Montreal is Canada's hub for all things cinema. This is where the industry began, and many movies are filmed here each year meaning we tend to get a lot of celebrities visiting our city.
Just this Summer alone both Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston were spending a few weeks enjoying the sights of the city while they filmed their new Netlfix original. ย Both of the celebrities were seen quite a bit out and about. It makes you wonder what famous people have the privilege of calling Montreal their hometown?
Surpisingly, quite a few. Maybe it's something in the water, but a lot of well known people in both the film and music industry hail from Montreal. Who knows, maybe you'll see a few around the city sometime soon enjoying their favourite coffee or visiting some places that bring back childhood memories of the city.
Shawn Levy
You probably know him as the producer of your favourite Netflix series, Stranger Things. What you probably weren't aware of is that the director/producer/actor was actually born in Montreal. Hopefully he isn't getting any inspiration for Stranger Things from memories he has here.
Meaghan Rath
Known for her popular role on the hit TV showHawaii Five-0, Meaghan Rath was born and raised in Montreal and even got her acting career started at Montreal's Dawson College.
Xavier Dolan
The actor, director, editor and man of many other titles is an actual game changer in the film industry. Popularizing independant films and recieving multiple awards for his unique direction with work, you'll be happy to know a creative mind like this got it's start in good ol' Montreal!
Jay Baruchel
Known for his roles in movies like Knocked Up, She's Out of My League, and Million Dollar Baby, the actor was actually raised in the NDG. He's also publicly said he's a die-hard fan of the Montreal Canadiens, so you know he's proud of the city he's from.
Yannick Bisson
If you're a fan of Murdoch Mysteries, you definitely know this guy. Born and raised right here in Montreal, the French-Canadian actor moved to Toronto as a teenager to pursue acting and a career in film.
Emily Haines
Known best as the lead singer for the band Metric as well as a member of Broken Social Scene, although Haines was actually born in India she actually lived in Montreal in the mid-90's while she attended Concordia University. While living in the city she recorded tons of songs that would later be super popular hits by the band.
Dennis Villeneuve
The French Canadian director was born and raised in Trois-Riviรจres, Quebec and in his teenage years moved to Montreal to study at the Universitรฉ du Quรฉbec ร Montrรฉal. You probably know of his feature films such as Arrival, Sicario, Prisoners and Blade Runner 2049.
A-Trak
The DJ and record producer A-Trak has performed alongside artists such as Kanye West, Kid Cudi and Jay-Z. How cool is it to think he was born and grew up right here in Montreal? Bonus: his older brother (also from Montreal) is actually one-half of the funk duo Chromeo!
Half Moon Run
The indie rock band is known for their use of heavy percussion and hit singles like "Call Me In The Afternoon" and "Full Circle" but what many people don't know is the group actually originates from Montreal. As of now the band is once again based in our city after living all across Canada, you could say they may have been homesick!
@grimesGrimes
You may know her as the musician popular for her synth-pop and electronica music, or even as the girl who's dating Elon Musk. Although born in Vancouver, Grimes is of Quรฉbรฉcois descent and actually relocated to Montreal to attend McGill University and begin her musical journey.
@macdemarcoMac DeMarco
We all know Mac for his lo-fi indie tunes that make for perfect Summer time music, but you probably didn't know he moved to Montreal back in 2011 to help himself start off as a solo recording artist. Obviously it worked pretty well. To this day DeMarco still talks about Montreal super fondly, hopefully he'll come back soon!