History Main / PlaysGreatEthnics

* Creator/JoaquimDeAlmeida is Portuguese but has also played Mexicans, [[Theatre/TheCountOfMonteCristo Frenchmen]], [[Film/OnlyYou Italians]], Englishmen and Brazilians. Given that Portugal and Brazil speak the same language, he did a much better accent in [[Film/TheFastAndTheFurious Fast Five]] than Creator/ElsaPataky, a Spaniard of Romanian ancestry.

* [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donatas_Banionis Donatas Banionis]] is an example of the trend in Soviet casting where actors hailing from the Baltic republics (Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania) were a favourite choice for playing Western foreigners of any type. For example, he has played Americans, Englishmen, Swedes, Germans, and Italians, to name just a few.

* Creator/TonyShalhoub was born in Wisconsin to Lebanese Catholic parents.[[note]]Technically, his mother was second-generation Lebanese American, but as all his grandparents were born in Lebanon, who's counting?[[/note]] Hollywood doesn't need too many Lebanese characters (although he did play one in ''Film/TheSiege'') so why not branch out to Italian characters when you have the looks? Or [[Series/TheMarvelousMrsMaisel Ashkenazi Jewish ones]], for that matter? Often, his characters' ethnic backgrounds are intentionally vague - but definitely somewhat foreign ({{lampshade|Hanging}}d in ''Film/GalaxyQuest''). [[Series/{{Monk}} Adrian Monk]] is of Welsh ancestry, in case you wondered.

* Creator/SylvesterStallone, a man of Italian, Ukrainian, and French descent, is frequently cast as an ethnic Italian-American (see Film/{{Rocky}}), but has also played a Hungarian-American in ''Film/{{FIST}}'', the son of a Swede in ''Film/JudgeDredd'', an AmbiguouslyHuman alien in ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxyVol2'', and a man of mixed German, Indian, Swedish, and Native American ancestry in the [[Franchise/{{Rambo}} ''Rambo'' series]].

* Creator/ArnoldVosloo is a South African actor best known for playing Arabs (and an [[Film/TheMummyTrilogy Ancient Egyptian priest]].)

* Creator/SibelKekilli is a German-born actress of Turkish heritage who has played Turks, an Italian, a German, a Jew, and the NonSpecificallyForeign Shae on ''Series/GameOfThrones''.

* Lou Diamond Philips is of Scots-Irish, Filipino, Cherokee, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, and Hawaiian descent. As you might expect, he plays characters from a variety of races, though most often Latinos.

* Creator/SylvesterStallone, a man of Italian, Ukrainian, and French descent, is frequently cast as an ethnic Italian-American (see Film/{{Rocky}}), but has also played a Hungarian-American in ''F.I.S.T.'', the son of a Swede in ''Film/JudgeDredd'', an AmbiguouslyHuman alien in ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxyVol2'', and a man of mixed German, Indian, Swedish, and Native American ancestry in the [[Franchise/{{Rambo}} ''Rambo'' series]].

* Creator/WoodyStrode, African-American football player-turned-actor, was cast as Native Americans or other ethnicities in a curious number of films, perhaps most egregiously playing a Mongol warlord in Creator/JohnFord's ''Seven Women''. Admittedly, Strode was part-Cherokee so the former's somewhat justified.

* Khigh Dhiegh (born Kenneth Dickerson), an American of North African origin, made a career out of playing East Asian villains, most notably Dr. Yen Lo in the 1962 version of ''Literature/TheManchurianCandidate'' and Wo Fat in ''Series/HawaiiFiveO''.

[[folder: In-Universe and Miscellaneous Examples ]]

* French-Armenian Creator/SimonAbkarian has played Arabs, Greeks, Israelis, Afghans, Iranians and Romani.

* Creator/JoaquimDeAlmeida is Portuguese, but has also played Mexicans, [[Theatre/TheCountOfMonteCristo Frenchmen]], [[Film/OnlyYou Italians]], Englishmen and Brazilians. Given that Portugal and Brazil speak the same language, he did a much better accent in [[Film/TheFastAndTheFurious Fast Five]] than Creator/ElsaPataky, a Spaniard of Romanian ancestry.

