History Main / FakeNationality

* ''Series/WelcomeToSweden'': [[Invoked]] Pepe/Gary, Creator/AmyPoehler’s assistant, uses his vague ethnicity to his advantage, pretending to be Latino and unable to speak English when he’s really Cherokee and doesn’t speak Spanish.

* British actor and director Creator/KennethBranagh not only is often cast as American, he also played the FakeRussian [[BigBad Big Bads]] in ''Film/JackRyanShadowRecruit'' and ''Film/{{Tenet}}'', Germans from the Third Reich in ''Film/{{Valkyrie}}'' and ''Film/Conspiray2001'' and the Danish physician Nils Bohr in ''Film/{{Oppenheimer}}''. He also stars as Belgian derective Franchise/HerculePoirot in a [[Film/HerculePoirotKennethBranagh series of films based on the books]] by Creator/AgathaChristie.

* British actor and director Creator/KennethBranagh not only is often cast as American, he also played the FakeRussian [[BigBad Big Bads]] in ''Film/JackRyanShadowRecruit'' and ''Film/{{Tenet}}'', Germans from the Third Reich in ''Film/{{Valkyrie}}'' and ''Film/Consparicy2001'' and the Danish physician Nils Bohr in ''Film/{{Oppenheimer}}''. He also stars as Belgian derective Franchise/HerculePoirot in a [[Film/HerculePoirotKennethBranagh series of films based on the books]] by Creator/AgathaChristie.

* British actor and director Creator/KennethBranagh not only is often cast as American, he also played the FakeRussian [[BigBad Big Bads]] in ''Film/JackReacherShadowRecruit'' and ''Film/{{Tenet}}'', Germans from the Third Reich in ''Film/{{Valkyrie}}'' and ''Film/Conspar8cy2001'' and the Danish physician Nils Bohr in ''Film/{{Oppenheimer}}''. He also stars as Belgian derective Franchise/HerculePoirot in a [[Film/HerculePoirotKennethBranagh series of films based on the books]] by Creator/AgathaChristie.

** Perhaps most egregiously, a [[WhatTheHellCastingAgency German SS officer]] in ''Film/TheNightOfTheGenerals''.

* 1958's ''Film/TheInnOfTheSixthHappiness'' took this to WhatTheHellCastingAgency levels by having Swedish blonde StatuesqueStunner Creator/IngridBergman as Gladys Aylward, the short dark-haired Cockney maid-turned-missionary whose story the movie was based on; Creator/RobertDonat as the Mandarin of Yang Cheng (after Creator/SeanConnery didn't get the role), and German-Austrian Curt Jürgens as Captain Lin Nan.

* Spanish actor Creator/AntonioBanderas has played a Spanish-Californian in the Zorro franchise, a Mexican as 'El Mariachi', and Arabs in ''Film/The13thWarrior'' and ''Film/BlackGold''.

** ''Rusty Rivets'': the Latina Ruby Ramirez is voiced by Ava Preston, who is white

* Creator/MargaretCho's ''Series/AllAmericanGirl'' did this in spades: Margaret Cho was the only Korean-American in the main cast of the show. The actress playing the grandmother (Amy Hill) was Japanese-American, as was father Clyde Kusatsu; mother Jodi Long and brother B.D. Wong were Chinese-American.

* ''Series/PartyOfFive2020'': Brandon Larracuetto is a Puerto Rican American, playing Mexican-born Emilio Acosta, who was raised in the US. Emily Tosta, who's playing Lucia Acosta, is Dominican. Elle Paris Legaspi, who plays Valentina Acosta, is of Filipino and Italian descent. Garcia is also American, although playing Matthew, who's Mexican. Chilean Fernanda Urrejola plays Mexican Gloria Acosta. Argentine Sol Rodriguez plays Natalia, who is also Mexican.

* [[DiscussedTrope Discussed]] in the Music/DasRacist song "Fake Patois" that lists musicians and actors who have put on a fake Jamaican acccent for their work.
* Lou Bega of "Mambo no.5" is a somewhat ambiguos case, as his stage name and presentation vaguely suggest he is Cuban-American, but in reality he is mixed German and Ugandan, and the latin sounding "Lou Bega" is based on his real Ugandan surname Lubega.

** And Jack Bauer is played by a Canadian actor of British ancestry. [[CatchPhrase Damn it!!!]]

* The 2017 ''Film/{{The Mummy|2017}}'' again has a mummy that is African but not Egyptian, with Princess Ahmahnet played by an Algerian, Sofia Boutella.

