A New Way of Looking at Movie Stars

By Susan Marg

Can you name ten actors who played women or ten actresses who played prostitutes in the movies? What about anyone who gained weight or got into shape for a movie role? And, there are those who fell in love on a movie set, performed together, and were paid big bucks for a divorce.

The answers are in this book, although you might have a preference for someone I didn’t recognize.

You might even learn something new about the movies or your favorite stars. Did you know that television’s Police Squad! ran for only six episodes, but it led to three movies. Do you remember when Paul Newman played himself on The Simpsons?

The idea for the book was based on a childhood pastime similar to hopscotch, but without the hopping or standing on one leg.

This book is sure to bring hours of entertainment. There are over 1000 entries, organized into ten chapters with ten sections each. Sit down, keep reading, and enjoy!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Jan 12, 2023
• ISBN: 9781669862307

Susan Marg

Susan Marg has always been intrigued by the movies and those who make them. Perennial Currents/HarperCollins published her first book, Las Vegas Weddings: A Brief History, Celebrity Gossip, Everything Elvis, and the Complete Chapel Guide. It included sixty stories of celebrities who married in sin city. Another book she wrote, Hollywood or Bust: Movie Stars Dish on Following their Dreams, Making it Big, and Surviving in Tinseltown, included over seven hundred quotes. All told they conveyed what insiders think about themselves, their lives, their fame, their career, each other, and the town itself. Susan recently moved to Arizona – where it is hot

Book preview

Copyright © 2023 by Susan Marg.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Rev. date: 01/10/2023

Xlibris

844-714-8691

www.Xlibris.com

844131

Contents

Introduction

Author Notes:

Chapter 1: Getting Started

This chapter includes sections on where actors came from as well as those from Brooklyn. It also has those who started in vaudeville or as singers, models, dancers, in sports, child actors, and on television. The last section is called Hollywood Firsts.

Chapter 2: Playing a Role

This chapter includes sections on playing the president of the United States, a Roman, a boxer, a prostitute, a nun, a waitress, twins, and a movie star. It also has a section on actors who have played women. It was not only Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis.

Chapter 3: Getting It Done

Getting It Done is everything from losing weight for a role to getting in shape, acting in old age, spending hours putting on makeup, taking a bath in the movies, and doing their own stunts. There are also sections on those who have fought with costars, those who have made friends with costars, and those who have worked with animals. Finally, it looks at those who had to work under duress in Dealing with Trouble.

Chapter 4: Making Music

Where would movies be without music? Sections in this chapter look at actors and actresses who have sung in the movies. Another goes further to include those who we did not know could carry a tune but who sang in a movie. It lists those who were in Broadway musicals but were recast for the movie remakes. It includes those who danced with Fred Astaire and those who starred alongside Elvis.

Chapter 5: Falling in Love

Movies can be romantic. So too is making a movie. This chapter includes famous couples who met on movie sets, performed together, had expensive weddings or were married in Vegas, and got divorced. It also looks at movie marriages, movie weddings, and movie divorces as well as those who have starred in them.

Chapter 6: Relating to Family

Family plays a big role in movies. This section examines legacies as well as those whose parents were in the business. Brothers, sisters, mothers, and daughters as well as fathers and daughters or sons act, sometimes in the same movie.

Chapter 7: Living the Life

As Daniel Craig said in Casino Royale, I won’t consider myself to be in trouble until I start weeping blood. It is often not necessary to wait that long. Racing cars or driving cars in movies can lead to bad accidents. Those with money like to spend it, which leads to money troubles. They often have big egos, which leads to trouble with the law. Fortunately, public relations specialists are only too willing to help. Murder mysteries have plagued Hollywood from the beginning.

Chapter 8: Changing Direction

This chapter looks at actors and actresses who became directors, sometimes directing themselves. Screenwriters and novelists have also tried directing.

Chapter 9: Doing It Again

Where do ideas for movies come from? Sometimes they come from earlier movies or from television. This is true for crime, science fiction, and even comedy. Movie stars have no trouble with being in remakes. Franchises are big, and they can turn an actor into a movie star.

Chapter 10: Going Up and Coming Down

This chapter looks at the accolades as well as the jeers that actors have received throughout their careers. Having a postage stamp in one’s honor is a tribute, as is appearing on The Simpsons. Receiving a Razzie is not. The last section examines opportunities that those who later became stars have passed up.

