorry.)


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## Santino (May 8, 2012)

Len Goodman


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## rekil (May 8, 2012)

Tim Roth in Lie To Me.


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## Santino (May 8, 2012)

Mr Bean


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## YouSir (May 8, 2012)

As we've reached Mr Bean - Benny Hill? Big in the US right?


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## rekil (May 8, 2012)

Termite Man said:


> what about the Irish gun dealers from sons of anarchy , are they republic or northern?


The main one who got shot in the arse is an american doing an oirish turn. I stopped watching at that point. Are there more of them?


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## Reno (May 8, 2012)

Spike from Buffy and Angel. Starts out as villain, but turns into a heroic character. Mulder had an ex girlfriend who was a British cop in the season 1 of The X-Files.


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## Santino (May 8, 2012)

Highlander


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## YouSir (May 8, 2012)

copliker said:


> The main one who got shot in the arse is an american doing an oirish turn. I stopped watching at that point. Are there more of them?


 
From what I remember they were all American actors weren't they? Fucking unconvincing Irishmen if not. Besides weren't they from the Republic? Different ball game there, no trend on US TV for posh and/or evil Irish people as far as I know.


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## YouSir (May 8, 2012)

Spike and Highlander count though I'd say, although given that they were both a couple of centuries old I'm not sure if they'd class themselves as British (more Spike than Highlander).


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## danny la rouge (May 8, 2012)

Egg in Walking Dead.  The guy off HIGNFY in that thing that's on at the same time as The Bridge.  Anna Friel in the Dead Girl thing.  Lovejoy in Deadwood.  Fred West in the Wire.  Dick Van Dyke in Diagnosis Murder.  Paris's boyfriend in Gilmore Girls.  Frasier's parking attendant.


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## YouSir (May 8, 2012)

danny la rouge said:


> Egg in Walking Dead. The guy off HIGNFY in that thing that's on at the same time as The Bridge. Anna Friel in the Dead Girl thing. Lovejoy in Deadwood. Fred West in the Wire. Dick Van Dyke in Diagnosis Murder. Paris's boyfriend in Gilmore Girls. Frasier's parking attendant.


 
Dick van Dyke in Diagnosis Murder isn't British, he's American. Fred West in The Wire, also an American character.


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## stavros (May 8, 2012)

Ben Kingsley had a cameo as himself in one episode of The Sopranos, with Christopher pitching his film idea to him. He's quite posh, but it's in a showbiz rather than class-based setting.

Sacha Baron Cohen and Ricky Gervais have both featured in Curb episodes too.


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## danny la rouge (May 8, 2012)

Dick van Dyke's a Londoner.  I'll give you Fred West, though; I've never seen the Wire.  But he was definitely English in something else.


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## rekil (May 8, 2012)

Scotchy from star trek.


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## danny la rouge (May 8, 2012)

copliker said:


> Scotchy from star trek.


He's a Bulgarian played by a Canadian.


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## YouSir (May 8, 2012)

danny la rouge said:


> Dick van Dyke's a Londoner.


 
In Diagnosis Murder? Where'd you get that from?


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## YouSir (May 8, 2012)

danny la rouge said:


> He's a Bulgarian played by a Canadian.


 
Characters, not actors - damn my lax thread titling. So Scotty counts.


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## quimcunx (May 8, 2012)

Kareem Said or does being in Oz make him a super villian?

Oh, wait, the character is or isn't British?


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## rekil (May 8, 2012)

Patrick McGoohan in The Prisoner.


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## YouSir (May 8, 2012)

quimcunx said:


> Kareem Said or does being in Oz make him a super villian?
> 
> Oh, wait, the character is or isn't British?


 
Isn't British, as I recall, although he isn't a super villain either - in fact by Oz standards he's a saint.


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## Reno (May 8, 2012)

copliker said:


> Patrick McGoohan in The Prisoner.


 
How much more British does a TV series get ?