* Creator/YulBrynner (of Swiss, Russian and Siberian ancestry) played [[Theatre/TheKingAndI King Mongkut of Siam]], [[Film/TheTenCommandments Pharaoh Ramses of Egypt]], [[Literature/TheBrothersKaramazov a Russian]], [[Film/TheMagnificentSeven1960 a Cajun]], a Native American chief, a Cossack, a Mexican, and many other "ethnic" roles.

* London-born actor Ritchie Coster (whose ethnic origins are Dutch) is dark haired, dark eyed, and has spent his career playing non-English characters of various types. He was The Chechen (a Chechen, naturally) in ''Film/TheDarkKnight'', Mister Zoric (a Hungarian) in ''Film/LetMeIn'', Simon Matic (a Bulgarian) in ''Series/LawAndOrderCriminalIntent'', Joey Sadano (an Italian) in ''Film/AmericanGangster'', Jorgan Stern (a Pole) in ''Series/LawAndOrder'', Fazal (a Saudi Arabian) in ''Film/{{Traffic}}'', Nicolai Trepov (a Russian) in ''Hack'', and the list goes on and on and on. One can count the number of times he's played English characters on both hands.

* Mark Dacascos. His ancestry is very varied - Filipino, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese and Irish - and apart from all kinds of Asian characters he's also played a MagicalNativeAmerican.

* Omid Djalili (born in Britain to Iranian parents) is usually roped in on British TV to play anyone vaguely Middle-Easten, North African or even south European- he played a Greek cabbie in ''Literature/MyFamilyAndOtherAnimals'' in 2009. He's sneaked into a number of seriously big Hollywood films as a result of this including ''Film/TheMummy1999'' and ''Film/TheWorldIsNotEnough''.

* Jenette Goldstein is Jewish-American but has been able to pass herself off as numerous different nationalities - her IMDB page even describing her as "a true chameleon". Her [[{{Film/Aliens}} most famous role]] has her playing a Mexican and she played another Hispanic in ''Film/FearAndLoathingInLasVegas''. She also played Irish in ''{{Film/Titanic 1997}}'' and ''Film/ThePresidio'', a Caucasion blonde in ''Film/NearDark'' and she finally got be Jewish in ''Film/LethalWeapon2''.

* Music/VanessaHudgens has a part Native American, part Irish father and a Filipino mother, with also Chinese and Spanish ancestry, and has been cast in mainly Hispanic roles, and as being from a fictional East Asian country much like Thailand in ''Film/{{Thunderbirds}}''. In an interview she said that she had auditioned for the role of Esmerelda in an amateur production of The Hunchback of Notre Dame because "[[https://youtu.be/Ev2ToILLMTk?t=1m53s I've got her ethnic looks going on]]".

** Aquaman's father in the film is played by Temuera Morrison (NZ Māori), who, alongside Māori characters, has also played an Hispanic boat captain in ''Film/Speed2'', and the ambiguous Jango Fett and clone troopers in the ''Franchise/StarWars'' prequels.

* If you have watched a crime drama since the mid-noughties, chance is that you have met Sicilian-born Ivo Nandi at some point, playing an Italian, French, Russian or any kind of Hispanic character. The only thing the roles have in common is that they are foreign-accented and [[TypeCasting usually thugs]].

* Lou Diamond Philips is of Scots-Irish, Filipino, Cherokee, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese and Hawaiian descent. As you might expect, he plays characters from a variety of races, though most often Latinos.

* Creator/IndiraVarma is half-Indian, half-Swiss with Italian ancestry and usually played characters who are in the Mediterranean area.

* Creator/ChristopherWalken is of German and Scottish descent, and quite pale-skinned. However, he was born in Queens and sounds like it, so due to the BigApplesauce trope he is often cast as a character of just about every white ethnicity to be found on America's Eastern Seaboard, including a Russian-American steelworker in ''Film/TheDeerHunter'' (for which he won an Academy Award) and various Italian-Americans.