About The Author

Introduction

We all change how we look. We go from crew cuts to mohawks, pageboys to beehives, short hair to long hair. We also change how we look at the world around us—from gay rights to the right to carry a gun.

Even the way we watch movies has changed. There are no more trips to Blockbusters to pick up a DVD. Forget perusing a TV guide to find just the right movie. Still, that doesn’t mean we have stopped watching.

Movie stars change too. Sometimes they play good guys and sometimes bad ones. In one movie, an actress might play a nun, in another a prostitute.

Unlike other books on movie stars, this one doesn’t dwell on genres, such as the Silent Era or the Golden Age, although these terms might be mentioned. It doesn’t address the history of cinema either.

This book is based on a game I played growing up. It was similar to hopscotch, but after landing on a square and standing on one leg, the player had to name ten items in a predetermined category, such as brands of cars or cereal, before proceeding to the next square.

Here, we have categories for movie stars. They include, among others, roles played, falling in love on a movie set, and cheers and jeers received.

Anyone looking for entertainment is sure to enjoy A New Way of Looking at Movie Stars. It consists of ten chapters, and each chapter begins with a movie quote. One of my favorites—concerning actors who are unafraid of remakes, serials, and movies based on television series—is from Al Pacino in The Godfather Part III: Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in. Each chapter consists of ten sections with ten entries.

Author Notes:

I’ve tried hard to avoid duplication between sections. It is possible that you will think that a movie or a star belongs in another section. It probably does. If I have left out a movie or a star that you think deserves mention, let me know!

Similarly, if you have a new category or want to include an entrant, I can be reached at [e-mail].

Chapter 1

46396.png

GETTING STARTED

Roads? Where we’re going, we don’t need roads.

— Christopher Lloyd as Dr. Emmett Brown to Michael J. Fox as Marty McFly in Back to the Future (1985)

Section 1.1 Leaving Home

Actors come from around the world. Hollywood is like a mini United Nations, with more or less squabbling. Starting in vaudeville as a comedian provides experience. Others use their talent as singers or dancers. A few almost had careers in professional sports.

Here are Academy Award winners and nominees for Best Actor or Actress. Winners are in bold. Nominees for those categories are indicated by asterisks (*).

From Great Britain

Those who speak English seem to have an advantage when appearing in movies and winning or being nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor or Actress. Here are lists of those from Great Britain, be they English, Scottish, Irish, or Welsh.

Julie Andrews, George Arliss, Peggy Ashcroft, Richard Attenborough, Christian Bale*, Alan Bates*, Hermione Baddeley, Paul Bettany, Jane Birkin, Jacqueline Bisset, Orlando Bloom, Emily Blunt, Dirk Bogarde, David Bowie, Nigel Bruce, Russell Brand, Kenneth Branagh*, Jim Broadbent, Pierce Brosnan, Richard Burton*, Gerard Butler, Michael Caine*, Helena Bonham Carter*, Henry Cavill, Charlie Chaplin, Graham Chapman, Julie Christie, John Cleese, Sacha Baron Cohen, Joan Collins, Ronald Colman, Olivia Colman, Robbie Coltrane, Sean Connery, Steve Coogan, Dominic Cooper, Tom Courtenay*, James Corden, Daniel Craig, Benedict Cumberbatch*,

Timothy Dalton, Daniel Day-Lewis, Judi Dench*, Olivia de Havilland, Robert Donat, Idris Elba, Chiwetel Ejiofor*, Cynthia Erivo*, Rupert Everett, Colin Farrell, Michael Fassbender, Ralph Fiennes*, Joseph Fiennes, Peter Finch, Albert Finney*, Colin Firth, Joan Fontaine, Edward Fox, Michael Gambon, Greer Garson, Ricky Gervais, John Gielgud, Brenden Gleeson, Domhnall Gleeson, Stewart Granger, Edmund Gwenn, Cary Grant*, Hugh Grant, Richard E. Grant, Sydney Greenstreet, Rupert Grint, Christopher Guest, Alec Guinness,

