Abbie
05-02-2007, 17:07
Just came across some of this and wanted to share it incase any of you are interested:
Brits who made it big in US-
Hugh Laurie
Famous in Britain for: His TV partnership with Stephen Fry. The pair, who met at Cambridge University, have appeared together in a string of comedy hits, including A Bit of Fry and Laurie, Jeeves and Wooster and the Blackadder series.
Famous in the US for: Playing acerbic Dr Gregory House in medical drama House, where his American accent is viewed as flawless. Hugh, who earns a reported £153,000 an episode, also adopts the voice in between takes on the set of House, as well as during script read-throughs.
Cat DeeleyFamous in Britain for: A string of primetime presenting jobs, including Fame Academy and Stars in Their Eyes. Former model Cat got her first TV job – on MTV – after sending in a homemade audition tape.
Famous in the US for: Stepping in to present reality show called So You Think You Can Dance (a sort of Pop Idol for dancers) after the original host got pregnant. Luckily, Cat's dancing ability wasn't an issue: she can't dance to save her life and has got two left feet - "mighty big ones at that", as she puts it.
Gordon Ramsay
Famous in Britain for: Fronting the first series of Hell’s Kitchen, which saw the three-Michelin-star man training 10 celebrities to be chefs. Eight million viewers tuned in to see Gordon’s immortal put down of former Conservative minister Edwina Currie: “One minute you’re shagging the Prime Minister and now you’re trying to shag me from behind.”
Famous in the US for: Terrorising a clutch of wannabe-chefs in the US version of Hell’s Kitchen. From the moment the volatile Scotsman told one poor contestant that the meal they’d cooked looked like a “dehydrated camel’s turd”, the show’s success was guaranteed.
Denise van OutenFamous in Britain for: Co-presenting Channel 4’s The Big Breakfast with Johnny Vaughn after being promoted from weather girl. Her cheeky Essex charm and stunning looks proved a massive hit with viewers.
Famous in the US for: Presenting reality TV show Grease: You’re The One That We Want!, which aims to find two stars for the New York stage revival of Grease. Ironically, a 17-year-old Denise auditioned – unsuccessfully - for the role of Sandy in the original London production of Grease. “I cried for days when I didn’t get it,” she admits.
Jane LeevesFamous in Britain for: Playing eccentric nurse Daphne Moon in Frasier. Born in Essex and brought up in Sussex, Jane’s on-screen Lancashire accent is completely put on.
Famous in the US for: See above. By the end of Frasier’s 11-year run, Jane – a former model – had received an Emmy nomination for the role and landed a £20 million contract, making her the highest-paid British actress in the world.
Jo FrostFamous in Britain for: House training a generation of temperamental tots in Supernanny – despite having no formal childcare training. Jo is now thought to be worth in the region of £5 million, thanks to a string of lucrative book and merchandising deals.
Famous in the US for: Fronting a transatlantic version of Supernanny and earning a legion of celebrity fans – X-Men star Hugh Jackman says her advice is “brilliant”, and Britney Spears reportedly keeps her phone number on speed dial.
Ashley Jensen
Famous in Britain for: Playing struggling actress Maggie Jacobs alongside Ricky Gervais in Extras – a role that won her Best Television Comedy Actress, as well as Best Newcomer, at the 2005 British Comedy Awards.
Famous in the US for: See above. Extras was a cult hit in America and led to Ashley’s current role as Ugly Betty’s wardrobe assistant Christina. The Dumfries-born actress still can’t believe her luck. “What am I doing here? I’m from this wee town in Scotland,” she says disarmingly.
Dominic Monaghan
Famous in Britain for: Playing Merry in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy (he kept a pair of the latex Hobbit feet as a memento). Before that, he starred opposite Patricia Routledge in TV crime drama Hetty Wainthropp Investigates.
Famous in the US for: Playing stranded rock star Charlie Pace in cult drama Lost. Charlie was originally supposed to be a middle-aged rock star, but the show’s producers were so impressed with Dominic they rewrote the part to make him a twentysomething.
Tracey Ullman
Famous in Britain for: Starring alongside Lenny Henry and David Copperfield in Three of a Kind. The weekly sketch show crept into BBC1’s schedule with relatively little fanfare, but by the third series in 1983, it was firmly established as one of the most popular comedy shows on British TV.
Famous in the US for: The Emmy award-winning Tracey Ullman Show, which ran for three years from 1987 and spawned a hugely successful spin-off, The Simpsons. In 1992 Tracy filed a lawsuit, asking for a share of the merchandise-related profit from The Simpsons. She was unsuccessful
Sean Maguire
Famous in Britain for: Playing Irish football prodigy Aidan Brosnan in EastEnders from 1993 to 1994. Sean used his success on the show to launch a pop career and scored five Top 20 singles, before his career took a nosedive.
Famous in the US for: Starring in a clutch of primetime dramas, including Off Centre, a sort of American Men Behaving Badly – and CBS sitcom The Class about a group of former classmates, written by Friends creator David Crane.
