There’s a bit of tension between Canada and the United States these days due to differing trade policies and other factors, but many Americans still consider Canada an ally and a friendly country.
In a new poll by YouGov, Americans overwhelming chose Michael J. Fox as their favorite celebrity. Seventy-three per cent said that the star known for his roles in the Back To The Future trilogy and shows such as Spin City, The Good Wife, and Designated Survivor was their top pick among athletes, musicians and actors.
Earlier this month, a fake social media account erroneously claimed that the actor was working on a fourth Back to the Future film. A Facebook page in his name revealed in a post: “Hi everybody! Today is a very important day, besides of being of my birthday, I’m announcing…Back to the Future IV!!!! We thought about [it] for many years and we s[t]arted shooting it last summer. I’ll reveal the release date in a few days.”
Unfortunately, the post was a fake.
Fox has been struggling with Parkinson’s disease since the early ‘90s, but he hasn’t let the health issue prevent him from working. Over the last few years he’s concentrated most of his career on TV shows and voice-acting roles. The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research recently awarded $7.7 million to 39 research projects in the battle against the second most common neurodegenerative disease after Alzheimer’s.
With Fox’s determination and positive, never-give-up attitude, it’s easy to see why many Americans love and respect him.
Keanu Reeves (The Matrix, Speed, John Wick) came in second on the popular Canadians list, receiving 67 per cent of the vote. The top five are rounded out by Dan Aykroyd (Saturday Night Live, The Blues Brothers, Ghostbusters) at 63 per cent, Jim Carrey (Dumb and Dumber, Ace Ventura: Pet Detective) at 62 per cent and William Shatner (Star Trek, Boston Legal) at 61 per cent.
Only two women made the list of 25 popular Canadians, and they are singers: Celine Dion (58 per cent) and Shania Twain (56 per cent).
The two most well-known Canadians are Justin Bieber and Carrey, with 97 per cent of those polled recognizing these two stars. They were followed by Pamela Anderson (Baywatch) and Dion, whom 94 per cent of Americans have heard of. Other well-known Canadian stars include Fox, Shatner, Alex Trebek (Jeopardy) and Mike Myers (Austin Powers, Shrek).