Rebecca Hall, Tom Hardy, Naomie Harris, Richard Harris*, Rex Harrison, Olivia de Havilland, Sally Hawkins*, David Hemmings, Audrey Hepburn, Tom Hiddleston, Bob Hope, Anthony Hopkins, Leslie Howard*, Trevor Howard, Elizabeth Hurley, John Hurt*, Eric Idle, Jill Ireland, Jeremy Irons, Glenda Jackson, Lily James, Felicity Jones*, Terry Jones, Boris Karloff, Deborah Kerr*, Ben Kingsley, Keira Knightley*, Daniel Kaluuya*,

Angela Lansbury, Stan Laurel, Charles Laughton, Jude Law*, Peter Lawford, Christopher Lee, Vivien Leigh, Delroy Lindo, Ida Lupino, John Mahoney, James Mason, James McAvoy, Malcolm McDowall, Roddy McDowall, Ewan McGregor, Ian McKellen*, Victor McLaglen, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Ray Milland, Sarah Miles*, Sienna Miller, Haley Mills, Helen Mirren, Dudley Moore, Roger Moore, Robert Morley, Emily Mortimer, Samantha Morton*, Carey Mulligan*,

Liam Neeson*, Bill Nighy, David Niven, Jeremy Northam, Gary Oldman, Laurence Olivier, Maureen O’Sullivan, Peter O’Toole*, Clive Owen, David Oyelowo, Michael Palin, Dev Patel, Robert Pattinson, Simon Pegg, Donald Pleasence, Jonathan Pryce*,

Daniel Radcliffe, Claude Rains, Basil Rathbone, Charlotte Rampling*, Lynn Redgrave, Michael Redgrave*, Vanessa Redgrave*, Eddie Redmayne, Oliver Reed, Joely Richardson, Natasha Richardson, Ralph Richardson, Diana Rigg, Alan Rickman, Margaret Rutherford, Mark Rylance,

Paul Scofield, Peter Sellers*, Andy Serkis, Jane Seymour, Fiona Shaw, Jean Simmons*, Maggie Smith, Jason Statham, Terence Stamp, Patrick Stewart, Tilda Swinton, Jessica Tandy, Elizabeth Taylor, Victoria Tennant, Kristin Scott Thomas*, Emma Thompson, Arthur Treacher, Rita Tushingham, Julie Walters*, Peter Ustinov, Rachel Ward, Emily Watson*, Emma Watson, Naomi Watts*, Hugo Weaving, Rachel Weisz, Tom Wilkinson*, Kate Winslet, Edward Woodward, Michael York, Catherine Zeta-Jones.

Notes:

George Arliss was the first British actor to win an award for Best Actor for portraying Benjamin Disraeli in Disraeli (1929).

Nigel Bruce is best known for playing Watson to Basil Rathbone’s Sherlock Holmes.

Richard Burton was nominated seven times, all but one time for Best Actor, but he never won. One of his nominations was with Peter O’Toole for Becket (1964).

Michael Caine was nominated four times for Best Actor. He won twice for Best Supporting Actor.

Olivia Colman won for Best Actress for The Favorite (2019).

Olivia de Havilland won Best Actress for The Heiress (1949) and was nominated on other occasions as well as for Best Supporting Actress for Gone with the Wind (1939).

Judi Dench was nominated seven times, of which five times were for Best Actress. She won once for Best Supporting Actress.

Albert Finney* was nominated four out of five times for Best Actor and once for Best Supporting Actor.

Joan Fontaine won for Suspicion (1941), directed by Alfred Hitchcock, and she received two other nominations.

Edmund Gwenn won Best Supporting Actor for playing Kris Kringle in Miracle on 34th Street (1947). He was also in four films directed by Alfred Hitchcock.

Sydney Greenstreet did not begin his movie career until he was sixty-one years old. His first movie was with Humphrey Bogart and Peter Lorre in The Maltese Falcon (1941).

Sally Hawkins* was nominated for Best Actress for The Shape of Water (2017).

Glenda Jackson was nominated four times, and she won twice.

Felicity Jones* was nominated for Best Actress for The Theory of Everything (2015).

Deborah Kerr* was nominated six times.

Vivien Leigh won Best Actress for playing Scarlett O’Hara in Gone with the Wind (1939). She also won for A Streetcar Named Desire (1951).

Peter O’Toole* was nominated eight times.

Laurence Olivier* had nine nominations for Best Actor.

Charlotte Rampling* was nominated several times for Best Actress.