* Reece Ritchie, an Englishman of partial South African descent, has played Iraqi, Greek, Indian, Iranian, Minoan, Australian, Persian, Israeli and Egyptian characters.

* Creator/FMurrayAbraham is of Syrian and Italian descent, and has portrayed Cuban, Mexican, Italian, Turkish, French, Russian, and Ashkenazi Jewish characters, to name a few.

* Brazilian actor of Italian/Portuguese descent Creator/RodrigoSantoro has played a number of roles like [[Film/ThreeHundred Xerxes]] (a Persian Emperor), [[Literature/BenHur Jesus]] (a Middle-Eastern Jew), [[Film/{{Che}} Raul Castro]] (a Cuban) and [[Series/{{Westworld}} Hector Escaton]] (a Mexican artificial program). And those are just the roles Americans are familiar with; he once played [[Literature/TheThreeMusketeers D'Artagnan]] in one of native country's movies.

* British actor Joseph Long is of Italian descent, and has played Italian, Greek, Cypriot, Spanish, Chilean, Russian, Israeli, and Arabic characters.

* Creator/JohnRhysDavies is Welsh, but because of his coloring he is often cast as Hispanic or Middle Eastern characters.

[[caption-width-right:350:Guess what his real ethnicity is: [[note]]It's Maori. And if you picked "caveman", you get a DopeSlap. Clockwise from top left: ''Film/ThreeKings'', ''Film/TrainingDay'', ''Film/TenThousandBC'', and ''Film/WhaleRider''.[[/note]]]]

This refers to casting practice, and in the case of TropeCodifier Peter Stormare it has even achieved the status of CastingGag. It refers to "international" or "ethnic" - at any rate not American or British - actors who are considered to somehow look or be able to act so vaguely but conspicuously foreign that they can be used for any nationality. It's AsLongAsItSoundsForeign and GratuitousForeignLanguage applied to casting. However, ButNotTooForeign is often in effect because you'll want someone who speaks good English (even though intentionally accented) and rather panders to viewers' expectations than give an accurate portrayal of a specific ethnic identity which also means that the character's background might be very vague as long as it's foreign. Note that Plays Great Ethnics can have the same UnfortunateImplications as MistakenNationality.

In many cases--particularly if the actor is British--these types don't even have to ''look'' a certain way. They [[JustAStupidAccent study the accent]] and [[CultureEqualsCostume dress in ethnic clothing]], and use theatrical makeup. In such cases, the hiring studio will often be criticized for effectively stealing the role from other performers who actually belong to the ethnic group and are offered acting roles less frequently than white actors; others state that this defeats the purpose of acting, where the goal is to portray someone other than yourself. Across the pond, however, this is expressly forbidden in modern American media. The Screen Actors' Guild now requires that an actor at least partially [[ActorSharedBackground share the racial background]] of any character they're playing, to avoid {{blackface}} and the like. However, this ''can'' be creatively interpreted, such as the half-black Creator/DwayneJohnson playing North African characters.

[[folder: Real Life]]

* French-Armenian Creator/SimonAbkarian has played Arabs, Greeks, Israeli, Afghani, Iranians and Romani.

* Bart Braverman started out playing the Italian boy Giuseppe in the "Lucy Gets Homesick in Italy" episode of ''Series/ILoveLucy'' (credited as Bart Bradley in various TV roles from 1955 to 1962), has portrayed various Hispanic characters, Asian Indians, Bobby "Binzer" Borso on Vega$, Middle Eastern and Arab characters et al., due to his swarthy complexion.

* [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donatas_Banionis Donatas Banionis]] is an example of the trend in Soviet casting where actors hailing from the Baltic republics (Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania) were a favourite choice for playing Western foreigners of any type. For example, he has played Americans, Englishmen, Swedes, Germans, and Italians, to name just a few.
* Creator/SachaBaronCohen is a London-born Jew who has played a [[Film/{{Borat}} Kazakh]], a [[Film/TheDictator North African]], a [[Film/SweeneyToddTheDemonBarberOfFleetStreet fake Italian]], and [[Film/TalladegaNightsTheBalladOfRickyBobby three]] [[Film/{{Hugo}} French]][[Film/LesMiserables2012 men]]. %% Family name is Baron Cohen.
* Actor Coby Bell, of ''Series/ThirdWatch'' and ''Series/BurnNotice'' is biracial, and was specifically selected for the role of Jesse on ''Burn Notice'' so they would have a character who could plausibly pretend to be from a variety of ethnic backgrounds - a handy ability for a spy.