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## goldenecitrone (May 8, 2012)

stavros said:


> Ben Kingsley had a cameo as himself in one episode of The Sopranos, with Christopher pitching his film idea to him. He's quite posh, but it's in a showbiz rather than class-based setting.
> 
> Sacha Baron Cohen and Ricky Gervais have both featured in Curb episodes too.


 
And Coogan played a British shrink in Curb.


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## rekil (May 8, 2012)

Reno said:


> How much more British does a TV series get ?


Just testing.


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## starfish (May 8, 2012)

Daphne's mum & 3 (of her) brothers in Frasier.


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## stavros (May 8, 2012)

danny la rouge said:


> I'll give you Fred West, though; I've never seen the Wire. But he was definitely English in something else.


 
Fred West?!


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## YouSir (May 8, 2012)

stavros said:


> Fred West?!


 
Also known as Dominic.


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## danny la rouge (May 8, 2012)

YouSir said:


> Characters, not actors - damn my lax thread titling. So Scotty counts.


The character, Scotty, is Bulgarian.


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## Minnie_the_Minx (May 8, 2012)

Ducky on NCIS


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## Minnie_the_Minx (May 8, 2012)

In fact, if you watch all that crap CSI, there's a few pathologists/lab technicians who are English


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## Minnie_the_Minx (May 8, 2012)

And who's that one who was in Bend in Like Beckham and then ended up in that American hospital drama (ER I think)?


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## danny la rouge (May 8, 2012)

Minnie_the_Minx said:


> And who's that one who was in Bend in Like Beckham and then ended up in that American hospital drama (ER I think)?


Keira "Latern Jaw" Knightley?


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## Minnie_the_Minx (May 8, 2012)

danny la rouge said:


> Keira "Latern Jaw" Knightley?


 
No, the Asian girl!


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## danny la rouge (May 8, 2012)

Minnie_the_Minx said:


> No, the Asian girl!


River Snog?


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## imposs1904 (May 8, 2012)

The character Vincent Nigel–Murray from series 4-6 of Bones. Played by Justin Cartwright, who's best known - to me - as Darren from The Grimleys:


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## Minnie_the_Minx (May 8, 2012)

Nooooooooo

You've made me have to go and google  

Parminder Nagra


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## danny la rouge (May 8, 2012)

I knew all along.


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## thriller (May 8, 2012)

Practically every single character in the superb Game of Thrones is British or Irish.


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## rekil (May 8, 2012)

Robert Carlyle - Stargate Universe. Begbie in space.


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## binka (May 8, 2012)

Catherine tate is a regular in the new series of the office and the character she plays is not posh or a villain. 

There we go. It took four pages of mostly people not bothering to read the op but we got there in the end


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## danny la rouge (May 8, 2012)

binka said:


> It took four pages of mostly people not bothering to read the op but we got there in the end


Not bothering?  Or "not bothering"?


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## Stigmata (May 8, 2012)

thriller said:


> Practically every single character in the superb Game of Thrones is British or Irish.


 
They're all from Westeros


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## danny la rouge (May 8, 2012)

Stigmata said:


> They're all from Westeros


Ullapool?


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## agricola (May 8, 2012)

Tish Jones (Martha's sister in Doctor Who some time ago) is now in the new Kiefer Sutherland show _Touch_:


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## Johnny Canuck3 (May 8, 2012)

Stewie in Family Guy


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## danny la rouge (May 9, 2012)

Dewie in Malcolm in the Middle.


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## Johnny Canuck3 (May 9, 2012)

Higgins: Magnum's butler on Magnum PI


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## Johnny Canuck3 (May 9, 2012)

danny la rouge said:


> Dewie in Malcolm in the Middle.


 
Hewey Dewie and Louie, Donald Duck's nephews.


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## danny la rouge (May 9, 2012)

Johnny Canuck3 said:


> Hewey Dewie and Louie, Donald Duck's nephews.


Donald's Uncle, too.  He was Bulgarian.


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## Johnny Canuck3 (May 9, 2012)

danny la rouge said:


> Donald's Uncle, too. He was Bulgarian.