Vanessa Redgrave* was nominated four times for Best Actress, and she won for Best Supporting Actress for Julia (1977).

Elizabeth Taylor was born in England to American parents. They returned to the United States when she was seven years old.

Kristin Scott Thomas* was nominated for The English Patient (1996).

Emily Watson* was nominated for Best Actress.

Naomi Watts moved to Australia when she was fourteen with her mother, brother, and stepfather. She was nominated for Best Actress for 21 Grams (2004) and for The Impossible (2013).

Hugo Weaving was born in Nigeria to English parents, but he has spent most of his professional life in Australia.

Kate Winslet won Best Actress for The Reader (2008), and she was nominated three other times, including for Titanic (1997).

From Australia and New Zealand

Eric Bana, Cate Blanchett, Byron Brown, Rose Byrne, Keisha Castle-Hughes*, Toni Collette, Abbie Cornish, Russell Crowe, Judy Davis*, Isla Fisher, Errol Flynn, Chris Hemsworth, Liam Hemsworth, Mel Gibson, Paul Hogan, Hugh Jackman*, Nicole Kidman, George Lazenby,

Heath Ledger*, Sam Neill, Olivia Newton-John, Guy Pierce, Margot Robbie*, Geoffrey Rush, Rod Taylor, Mia Wasikowska, Jacki Weaver, Hugo Weaving, David Wenham, Rebel Wilson.

Notes:

Cate Blanchett was nominated once each for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress playing Queen Elizabeth I. She won Best Actress for Woody Allen’s Blue Jasmine (2013). She was also nominated for Best Actress for Carol (2014). She has appeared in all movies of The Lord of the Rings as well as The Hobbit.

Keisha Castle-Hughes* was nominated for Whale Rider (2002). She played a twelve-year-girl who wanted to become the chief of her tribe.

Russell Crowe was born in New Zealand, but he considers himself an Australian. He won for Gladiator (2000).

Judy Davis* was nominated for starring in David Lean’s final film, A Passage to India (1984), an adaptation of E. M. Forster’s novel.

Mel Gibson moved from the New York state to Australia, where he studied acting, when he was twelve. Although he has never won for Best Actor, he won Best Director for Braveheart (1995), and he was nominated for Best Director for Hacksaw Ridge (2016).

Hugh Jackman* was nominated for playing Jean Valjean in Les Misérables (2012).

Nicole Kidman won for The Hours (2002). The year before, she had been nominated for Moulin Rouge! (2001).

Heath Ledger* was nominated for Best Actor for Brokeback Mountain (2005).

Margot Robbie was nominated for I, Tonya (2017).

Geoffrey Rush won for Shine (1996). He was also nominated for Quills (2000).

From Canada

Pamela Anderson, Will Arnett, Dan Aykroyd, Jay Baruchel, Raymond Burr, Geneviéve Bujold*, Neve Campbell, John Candy, Kim Cattrall, Jim Carrey, Michael Cera, Tommy Chong, Hayden Christensen, Susan Clark, Wendy Crewson, Hume Cronyn, Yvonne De Carlo, Colleen Dewhurst, Lolita Davidovich, Marie Dressler, Glenn Ford, Michael J. Fox, Victor Garber, Ryan Gosling*, Tom Green, Graham Greene, Lorne Greene, Bruce Greenwood,

Corey Haim, Phil Hartman, Walter Huston*, Stana Katic, Margot Kidder, Eugene Levy, Raymond Massey*, Rachel McAdams, Mike Myers, Rick Moranis, Carrie-Anne Moss, Lois Maxwell, Kate Nelligan, Leslie Nielson, Sandra Oh, Catharine O’Hara, Elliot/Ellen Page*, Anna Paquin, Barry Pepper, Mary Pickford, Walter Pidgeon*, Christopher Plummer, Sarah Polley, Jason Priestley, Keanu Reeves, Ryan Reynolds, Seth Rogen, William Shatner, Norma Shearer, Martin Short, Donald Sutherland, Nia Vardalos, Fay Wray.

Notes:

Ryan Gosling* was nominated for Best Actor in Half Nelson (2005) and La La Land (2017).

Graham Greene was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Dances with Wolves (1990).

Anna Paquin picked up her Best Supporting Actress award at the age of eleven for her debut performance in The Piano (1993). That night, Paquin became the second-youngest Oscar winner of all time.

