Being Jewish, the beautiful Natalie Portman speaks fluent Hebrew. However, her linguistic talents go beyond that. She also speaks Spanish — which some say she learned while dating fellow actor Gael García — , German, Japanese, and a little French. Among all polyglot celebrities, one could say Portman is a true master of foreign languages. (Photo: Archive)
Jonny Depp’s long-term relationship with French model Vanessa Paradis, came with two kids and some other perks. The actor lived in Paris for over a decade, where he learned to speak perfect French. His children, Jack and Lily-Rose Melody, are bilingual as well. (Photo: Archive)
The Oscar-winning actress Sandra Bullock was born and raised in the States, but she also speaks German. Her mom was a German opera singer. In fact, her parents met while Sandra’s mom was in tour in Nuremberg. In 2000, when Bullock won a Bambi award — the German equivalent of an Oscar — the actress gave her acceptance speech in “Yes, you guessed it”, German. (Photo: Archive)
Although he was born in Los Angeles, Leonardo DiCaprio speaks perfect German. It probably has to do with the fact that his mother is German, and his father has German ancestry. Leo even has a German middle name that you probably didn’t know of: Whilhelm. (Photo: Archive)
Jodie Foster’s intelligence stands out from the rest of her fellow Hollywood actors. We are not surprised the talented actress speaks perfect French. In fact, Foster learned the language while attending prestigious school Lycee Francais in Los Angeles — and yes, she graduated with the highest grades. What’s best, she even does the French dubbing of her own films. (Photo: Archive)
Joseph Gordon Levitt learned French for the sole reason that he is a bit of a France-fanatic. He was inspired to learn the language while in college, but had to give it up to focus on acting. Still, the handsome Joseph tries to speak the language as often as he can. (Photo: Archive)
Considering the fact that Mila Kunis is from Ukraine, it comes as no surprise that Ashton Kutcher’s wife speaks perfect Russian. The beautiful actress lived in Easter Europe until the age seven, when Mila and her family moved to America. When in interviews and press conferences, Kunis often surprises her colleagues and journalists when she starts speaking in Russian. (Photo: Archive)
Charlize Theron’s English is so perfect, sometimes we forget se was actually born and raised in South Africa. That’s where she learned her native language: Afrikaans. Of course, the actress sometimes tries to make her linguistic abilities shine, speaking her first language in some interviews and events. And —we have to say — it sounds just amazing! (Photo: Archive)
Many mock Mexican actress Salma Hayeck because of her accent. But her fluency in English, French, Arabic, Portuguese, and Spanish — of course — overshadow the mockery. That, and her killing acting. (Photo: Archive)
Will Smith is one of the few actors with an astonishing level of Spanish. Although he has given some interviews in this language, many of his fan were shocked when they heard him speak fluent Spanish in the movie “Seven Pounds”. (Photo: Archive)
Gwyneth Paltrow is another Oscar-winning actress that speaks fluent Spanish. While she was in school, the actress studied a semester abroad, and learned the language to perfection. She put it to good use while she was working in the TV show “Spain… on the road again”. (Photo: Archive)
Before Orlando Bloom was a leading actor in “Lord of the rings” and “Pirate of the Caribbean”, the actor’s mom ran a language school for foreign students. That’s how the dreamy actor learned French. (Photo: Archive)
Bradley Copper showed the world he speaks fluent French in an interview he gave while promoting the second part of the movies “The Hangover”. In the interview, Cooper said he learned the language while studying abroad during college. For his role in “Burnt”, he played a chef, and of course, he had to speak French! (Photo: Archive)
Viggo Mortensen is a truly gifted man. Among his many talents, the actor knows multiple foreign languages. He speaks fluent Danish — as he holds double nationality: American and Danish —, Spanish — since he was practically raised in Argentina—, Italian, and French. However, Mortensen says his favorite language is Spanish. (Photo: Archive)
Colin Firth won an Oscar for his role as the stutterer monarch on “King’s Speech”. But in real life, Firth has never had any problem when it comes to speaking. Although the majority of his performance have to do with his British roots, Colin Firth speaks Italian like an authentic Sicilian! He boasted his skills in 2010, when he gave an entire interview speaking Italian, during the Venice International Film Festival. (Photo: Archive)
You probably remember Christoph Waltz for his outstanding performance in “Inglorious Bastards”. And while he is nowhere as cruel as Coronel Landa, he is in fact a polyglot, just like the character in Tarantino’s movie. The actor speaks English, French, German, and Italian. (Photo: Archive)
When you hear about celebrities, what do you think of? Frozen smiles and rehearsed poses in front of a camera, lights and flashes, red carpets, awards, designer outfits… oh! And of course, their indisputable talent on the big screen.
But behind all the Hollywood star paraphernalia, often hides a striking talent other than acting, that is: polyglotism.
Whether it is because they were born and raised in a different country, their parents taught them, they lived abroad, or they simply wanted to expand their horizons, many of your favorite celebrities have mastered more than their native languages.
While most actors in Hollywood have gained fame from playing in English speaking films, some of them have become fluent in two, three, four, and in some cases even five languages. Who are these secret polyglots? Let’s find out!