* Yugoslavian[[note]]She's ethnically Slovene-Croat and Jewish, hailing from the Croatian capital of Zagreb, which she left when the [[BalkanizeMe known unpleasantries]] started. She also explicitly regrets the break-up of Yugoslavia.[[/note]] actress Mira Furlan plays a Frenchwoman on ''Series/{{Lost}}''. Her cute accent was a plus in her role as the [[Series/BabylonFive Minbari ambassador Delenn]].

* Creator/BenKingsley was born in England to an English mother and Indian father. His roles have included several Jews (of various nationalities) as well as many other Middle Eastern characters, Indians ([[Film/{{Gandhi}} one of which]] was his breakout role and won him an Oscar), Americans, Russians, Italians, at least one Frenchman ([[Film/{{Hugo}} Georges Méliès]]), a [[Film/EndersGame Maori]], and an Egyptian (Potiphar). In ''Film/IronMan3'', he plays a Middle Eastern terrorist [[spoiler: who's really a British actor who looks foreign enough to pretend to be a vaguely-Asian person, lampshading this trope.]] In fact, many people have assumed he's Jewish due to the number he played, though Kingsley corrected them that no, so far as he knows that isn't the case (his mother was born out of wedlock and did not talk about her background, so it's possible but unconfirmed).

* Creator/ChristopherLee, though British-born, played all sorts of foreigners (including Arabs and Chinese, with the possible zenith being [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad_Ali_Jinnah Jinnah]], the founder of Pakistan). His facility with languages and part-Italian ancestry was a large factor.

* Melissa Marsala, whose ancestry is Chinese and Italian, is perhaps best known for her recurring role as a Puerto Rican on Series/SixFeetUnder. In addition to countless [[SpicyLatina Spicy Latinas]], she also played Toby's Greek-American personal assistant on Series/TheWestWing, the sister of a Mafia goon on Series/TheSopranos, and a black woman pretending to be white on {{Series/Angel}}. (She would rather you not mention her [[IWasYoungAndNeededTheMoney sordid past]] as a [[Series/VanPires crime-fighting vampire robot]].)

* Creator/JasonMomoa has Native Hawaiian and Caucasian ancestry and has played several mixed raced characters. He has played characters that share his half-Native ancestry at least twice (''Series/TheRedRoad'' and ''Series/{{Frontier}}''), [[Series/GameOfThrones the ambiguously brown Dothraki warlord Khal Drogo]], and the Polynesian-inspired King of Atlantis Comicbook/{{Aquaman}} (who is blonde and Caucasian in the comics.)
** Aquaman's father in the film is played by Temuera Morrison (NZ Maori), who, alongside Maori characters, has also played an Hispanic boat captain in Film/Speed2, and the ambiguous Jango Fett and clone troopers in the Franchise/StarWars prequels.

* J. Carrol Naish (pronounced 'Nash'), an Irish-American (his uncle was Lord Chancellor of Ireland!), was often cast as Italian characters due to his swarthy complexion, like the character Luigi Basco that he played in the early TV sitcom ''Life With Luigi''. He also was often cast as Orientals, and in fact played Film/CharlieChan in the late '50's series ''The New Adventures of Charlie Chan'', and also was cast a few times as Indians, such as in a ''Series/GreenAcres'' episode. Not to mention Eastern Europeans, Latin Americans, Middle Easterners, Pacific Islanders, and even African Americans. All this earned him the nickname "Hollywood's One-Man UN".

* Creator/AnthonyQuinn played Greeks, Portuguese, Arabs, Ukranians, Jews, Englishmen, Italians, Latin Americans, Eskimos, and just about everything else you could possibly think of. In reality, he was a Mexican with significant Irish ancestry (hence the name).