Elliot/Ellen Page* was nominated for the starring role in Juno (2007).

Mary Pickford was the biggest star of the 1920s. She won the second Best Actress award in Oscar history, which was the first award for an actress in a talkie for Coquette (1929).

Christopher Plummer was nominated for The Last Station (2009) and All the Money in the World (2018). He won for Beginners (2011).

From Mexico and Points South

Yalitza Aparicio*, Gael García Bernal, Rubén Blades, Sônia Braga, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Salma Hayek, Oscar Isaac, Fernando Lamas, Diego Luna, Carmen Miranda, Ricardo Montalbán, Ramon Novarro, Édgar Ramirez, Gilbert Roland, Anthony Quinn, Sofia Vergara.

Notes:

If not noted, the actor or actress is from Mexico.

Yalitza Aparicio* was nominated for Roma (2018), directed by Alfonso Cuarón, who won a Best Director award for the movie as well as for Gravity (2013). Another director from Mexico is Guillermo del Toro, who won for Best Director for Pan’s Labyrinth (2006) and for Best Picture for The Shape of Water (2017).

Rubén Blades is from Panama. He is also a singer and songwriter.

Sônia Braga is from Brazil.

Oscar Isaac is from Guatemala.

Fernando Lamas was from Argentina.

Carmen Miranda came from Brazil.

Ramon Novarro was a leading man and a sex symbol in the 1920s and early 1930s.

Édgar Ramirez is from Venezuela.

Anthony Quinn won twice for Best Supporting Actor for Viva Zapata! (1952) and Lust for Life (1956).

Sofia Vergara is from Columbia. Best known for her television role on Modern Family (2009–2020), she has also appeared in the movies.

From the Caribbean (including Puerto Rico, Cuba, the Bahamas, and Jamaica)

Desi Arnaz, Benicio del Toro, José Ferrer, Andy Garcia, Luis Guzman, Grace Jones, Raúl Juliá, Rita Moreno, Sidney Poitier.

Notes:

Desi Arnaz is probably best known for playing a fictionalized version of himself on I Love Lucy (1951–1957), but he made movies too. He met his wife Lucille Ball on the set of Too Many Girls (1940). He was from Cuba.

Benicio del Toro was born in Puerto Rico. He hasn’t been nominated nor won an Oscar for Best Actor, but he won for Best Supporting Actor for Traffic (2000).

José Ferrer was the first Puerto Rican—and the first Hispanic actor of any kind—to win an Academy Award for Best Actor for Cyrano de Bergerac (1950).

Andy Garcia was born in Cuba. His family moved to Miami, Florida, when he was five years old.

Luis Guzman, from Puerto Rico, has many film credits. He was raised in Greenwich Village and the Lower East Side of New York City.

Grace Jones is from Jamaica.

Raúl Juliá, from Puerto Rico, has been bilingual since his childhood. His film debut was in The Panic in Needle Park (1971).

Rita Moreno, Puerto Rican, is one of the very few to have won a Tony, an Emmy, a Grammy, and an Oscar. Her Academy Award was for Best Supporting Actress for West Side Story (1961).

Sidney Poitier was raised in the Bahamas, although he was born in the United States when his family was visiting. He won the Best Actor Oscar for Lilies of the Field (1963).

From Southern Europe (Spain, Italy, and Greece)

Pier Angeli, Antonio Banderas* (Spanish), Roberto Benigni, Javier Bardem (Spanish), Claudia Cardinale, Penélope Cruz (Spanish), Giancarlo Giannini*, Gina Lollobridgida, Sophia Loren, Marcello Mastroianni*, Melina Mercouri* (Greek), Rudolph Valentino.

Notes:

Unless noted, the actors and actresses are Italian.

Antonio Banderas*, Spanish, was nominated for Pain and Glory (2019), a Spanish drama directed by Pedro Almodóvar.

Roberto Benigni was the first man to ever win for a non-English-speaking role in Life Is Beautiful (1997), an Italian film that was nominated for Best Picture and won for Best Foreign Language Film.

Javier Bardem, Spanish, hasn’t yet been nominated or won an Academy Award for Best Actor. However, he won for Best Supporting Actor for No Country for Old Men (2007).

Claudia Cardinale was born and raised in Tunis. She won a beauty contest, the prize being a trip to Italy. Film contracts soon followed.

