History Main / LimeyGoesToHollywood

* Creator/JohnOliver. As he has said himself, he is a British person working in the USA and whenever he goes home, he is greeted with bewildered expressions of "Who the hell are you?". Prior to moving to the USA, John had a career mainly in radio comedy and very ocassional TV appearances as a comedian.

* In ''Literature/MostlyHarmless'', Tricia [=McMillan=] moves to New York since British accents being in demand on American television. (Ironically, in both the TV and movie adaptations [but not the original radio show] Tricia's played by an American actress ''as'' American.)

* The Music/{{Supertramp}} song “Breakfast in America” is about an ordinary British guy who dreams of becoming famous in America to escape his boring life.

** Music/DavidBowie, but became disillusioned after only a few years and moved to West Berlin straight after.

Oddly, Brits and Europeans seem to have an above average chance of [[EvilBrit playing villains]] or [[MeanBrit jerks]]... See FakeAmerican for when they put on the accent as well.

** A number of British writers have also done this, some (like Brian Clemens and Leigh Vance) more successfully than others (like Dennis Spooner).

* Creator/TimRoth did it so well there's people who forget he's English. Not in ''Film/TheIncredibleHulk'', though!

* The high income tax rates in the Britain forced Creator/MichaelCaine to leave and move to Hollywood in the late Seventies. He moved back to the UK a decade later.

* Jaime Murray (formerly of ''Series/{{Hustle}}'', she played Lila in ''Series/{{Dexter}}'')

* Creator/GordonRamsay, of "Hell's Kitchen"

* Creator/AnthonyHopkins, said he didn't fit in well in the theater world in England and lived in the States for a time in the Seventies, then moved back after his success after ''Film/TheSilenceOfTheLambs'' in 1990.

* In ''TheTVSet'' Ioan Gruffudd plays Richard [=McCallister=], a TV executive who moves from England to UsefulNotes/LosAngeles to take a job as second-in-command at a fictional TV network, which is headed by Lenny (Creator/SigourneyWeaver). Richard tries to counter-balance Lenny's fervent desire for high ratings by emphasizing the need for quality programming and preserving the writer's wishes. Richard's wife Chloe, played by Creator/LucyDavis, hates UsefulNotes/LosAngeles and eventually leaves Richard to return to England.

* In ''TheTVSet'' Ioan Gruffudd plays Richard [=McCallister=], a TV executive who moves from England to UsefulNotes/LosAngeles to take a job as second-in-command at a fictional TV network, which is headed by Lenny (Creator/SigourneyWeaver). Richard tries to counter-balance Lenny's fervent desire for high ratings by emphasizing the need for quality programming and preserving the writer's wishes. Richard's wife Chloe, played by Lucy Davis, hates UsefulNotes/LosAngeles and eventually leaves Richard to return to England.

* Many Black Britons like Creator/ThandieNewton find themselves working in America given the lack of roles for non-white actors, especially on television where the majority of shows are period pieces or about the Royal Family - meaning [[MonochromeCasting they feature majority white casts]].

* Two OlderThanTelevision examples: Creator/CharlieChaplin in the silent era and Creator/BorisKarloff in the early talkies.

* C. Aubrey Smith

* Appropriately enough considering the aforementioned ''Extras'' example, Creator/RickyGervais himself has been getting in some American movies, like ''Film/NightAtTheMuseum'' and a starring role in ''Film/GhostTown''. He has made repeated references to this trope in real life, like appearing by satellite when Creator/StephenMerchant won a Bafta to congratulate him -- and to casually point out that he himself has won bigger awards, "...American ones."

* Some major movie franchises like ''Film/TheLordOfTheRings'', ''Film/JamesBond'' and ''Film/HarryPotter'', originate in British literature and have some of the finest British actors around. The majority of their funding is American.