* Sean Connery

* Creator/RutgerHauer only played Dutch characters while working in the Netherlands, never in Hollywood.

* Rade Šerbedžija's international career has consisted of playing all kinds of fake nationalities, usually Russians (''Film/TheSaint1997'', ''Film/MissionImpossibleII'', ''Film/{{Snatch}}'', ''Film/SpaceCowboys'', ''[[Series/TwentyFour 24]]''), but he's also played a Czech (''Duet''), a Greek (''The Truce''), an Albanian (''Film/Taken2''), an Italian (''Film/{{Stigmata}}''), and the FakeAmerican homeless guy from ''Film/BatmanBegins''. He's actually Croatian.

* While we're in ''Franchise/IndianaJones'': Alison Doody said she didn't expect to play Elsa in ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheLastCrusade'', "since they were asking for an Austrian 30-year-old, not an Irish 22-year-old". Also, the only villain with his or her own nationality is Mola Ram: Paul Freeman and Ronald Lacey are British, Belloq is French and Toht is [[ThoseWackyNazis German]]; Julian Glover is British, Donovan is American (but considering he played a Greek ''Film/JamesBond'' [[Film/ForYourEyesOnly villain]]...); and Creator/CateBlanchett is Australian, [[Film/IndianaJonesAndTheKingdomOfTheCrystalSkull Irina Spalko]] is [[DirtyCommunists Soviet]] - [[FakeRussian Ukraine]], actually.

** South American in ''Film/RaidersOfTheLostArk''.

** Nia Vardalos is a Greek-Canadian playing a Greek-American. Again it is a subversion similar to Adam Sandler in ''You Don't Mess With the Zohan'', since she is in fact Greek.
** Lainie Kazan is of Russian and Turkish Jewish descent.

* Most non-French film adaptations of ''Literature/TheThreeMusketeers'' qualify; ''Film/TheThreeMusketeers1993'' had exactly ''one'' French person in the cast (Julie Delpy), which is still one more than ''Film/TheThreeMusketeers2011'', ''Film/TheThreeMusketeers1973'' had a grand total of ''three'' (and none of them were even filmed in France!).

* Khigh Dhiegh made a career out of playing "yellow peril" Asian villains, like Yen Lo in ''Film/TheManchurianCandidate'' and Wo Fat on ''Series/HawaiiFiveO''. In real life, he founded the Taoist Institute in Hollywood. But he was born Kenneth Dickerson in New Jersey, of mixed Anglo and North African/Arab heritage, with no trace of East Asian-ness.

* In the 1962 adaptation of ''Literature/TheManchurianCandidate'', in addition to Khigh Dhiegh (American of Egyptian and Sudanese descent), has Henry Silva (Sicilian-American) as a Korean, and Creator/AngelaLansbury and Laurence Harvey as Americans, NotEvenBotheringWithTheAccent. The 2004 remake/second adaptation didn't follow this trope and cast Americans as Americans, Englishmen as Englishmen, and this one guy of European extraction played by a Swiss actor.

* ''Film/TheManchurianCandidate'' original, in addition to Khigh Dhiegh (American of Egyptian and Sudanese descent), had Henry Silva (Sicilian-American) as a Korean, and Creator/AngelaLansbury and Laurence Harvey as Americans, NotEvenBotheringWithTheAccent. The 2004 remake didn't follow this trope, and cast Americans as Americans, Englishmen as Englishmen, and this one guy of European extraction played by a Swiss actor.

* Good luck trying to find any actual Russians playing Russian characters in Western media. It's so common that there is [[FakeRussian an entire trope]] focusing on non-Russian actors in the roles of Russians and occasionally other Soviet-era nationalities (e.g. Ukrainian and Georgian).

* Also, Mexican wrestler Wrestling/{{Hunico}}'s new bodyguard/running buddy Camacho is billed from Juárez, Mexico, but is played by the Tongan Tevita Fifita.

* Wrestling/ValVenis, a Canadian playing an American.

* Wrestling/VladimirKozlov, an Ukrainian playing a Russian also Wrestling/RusevAndLana is a Bulgarian and American.
* Wrestling/JinderMahal, he's billed from Punjab, India but he's born in Canada.
* Apollo Crews current gimmick a Nigerian royalty, he's billed from Benue State, Nigeria but he's born in USA and his bodyguard Commander Azeez was born in Poland.