Penélope Cruz*, Spanish, was nominated for Best Actress for Volver (2006). She won Best Supporting Actress for Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008).

Giancarlo Giannini* was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor for Seven Beauties (1975). Lena Wertmuller, who had directed the film, was the first woman nominated for Best Director.

Sophia Loren is adored around the world. She became the first actor to win an Oscar for a foreign-language performance for Two Women (1960). She appeared in A Special Day (1977), for which Marcello Mastroianni was nominated for Best Actor. She was also nominated for Best Actress for Marriage Italian Style (1964), in which Mastroianni also starred.

Marcello Mastroianni was regarded as Italy’s biggest film star, appearing in La Dolce Vista (1960) and 8½ (1963), both directed by Federico Fellini.

Melina Mercouri* was Greek. She was nominated for Best Actress in Never on Sunday (1960), a Greek movie. Simone Signoret, who was French, won for Room at the Top.

Rudolph Valentino emigrated to the United States when he was eighteen years old. He was a sex symbol in the 1920s, starring in several well-known silent films. He died prematurely when he was thirty-one years old, creating mass hysteria among his fans at his funeral.

From France

Vive la France! What is it about French actors and actresses? Similar to Americans as well as those from around the world, they can sing and dance. They play sex symbols, dreamers, and bad guys. It must be the accent.

Isabelle Adjani*, Anouk Aimee*, Daniel Auteuil, Nathalie Baye, Brigitte Bardot, Emmanuellle Beart, Bérénice Bejo, Jean-Paul Belmondo, Juliette Binoche*, Charles Boyer*, Leslie Caron*, Vincent Cassel, Maurice Chevalier*, Marion Cotillard, Alain Delon, Catherine Deneuve, Gerard Depardieu*, Jean Dujardin, Isabelle Huppert*, Louis Jourdan, Christopher Lambert, Sophie Marceau, Yves Montand, Jeanne Moreau, Philippe Noiret, Maria Schneider, Romy Schneider, Simone Signoret, Audrey Tautou, Jean-Louis Tritignant.

Notes:

Isabelle Adjani* won two nominations for the Academy Award for Best Actress in non-English-speaking roles.

Anouk Aimee* was nominated for A Man and a Woman (1966).

Charles Boyer* received four Oscar nominations for Best Actor, but he never won.

Maurice Chevalier* was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor.

Marion Cotillard played Édith Piaf in La Vie en Rose (2007), for which she won the Best Actress Oscar. She was also nominated for Two Days, One Night (2014).

Leslie Caron* was nominated for Best Actress for Lili (1953) and for The L-Shaped Room (1962).

Gerard Depardieu* was nominated for Cyrano de Bergerac (1990). He didn’t win, but he has won many other awards.

Jean Dujardin won for playing the silent screen star in The Artist (2011), which won Best Picture. His costar, Bérénice Bejo, was nominated for Best Supporting Actress.

Yves Montand was born in Italy but moved with his family to France when he was two years old.

Maria Schneider starred opposite Marlon Brando In Last Tango in Paris (1972).

Romy Schneider started her career in Germany. When she moved to France, she appeared in many critically acclaimed films of the times.

Simone Signoret was also born in Germany but grew up in Paris. For her role in Room at the Top (1959), she became the second French person to win an Oscar.

From Scandinavia

Ann-Margret, Ingrid Bergman, Greta Garbo*, Anita Ekberg, Sonja Henning, Dolph Lundgren, Noomi Rapace, Stellan Skarsgård, Alexander Skarsgård, Inger Stevens, Max Von Sydow*, Liv Ullmann*, Alicia Vikander.

Notes:

After Swedish actress, singer, and dancer Ann-Margret appeared in Bye Bye Birdie (1963) and with her relationship with Elvis Presley following their roles in Viva Las Vegas (1964), who could be more American? However, she was born in Sweden and emigrated to the United States with her mother to join her father when she was five years old. She became a naturalized citizen in 1949 when she was eight.

Ingrid Bergman, the Swedish actress, won for Best Actress for Gaslight (1944) and Anastasia (1856) and as Best Supporting Actress for Murder on the Orient Express (1974). She was also nominated for For Whom the Bell Tolls (1943), The Bells of St. Mary’s (1945), Joan of Arc (1948), and Autumn Sonata (1978); the last was directed by Ingmar Bergman.