* Jamaican actor Frank Silvera was actually a light-skinned black man, but often got cast as Hispanic characters (such as in his recurring role as Don Sebastian Montoya on The High Chaparral) or native Hawaiians (in the Series/HawaiiFiveO episode "Paniolo", which sadly was one of his last roles before his accidental death).

* Creator/TonyShalhoub was born in Wisconsin to Lebanese Catholic parents.[[note]]Technically, his mother was second-generation Lebanese American, but as all his grandparents were born in Lebanon, who's counting?[[/note]] Hollywood doesn't need too many Lebanese characters (although he did play one in ''Film/TheSiege'') so why not branch out to Italian characters when you have the looks? Or [[Series/TheMarvelousMrsMaisel Ashkenazi Jewish ones]], for that matter? Often, his characters' ethnic backgrounds are intentionally vague - but definitely somewhat foreign ([[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] in ''Film/GalaxyQuest''). [[Series/{{Monk}} Adrian Monk]] is of Welsh ancestry, in case you wondered.

* Creator/SylvesterStallone, a man of Italian, Ukranian, and French descent, is frequently cast as an ethnic Italian-American (see Film/{{Rocky}}), but has also played a Hungarian-American in ''F.I.S.T.'', the son of a Swede in ''Film/JudgeDredd'', an AmbiguouslyHuman alien in ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxyVol2'', and a man of mixed German, Indian, Swedish, and Native American ancestry in the [[Franchise/{{Rambo}} ''Rambo'' series]].

* Creator/TaikaWaititi is Maori, but has played Indians, Romany, Vietnamese, and [[{{Film/GreenLantern}} Inuit]]. And a [[Film/ThorRagnarok rock alien being]].

* In ''Series/SpartacusBloodAndSand'', Maori actor Antonio Te Maioha plays a North African character, Barca.

* Creator/AnthonyRuivivar is himself a mix of Filipino and Chinese on his father's side and Scottish and German on his mother's side. Several of the characters he's played are Hispanic and in ''Series/{{Banshee}}'', he played Alex Longshadow, a Native-American.

* Actress Q'orianka Kilcher has a Swiss mother and Peruvian father of indigenous descent, she played ''UsefulNotes/{{Pocahontas}}'' (native-American but from a totally different tribe), Tiger Lily in ''Series/{{Neverland}}'' and Princess Kaʻiulani of Hawaii (Polynesian).

* Creator/OliviaHussey is Argentinian born, with only a hint of a tan, and has played Italian (''Film/RomeoAndJuliet1968''), Ancient Hebrew (''Series/JesusOfNazareth''), Indian (''Mother Theresa of Calcutta''), and Spanish (''[[Film/LostHorizon1973 Lost Horizon]]'') in addition to white British roles.
* Creator/AnnaMayWong who was Chinese-American, also played Native American and Polynesian characters in her career.

* Creator/CharlesBronson was often cast as Native Americans in various Westerns (''Film/{{Apache}}'', ''Film/RunOfTheArrow'') before becoming a star. His StarMakingRole, of course, came playing the Mexican-Irish Bernardo O'Reilly in ''Film/{{The Magnificent Seven|1960}}''.

* African-American actress Juanita Hall played Pacific Islander Bloody Mary in the 1958 film of ''Theatre/SouthPacific'' and Madame Liang in ''Literature/FlowerDrumSong'' on stage and screen.

* Over his long and illustrious career, the Welsh Creator/AnthonyHopkins has portrayed Brits, Spaniards, New Zealanders, Americans, Greeks, Germans, and even a black guy... ''twice''. In ''Film/TheMaskOfZorro'' he and fellow Welsh person Creator/CatherineZetaJones play Mexicans, a father and daughter.

* Chinese-American actress Melissa Marsala is perhaps best known for her recurring role as a Puerto Rican on Series/SixFeetUnder. In addition to countless [[SpicyLatina Spicy Latinas]], she also played Toby's Greek-American personal assistant on Series/TheWestWing, the sister of a Mafia goon on Series/TheSopranos, and a black woman pretending to be white on {{Series/Angel}}. (She would rather you not mention her [[IWasYoungAndNeededTheMoney sordid past]] as a [[Series/VanPires crime-fighting vampire robot]].)