 
Actually, he's Scotch.

Scrooge McDuck.


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## danny la rouge (May 9, 2012)

Johnny Canuck3 said:


> Actually, he's Scotch.
> 
> Scrooge McDuck.


Are you sure? He sounds Bulgarian.


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## Johnny Canuck3 (May 9, 2012)

Woody Woodpecker's niece, Knothole.

Splinter, the nephew is Canadian I think.


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## Johnny Canuck3 (May 9, 2012)

danny la rouge said:


> Are you sure? He sounds Bulgarian.


 
I think Donald sounds more Bulgarian. It's definitely an accent I'm not really conversant with.


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## danny la rouge (May 9, 2012)

Here's a Bulgarian accent, for you to compare:


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## Johnny Canuck3 (May 9, 2012)

Sounds a lot like Rumanian, doesn't it?


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## Minnie_the_Minx (May 9, 2012)

House


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## skyscraper101 (May 9, 2012)

Davy Jones


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## skyscraper101 (May 9, 2012)

No Stringer Bell & McNulty already?










(except that time when McNulty, playing an American, did that cor blimey British accent  )


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## skyscraper101 (May 9, 2012)

Karen Arnold of the Wonder Years was also British


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## danny la rouge (May 9, 2012)

Johnny Canuck3 said:


> Sounds a lot like Rumanian, doesn't it?




He's not Romanian, he's American!


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## Johnny Canuck3 (May 9, 2012)

Maybe it's the neighborhood he grew up in...


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## danny la rouge (May 9, 2012)

The Gay Community?


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## Reno (May 9, 2012)

YouSir said:


> Spurred by a random thought, are there any British characters on American TV who aren't either posh or super villains or both? I know Yanks can go in for their British stereotyping but do they ever get exposed to anything beyond that? Examples please.


 
Apart from fucking up your thread title you've never actually backed up your claim. The cliche that the Brit is always the villain comes from cartoony 80s/90s action films like Die Hard or Robin Hood when they imported British stage actors (mostly Alan Rickman) to play sneering, effete villains. Where are all these British villains you claim are populating current US TV shows. I'm sure there are many more non-British villains (Breaking Bad, Sopranos, Deadwood, Carnivale, Boardward Empire, 24, Mad Men, The Walking Dead, Homeland, True Blood, The Shield, most cop and crime shows). The 'posh' characters often are so because it would be unrealistic to have working class characters in those roles (Nurse Jackie, Mad Men)


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## Santino (May 9, 2012)

Stan Laurel


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## Reno (May 9, 2012)

Santino said:


> Stan Laurel


 
Which TV show is that then ?


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## Santino (May 9, 2012)

The Laurel and Hardy Show


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## Reno (May 9, 2012)

Santino said:


> The Laurel and Hardy Show


 
That was just a compilation show made long after his death which consisted of clips from L&H classic short films which were made for the cinema. He never starred in a TV series.


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## danny la rouge (May 9, 2012)

Reno said:


> That was just a compilation show made long after his death which consisted of clips from short films which were made for the cinema.


That isn't specifically ruled out by the OP, though. "are there any British characters on American TV"?


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## Santino (May 9, 2012)

And?


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## Santino (May 9, 2012)

Also, 'Laurel and Hardy'.


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## Reno (May 9, 2012)

I suppose Michael Fassbender is starring in TV series then, because they showed clips from Prometheus on Film 2012


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## Santino (May 9, 2012)

Reno said:


> I suppose Michael Fassbender is starring in TV series then, because they showed clips from Prometheus on Film 2012


Yes, it's exactly the same.


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## danny la rouge (May 9, 2012)

Reno said:


> I suppose Michael Fassbender is starring in TV series then, because they showed clips from Prometheus on Film 2012


He's been on TV.

"are there any British characters on American TV"?


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## stavros (May 10, 2012)

I don't think Stringer and McNulty count for this thread, because they were playing Americans. Likewise Irishman Aiden Gillen.


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