Greta Garbo was nominated for Best Actress four times. She starred in Grand Hotel (1932), the Best Picture that year, in which she said, I want to be alone.

Anita Ekberg was born in Sweden, although she became a permanent resident of Italy after becoming an international star for 8½. She was considered for the role of the first Bond girl in Dr. No, but the part went to Ursula Andress, who is Swiss.

Sonja Henning, a Norwegian figure skater, won three Olympic gold medals. After that, she became one of Hollywood’s highest paid stars.

Dolph Lundgren’s breakthrough in 1985 came when he starred in Rocky IV as a boxer from the Soviet Union. This Swede previously had a small role as a KGB agent in the James Bond movie A View to a Kill (1985).

Noomi Rapace played Lisbeth Salander in the Swedish versions of the Millennium series. In addition to Swedish, she speaks fluent Icelandic, Danish, Norwegian, and English.

Stellan Skarsgård had six children with his first wife: Alexander (b. 1976), Gustaf (b. 1980), Sam (b. 1982), Bill (b. 1990), Eija (b. 1992), and Valter (b. 1995). Alexander, Gustaf, Bill, and Valter are also actors, while Eija is a former model. His eldest son, Alexander, has appeared on television in Big Little Lies as well as several movies.

Inger Stevens moved from Sweden to the United States when she was ten years old.

Max Von Sydow* received a nomination for Best Actor and one for Best Supporting Actor.

Liv Ullmann* was nominated for two Best Actress awards for Swedish-language performances, one of which was directed by Ingmar Bergman, with whom she had a romantic relationship. Ullmann is Norwegian. In addition to Norwegian, Ullmann speaks Swedish, English, and other European languages.

Alicia Vikander won for Best Supporting Actress for The Danish Girl (2015), but she has had no wins or nominations yet for Best Actress.

From Central Europe (including Austria, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Switzerland, and Ukraine)

Ursula Andress, Vilma Bánky, Marlene Dietrich*, the Gabor sisters, Curd Jürgens, Diane Kruger, Mila Kunis, Milla Jovovich, Hedy Lamarr, Peter Lorre, Bela Lugosi, Paul Muni, Pola Negri, Franka Potente, Luise Ranier*, Maximilian Schell, Romy Schneider, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Erich von Stroheim, Christoph Waltz.

Notes:

Ursula Andress is Swiss. She is best known for playing Honey Ryder in the first James Bond film Dr. No (1962).

Vilma Bánky, Hungarian, was an immediate hit in silent movies with American audiences. She never lost her accent, so she did not make it in talkies.

Marlene Dietrich*, German, had one Academy Award nomination for Morocco (1930), directed by Josef von Sternberg. Her performance in his The Blue Angel (1930) brought her international acclaim.

Diane Kruger, German, is fluent in German, English, and French, and she has been in movies in all three languages. She became an American citizen when she was thirty-seven years old.

Mila Kunis, Ukrainian, moved to the United States with her family when she was seven years old. She gained much acclaim for her performance in Black Swan (2010).

Peter Lorre was Hungarian. He worked with Sydney Greenstreet in nine movies, including The Maltese Falcon (1941).

Bela Lugosi, Hungarian, is best remembered for playing Count Dracula in 1931.

Paul Muni won for Best Actor for The Story of Louis Pasteur (1936).

Pola Negri was Polish. She was one of the most popular actresses in silent films.

Franka Potente, German, had her breakthrough in Run Lola Run (1998).

Luise Ranier, German, won the Academy Award for Best Actress twice. The first time was for The Great Ziegfeld (1936); the second time was for The Good Earth (1937).

Maximilian Schell was born in Austria, but his family moved to Switzerland when Nazi Germany took over the country. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in Judgment at Nuremberg (1961).

Arnold Schwarzenegger, Austrian, was Mr. Olympia seven times. He was twenty-one years old when he moved to the United States. He became a Hollywood action film star, taking off several years to be governor of California.

Erich von Stroheim, Austrian, emigrated to the United States when he was twenty-four years old. He was a director and an actor, sometimes directing himself, mostly in silent movies. He appeared in Sunset Boulevard (1950), which won for Best Picture and Best Director for Billy Wilder. Later in German- or French-speaking roles, it sounded as if he