* J. Carrol Naish (pronounced 'Nash'), an American of Irish descent, was often cast as Italian characters due to his swarthy complexion, like the character Luigi Basco that he played in the early TV sitcom ''Life With Luigi''. He also was often cast as Orientals, and in fact played Film/CharlieChan in the late '50's series ''The New Adventures of Charlie Chan'', and also was cast a few times as Indians, such as in a ''Series/GreenAcres'' episode. Not to mention Eastern Europeans, Latin Americans, Middle Easterners, Pacific Islanders, and even African Americans. All this earned him the nickname "Hollywood's One-Man UN".
* If you have watched a crime drama since the mid-noughties, chance is that you have met Ivo Nandi at some point, playing an Italian, French, Russian or any kind of Hispanic character. The only thing the roles have in common is that they are foreign-accented and [[TypeCasting usually thugs]].
* Warner Oland played a number of East Asian characters by wearing {{Yellowface}} including Literature/FuManchu and Film/CharlieChan.

* Italian-British actor Carlo Rota made a career out of playing Hispanics, and even played a Lebanese Muslim in ''Series/LittleMosqueOnThePrairie''.

* Rade Šerbedžija, the actor who played Boris the Blade (Uzbekistani, although frequently simply called Russian) in ''{{Film/Snatch}}'', is Croatian, but he's the go-to guy for characters from anywhere in Eastern Europe, whether they're evil or not.

* Creator/OliviaHussey is Argentinian born, with only a hint of a tan, and has played Italian (''Film/RomeoAndJuliet1968''), Israeli (''Series/JesusOfNazareth''), Indian (''Mother Theresa of Calcutta''), and Spanish (''Lost Horizon'') in addition to white British roles.

* Creator/SachaBaronCohen is a London-born Jew who has played a [[Film/{{Borat}} Kazakh]], a [[Film/TheDictator North African]], a [[Film/SweeneyToddTheDemonBarberOfFleetStreet fake Italian]], and [[Film/TalladegaNightsTheBalladOfRickyBobby three]] [[Film/{{Hugo}} French]][[Film/LesMiserables2012 men]].

* Creator/SachaBaronCohen is a London-born Jew who has played a [[Film/{{Borat}} Kazakh]], a [[Film/TheDictator North African]], a [[Film/SweeneyToddTheDemonBarberOfFleetStreet fake Italian]], and [[Film/TalladegaNightsTheLegendOfRickyBobby three]] [[Film/{{Hugo}} French]][[Film/LesMiserables2012 men]].

[[folder: Real Life ]]

* Creator/CharlesBronson was often cast as Native Americans in various Westerns (''Film/{{Apache}}'', ''Film/RunOfTheArrow'') before becoming a star. His StarMakingRole, of course, came playing the Mexican-Irish Bernardo O'Reilly in ''[[Film/TheMagnificentSeven1960 The Magnificent Seven]]''.
* Creator/EliWallach. His film debut was ''Film/BabyDoll'' playing a Sicilian gangster; he played a Mexican bandit in not only ''[[Film/TheMagnificentSeven1960 The Magnificent Seven]]'' but ''Film/TheGoodTheBadAndTheUgly''; an Asian warlord in ''Literature/LordJim''; another Italian-American crime boss in ''Film/TheGodfatherPartIII''. Wallach seemed to play every ethnicity except his actual Jewish-American background.

* J. Carrol Naish (pronounced 'Nash'), of Irish descent, was often cast as Italian characters due to his swarthy complexion, like the character Luigi Basco that he played in the early TV sitcom ''Life With Luigi''. He also was often cast as Orientals, and in fact played Film/CharlieChan in the late '50's series ''The New Adventures of Charlie Chan'', and also was cast a few times as Indians, such as in a ''Series/GreenAcres'' episode.

