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Creator / Ross McCall

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"My dad used to say all the time, "You want something, you can do it." If you want it, believe in it. Have the chops, persistence, and strength. It can be a rough ride but it can happen."

Ross McCall (born 13th January 1976) is a British actor. Born in Glasgow, Scotland but relocating to Kent in England, Ross began his acting career at a young age — in various theatre productions. At the age of thirteen he was chosen to play the younger version of Freddie Mercury in the music video for Queen's "The Miracle". His Star-Making Role came about in 2001 where he portrayed Joe Liebgott in the Tom Hanks-Steven Spielberg produced miniseries Band of Brothers.

Ross has alternated between British and American productions for most of his career — notably being adept at pulling off a Fake American accent on cue. His best known roles include Dave in the film Green Street, Matthew Keller in White Collar, Kenny Battaglia in Crash and Ron Clark in 24: Live Another Day. Most of the time you'll see him in a nice suit too.

In addition to that he's known for being engaged to Jennifer Love Hewitt for a time, being a massive Celtic supporter and campaigning to stop the hunting of whales.

Tropes:

  • Actor-Inspired Element: Kenny's romance in Season 2 of Crash was something he pushed for.
  • Actor-Shared Background: Accidental example. He was raised Roman-Catholic. Although he portrayed Joe Liebgott as a Jew, the man was Catholic in real life — and had only been mistakenly assumed to be Jewish by his comrades. The real Liebgott was already deceased before the series started production, so this wasn't known until his son came forward after it had aired.
  • Age Lift: Joe Liebgott was around thirty during World War II. Ross played him at twenty four.
  • Casting Gag: A couple to Band of Brothers. In Ghost Whisperer he played a survivor from a teen boot camp run by retired military personnel. And in Green Street he plays an RAF veteran.
  • Enforced Method Acting: He said there were talks of bringing him to a concentration camp prior to Episode 9 of Band of Brothers but they ultimately decided against it, wanting Liebgott's shocked reaction to the camp to be genuine.
  • Fake American: His Band of Brothers cast members frequently mention him as one of the Brits who was able to switch back and forth between accents effortlessly. Freddie Joe Farnsworth, one of the technical advisors, claims he thought Ross was actually American and that the British accent was the fake one.
  • Fake Brit: Fake English, at least; as noted above, he's Scottish but has an English accent — so he sometimes finds himself cast as English characters.
  • Former Child Star: Aversion. He acted on the stage from age eleven and into his teenage years, but his adult roles are more recognisable.
  • Method Acting: Kept up an American accent on the set of Band of Brothers most of the time, fooling many into thinking he was American.
  • Playing Against Type: As a needy Dogged Nice Guy in The Alpha Male Experiment. Also in Castle where he's the Only Sane Man. He also played a stoner in the horror film Autopsy.
  • Romance on the Set: Guest starred in fiancee Jennifer Love Hewitt's series Ghost Whisperer.
  • Separated-at-Birth Casting: He was hand-picked to play the young Freddie Mercury because of the strong resemblance between them.
  • Typecasting: He does a lot of action, where he's either a villain or an Anti-Hero. Nine times out of ten, you'll see him wear a suit.
  • Vocal Evolution: Claims he had a Scottish accent at a young age, but he lost it when his family moved to Kent. This clip from an early appearance on The Bill should then be compared to this interview after a few years of working in America.

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