Looking back in time through my 47-year-old eyes, I can’t help but think that my childhood and youth in the 1980s and 1990s was a great time to be growing up.
New music and movies were continually being released, and many of those blockbuster films starred an array of famous Canadian actors and actresses.
Yes, there was a time not all that long ago when, for want of a better term, Canada ruled Hollywood, with big-name stars lighting up silver screens the world over.
As for when this trend began, I would say it kicked off in the mid-to-late 1970s, when Canadian comedic legends such as the iconic John Candy, along with Dan Ackroyd, Rick Moranis, Eugene Levy, Martin Short, and Catherine O’Hara starred in the Second City Television (SCTV) series, which took place in Chicago.
Over the next two decades and beyond, Canadian stars such as Jim Carrey, Leslie Nielsen, Margot Kidder, Michael J. Fox, Carrie-Anne Moss, Christopher Plummer, Keanu Reeves, Ryan Reynolds, Mike Myers, and so many others, became household names.
Among the cadre of celebrities from north of the 49th parallel who made it big in Tinseltown were several Indigenous Canadian stars. These include Tantoo Cardinal (who grew up in Anzac, near Fort McMurray), Adam Beach, and Graham Greene.
It wasn’t only those in front of the camera who give the world a taste of Canadian talent. There have been many producers and film directors, some of the most notable being David Cronenberg, Arthur Hiller, Lorne Michaels, James Cameron (who directed such blockbuster films as Alien and Aliens, The Titanic, The Terminator and Terminator 2, and Avatar), along with Ivan Reitman, director of the Ghostbusters series.
Since becoming a country in 1867, Canada has given the world a lot of great things, with excellent talent being one of them. When you watch a Hollywood film today, there’s a good chance there’s a Canadian or two among the cast.