* Woody Strode, African-American football player-turned-actor, was cast as Native Americans or other ethnicities in a curious number of films, perhaps most egregiously playing a Mongol warlord in Creator/JohnFord's ''Seven Women''. Admittedly, Strode was part-Cherokee so the former's somewhat justified.

* J. Carroll Naish was an American actor of Irish stock, but over the course of his role played just about any part ''but'' Irishmen, earning him the nickname "Hollywood's One-Man UN". Among the nationalities he represented over his career were Italians, Eastern European, Latin American, Native American, Middle Eastern, Chinese, Pacific Islander, even African American.

* Creator/SachaBaronCohen is a London-born Jew who has played a [[Film/{{Borat}} Kazakh]], a [[Film/TheDictator North African]], a [[Film/SweeneyToddTheDemonBarberOfFleetStreet fake Italian]], and [[Film/{{Hugo}} two]] [[Film/LesMiserables2012 Frenchmen]].

* Creator/OscarIsaac is Guatemalan-born, and has played various ethnicities -- Polish (in ''Film/ShowMeAHero''), Egyptian (in ''Film/{{Agora}}'' and ''Film/XMenApocalypse''), Jewish (in ''Film/TheNativityStory''), Armenian (in ''Film/ThePromise2016''), ostensibly British (''Film/RobinHood2010''), and so on.

* Creator/OscarIsaac is of Guatemalan and Cuban descent. He played Joseph in ''Film/TheNativityStory'', King John in ''Film/RobinHood2010'', Paul Gauguin in ''At Eternity's Gate'', an ancient Egyptian mutant in ''Film/XMenApocalypse'', the Roman governor of Alexandria in ''Film/{{Agora}}'', an Iraqi in ''Film/BodyOfLies'', and a Russian in ''Film/WE2011''.

* Creator/OliviaHussey is Argentinian born, with only a hint of a tan, and has played Italian (''Film/RomeoAndJuliet1968''), Israeli (''Series/JesusOfNazareth''), Indian (''Mother Theresa of Calcutta''), Spanish (''Lost Horizon'') in addition to white British roles.

In many cases--particularly if the actor is British--these types don't even have to ''look'' a certain way. They [[JustAStupidAccent study the accent]] and [[CultureEqualsCostume dress in ethnic clothing]], and use theatrical makeup. In such cases, the hiring studio will often be criticized for effectively stealing the role from other performers who actually belong to the ethnic group and are offered acting roles less frequently than white actors; others state that this defeats the purpose of acting, where the goal is to portray someone other than yourself. Across the pond, however, this is expressly forbidden in modern American media. The Screen Actors' Guild requires that an actor at least partially share the racial background of any character they're playing, to avoid {{blackface}} and the like, though this ''can'' be creatively interpreted, such as the half-black Creator/DwayneJohnson playing North African characters.

This refers to casting practice, and in the case of TropeCodifier Peter Stormare it has even achieved the status of CastingGag. It refers to "international" or "ethnic" - at any rate not American or British - actors who are considered to somehow look or be able to act so vaguely but conspicuously foreign that they can be used for any nationality. It's AsLongAsItSoundsForeign and GratuitousForeignLanguage applied to casting. However, ButNotTooForeign is often in effect because you'll want someone who speaks good English (even though intentionally accented) and rather panders to viewers' expectations than give an accurate portrayal of a specific ethnic identity which also means that the character's background might be very vague as long as it's foreign. Note that PlaysGreatEthnics can have the same UnfortunateImplications as MistakenNationality.

In many cases - particularly if the actor is British - these types don't even have to ''look'' a certain way. They [[JustAStupidAccent study the accent]] and [[CultureEqualsCostume dress in ethnic clothing]], and use theatrical makeup. In such cases, the hiring studio will often be criticized for effectively stealing the role from other performers who actually belong to the ethnic group and are offered acting roles less frequently than white actors; others state that this defeats the purpose of acting, where the goal is to portray someone other than yourself.

* German/Austrian actor Moritz Bleibtreu, who played e.g. Abdul from ''Film/KnockinOnHeavensDoor'' and Tarek from ''Film/TheExperiment''.

