The Crown‘s Gillian Anderson first came to fame in her 20s with The X-Files and won her first Emmy Award in 1997 — but this was apparently news to some fans.
Believe it or not, when Anderson picked up her second trophy last night — for playing former UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in The Crown — there were those online who were stunned she doesn’t have a British accent.
Anderson is American, but spent much of her early life in the UK, where she’s lived as an adult for years.
“GILLIAN ANDERSON IS AMERICAN WTF?!?!,” one clueless fan tweeted, noting their mind was “so blown RN… I thought she was British this whole time omg.”
“It’s very weird hearing Gillian Anderson with an American accent, I was very thrown,” another posted.
For the record, for every clueless Crown fan out there, there were plenty of snarkers to set them straight. “So you didn’t watch Xfiles,” one huffed.
However, the cluelessness continued even among the professional TV watchers out there. Backstage, a journalist asked Anderson if she’s spoken with Margaret Thatcher about the actress’ portrayal of her on the Emmy-magnet drama. Interesting question, considering the fact that the former PM has been dead since 2013.
“Uh, I have not spoken to Margaret,” Anderson answered graciously.
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