Brits who made it big in US-
Hugh Laurie
Famous in Britain for: His TV partnership with Stephen Fry. The pair, who met at Cambridge University, have appeared together in a string of comedy hits, including A Bit of Fry and Laurie, Jeeves and Wooster and the Blackadder series.
Famous in the US for: Playing acerbic Dr Gregory House in medical drama House, where his American accent is viewed as flawless. Hugh, who earns a reported £153,000 an episode, also adopts the voice in between takes on the set of House, as well as during script read-throughs.
Cat DeeleyFamous in Britain for: A string of primetime presenting jobs, including Fame Academy and Stars in Their Eyes. Former model Cat got her first TV job – on MTV – after sending in a homemade audition tape.
Famous in the US for: Stepping in to present reality show called So You Think You Can Dance (a sort of Pop Idol for dancers) after the original host got pregnant. Luckily, Cat's dancing ability wasn't an issue: she can't dance to save her life and has got two left feet - "mighty big ones at that", as she puts it.
Gordon Ramsay
Famous in Britain for: Fronting the first series of Hell’s Kitchen, which saw the three-Michelin-star man training 10 celebrities to be chefs. Eight million viewers tuned in to see Gordon’s immortal put down of former Conservative minister Edwina Currie: “One minute you’re shagging the Prime Minister and now you’re trying to shag me from behind.”
Famous in the US for: Terrorising a clutch of wannabe-chefs in the US version of Hell’s Kitchen. From the moment the volatile Scotsman told one poor contestant that the meal they’d cooked looked like a “dehydrated camel’s turd”, the show’s success was guaranteed.
Denise van OutenFamous in Britain for: Co-presenting Channel 4’s The Big Breakfast with Johnny Vaughn after being promoted from weather girl. Her cheeky Essex charm and stunning looks proved a massive hit with viewers.
Famous in the US for: Presenting reality TV show Grease: You’re The One That We Want!, which aims to find two stars for the New York stage revival of Grease. Ironically, a 17-year-old Denise auditioned – unsuccessfully - for the role of Sandy in the original London production of Grease. “I cried for days when I didn’t get it,” she admits.
Jane LeevesFamous in Britain for: Playing eccentric nurse Daphne Moon in Frasier. Born in Essex and brought up in Sussex, Jane’s on-screen Lancashire accent is completely put on.
Famous in the US for: See above. By the end of Frasier’s 11-year run, Jane – a former model – had received an Emmy nomination for the role and landed a £20 million contract, making her the highest-paid British actress in the world.
Jo FrostFamous in Britain for: House training a generation of temperamental tots in Supernanny – despite having no formal childcare training. Jo is now thought to be worth in the region of £5 million, thanks to a string of lucrative book and merchandising deals.
Famous in the US for: Fronting a transatlantic version of Supernanny and earning a legion of celebrity fans – X-Men star Hugh Jackman says her advice is “brilliant”, and Britney Spears reportedly keeps her phone number on speed dial.
Ashley Jensen
Famous in Britain for: Playing struggling actress Maggie Jacobs alongside Ricky Gervais in Extras – a role that won her Best Television Comedy Actress, as well as Best Newcomer, at the 2005 British Comedy Awards.
Famous in the US for: See above. Extras was a cult hit in America and led to Ashley’s current role as Ugly Betty’s wardrobe assistant Christina. The Dumfries-born actress still can’t believe her luck. “What am I doing here? I’m from this wee town in Scotland,” she says disarmingly.
Dominic Monaghan
Famous in Britain for: Playing Merry in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy (he kept a pair of the latex Hobbit feet as a memento). Before that, he starred opposite Patricia Routledge in TV crime drama Hetty Wainthropp Investigates.
Famous in the US for: Playing stranded rock star Charlie Pace in cult drama Lost. Charlie was originally supposed to be a middle-aged rock star, but the show’s producers were so impressed with Dominic they rewrote the part to make him a twentysomething.
Tracey Ullman
Famous in Britain for: Starring alongside Lenny Henry and David Copperfield in Three of a Kind. The weekly sketch show crept into BBC1’s schedule with relatively little fanfare, but by the third series in 1983, it was firmly established as one of the most popular comedy shows on British TV.
Famous in the US for: The Emmy award-winning Tracey Ullman Show, which ran for three years from 1987 and spawned a hugely successful spin-off, The Simpsons. In 1992 Tracy filed a lawsuit, asking for a share of the merchandise-related profit from The Simpsons. She was unsuccessful
Sean Maguire
Famous in Britain for: Playing Irish football prodigy Aidan Brosnan in EastEnders from 1993 to 1994. Sean used his success on the show to launch a pop career and scored five Top 20 singles, before his career took a nosedive.
Famous in the US for: Starring in a clutch of primetime dramas, including Off Centre, a sort of American Men Behaving Badly – and CBS sitcom The Class about a group of former classmates, written by Friends creator David Crane.