The Marvel universe has been widely known to be very New York-centric. So much so in fact, that Moon Knight’s Steven Grant was made British because there were “too many characters in New York.” Whether it was the Avengers headquarters, the Sanctum Sanctorum, or the home of Spider-Man, it has always seemed like everything was focused on one city. The real-life people behind the Marvel Cinematic Universe, however, more frequently come from across the globe. One of those countries has been Canada, the land of poutine, ketchup chips, maple syrup, and double doubles.

Although the Canadian mutant, Wolverine, has yet to join the MCU, many American characters have been played by Canadian actors and actresses. Unlike actors such as Tom Holland who had to change his accent for Spider-Man, these performers have largely been able to keep their mode of English pronunciation the same. That has helped them more seamlessly step into their roles. These are the MCU actors you might not have known were Canadian.

9 Iman Vellani — Ms. Marvel

     Marvel Studios

Kamala Khan was introduced in the Ms. Marvel Disney+ series, but has been confirmed to appear in the upcoming Phase Four film The Marvels. The character resides in New Jersey, but actress Iman Vellani actually comes from Canada. Vellani told Esquire that she was born in Pakistan and moved to Canada when she was a year old. Most notably, she attended the same high school as Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader himself, Hayden Christensen. Vellani was also involved in the same drama program as Christensen, resulting in her drama teacher “thriving” after teaching both Darth Vader and Ms. Marvel.

8 Rachel McAdams — Christine Palmer

     Marvel Studios / Disney

Rachel McAdams, who played Christine Palmer in Doctor Strange and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, was born in London, Ontario. This was the same city where Justin Bieber was born and where Shang-Chi’s Simu Liu attended university. McAdams grew up in Canada, was raised in St. Thomas, and later graduated from a theater degree program at Toronto’s York University. Both the main MCU and Earth-838’s Christine Palmer have focused their operations in New York City.

7 Simu Liu — Shang-Chi

     Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

Both Shang-Chi and actor Simu Liu were born in China, but while Shang-Chi relocated to San Francisco, Liu immigrated with his parents to Kingston, Ontario. Liu grew up in Mississauga and attended UTS during high school. He later studied business administration at the University of Western Ontario’s Ivey Business School, a program he graduated from in 2011. After Liu was laid off from his accounting job at Deloitte, a career as an actor and stuntman began. Liu recently hosted the 2022 Juno Awards where he delivered a great speech on being Canadian.

6 Ryan Reynolds — Deadpool

     20th Century Fox

Deadpool has undoubtedly become one of the most popular Canadian characters in film. The character has not yet joined the MCU, but that will soon change. Writer Michael Waldron even shared that there were discussions to feature Deadpool in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Like Wade Wilson, actor Ryan Reynolds has his origins in Canada before moving to the United States. Reynolds was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, and only became a U.S. citizen when he approached his 40s. In late 2021, Reynolds was awarded a Governor General’s Performing Arts Award (via CBC) for his philanthropy and contributions to Canadian culture.

5 Evangeline Lilly — Wasp

In the MCU, Hope van Dyne formerly served as a Chairwoman of the board of Pym Technologies. The nanotech-specializing tech and research company had their headquarters located in San Francisco, where Scott Lang and Hope van Dyne lived. Actress Evangeline Lilly was born in Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta and at a young age, moved to British Columbia with her parents. She later attended UBC and completed a degree in International Relations.

4 Cobie Smulders — Maria Hill

Former Commander and Deputy Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. Maria Hill was portrayed by Canadian-American actress, Cobie Smulders. The actress appeared in all the Avengers films, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and even Spider-Man: Far From Home (as a Skrull in disguise). She was also involved with Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., What If…?, and the upcoming Secret Invasion. Smulders was born and raised in British Columbia, but now lives in the United States with her husband. She announced on Instagram in 2020 that she has become a U.S. citizen, but has retained her Canadian citizenship.

3 Emily VanCamp — Sharon Carter

A former agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., Sharon Carter was first introduced in Captain America: The Winter Soldier before returning for Captain America: Civil War and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Carter was born in New Orleans in the state of Louisiana. Meanwhile, Emily VanCamp was born in Port Perry, Ontario and attended a dance school in Montreal, Quebec. In the MCU, Sharon Carter ruled Madripoor’s criminal underworld for years. She was eventually pardoned for her crimes and returned to the United States, once again working with the CIA… but Carter had her own agenda.

2 Pom Klementieff — Mantis

Mantis made her MCU debut in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 before returning for Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, and Thor: Love and Thunder. The character came from a mysterious race of insectoid beings. As an orphan, Mantis was taken in by Ego to live on his planet. The actress that brought Mantis to life, Pom Klementieff, was born to a Korean mother and Russian-French father in Quebec. Klementieff, however, was not a Canadian citizen and only lived in the country for one year. She settled in France where she pursued an acting and modeling career.

1 Serinda Swan — Medusa

The ABC television series, Inhumans, was not Marvel’s finest hour. But it was this series where Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’s Anson Mount first appeared as Black Bolt. The wife of Black Bolt and Queen of Attilan, Medusa, was played by Canadian actress Serinda Swan. Swan was born in West Vancouver, British Columbia and has a father who works as a Canadian theater director. As previous Marvel television actors like Charlie Cox and Anson Mount have appeared in new films, it is possible that Swan could eventually return to the MCU.