* Creator/TonyShalhoub was born in Wisconsin to Lebanese Catholic parents. Hollywood doesn't need too many Lebanese characters (although he did play one in ''Film/TheSiege'') so why not branch out to Italian characters when you have the looks? Or [[Series/TheMarvelousMrsMaisel Ashkenazi Jewish ones]], for that matter? Often, his characters' ethnic backgrounds are intentionally vague - but definitely somewhat foreign ([[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] in ''Film/GalaxyQuest''). [[Series/{{Monk}} Adrian Monk]] is of Welsh ancestry, in case you wondered.

* Creator/TonyShalhoub was born in Wisconsin to Lebanese Catholic parents. Hollywood doesn't need too many Lebanese characters (although he did play one in ''Film/TheSiege'') so why not branch out to Italian characters when you have the looks? Or [[Series/TheMarvelousMrsMaisel Jewish ones]], for that matter? Often, his characters' ethnic backgrounds are intentionally vague - but definitely somewhat foreign ([[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] in ''Film/GalaxyQuest''). [[Series/{{Monk}} Adrian Monk]] is of Welsh ancestry, in case you wondered.

* Creator/TonyShalhoub was born in Wisconsin but has a Lebanese background. Hollywood doesn't need too many Lebanese characters (although he did play one in ''Film/TheSiege'') so why not branch out to Italian characters when you have the looks? Often, his characters' ethnic backgrounds are intentionally vague - but definitely somewhat foreign ([[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] in ''Film/GalaxyQuest''). [[Series/{{Monk}} Adrian Monk]] is of Welsh ancestry, in case you wondered.

* J. Carrol Naish (pronounced 'Nash'), of Irish descent, was often cast as Italian characters due to his swarthy complexion, like the character Luigi Basco that he played in the early TV sitcom Life With Luigi. He also was often cast as Orientals, and in fact played Charlie Chan in the late '50's series The New Adventures of Charlie Chan, and also was cast a few times as Indians, such as in a Series/GreenAcres episode.

* Israeli-born Nehemiah Persoff, of Jewish descent, probably played more different ethnicities than any other actor mentioned here. To name a few examples, he played mobster Jake Guzik on Series/TheUntouchables, an Italian councilman on Series/DanAugust, a Greek winery owner on Series/TheStreetsOfSanFrancisco and even German Nazis on Series/TheTwilightZone and Series/Law&Order.

* Michael Constantine, of Greek descent, has probably played more than his share of Italian characters. One of his best-known roles was the very Jewish high school principal Seymour Kaufman on Series/Room222.

* Creator/GinaBellman, who is a New Zealander of Russian/Polish Jewish descent, has dark enough coloring that she passes convincingly as the mother of a Latina character in ''Series/EmeraldCity'' (played by an actually Latina actress).
** In ''Series/{{Leverage}}'', Bellman's character is a ConArtist who poses as characters from various cultures.

* Tige Andrews was really of Lebanese descent, but in his regular roles on cop series, he played an Italian (Lt. Johnny Russo on Series/TheDetectives) and Captain Adam Greer on Series/TheModSquad.

* Actor Coby Bell, of ''Series/ThirdWatch'' and ''Series/BurnNotice'' is biracial, and was specifically selected for the role of Jesse on Burn Notice so they would have a character who could plausibly pretend to be from a variety of ethnic backgrounds - a handy ability for a spy.
* Creator/GinaBellman, who is a New Zealander of Russian/Polish Jewish descent, has dark enough coloring that she passes convincingly as the mother of a Latina character in ''Series/EmeraldCity'' (played by an actually Latina actress).

* Israeli-born Nehemiah Persoff, of Jewish descent, probably played more different ethnicities than any other actor mentioned here. To name a few examples, he played mobster Jake Guzik on ''Series/{{TheUntouchables}}, an Italian councilman on ''Series/{{DanAugust}}'', a Greek winery owner on ''Series/{{TheStreetsOfSanFrancisco}} and even German Nazis on ''Series/{{TheTwilightZone}}'' and ''Series/{{Law&Order}}''.