WTF Hollywood?

Are we raising kids so stupid that they can't memorize lines anymore? Or is it that today's kids are so obsessed with becoming famous that becoming actors and actresses is too much work for them? Or is there an exchange program going on that is unknown to those of us not in the business? Are British, Scottish and Australian television populated with talented Americans doing nearly flawless accents of their adopted countries?

I realize that most people are blissfully unaware of this trend, and maybe it's just that I don't necessarily watch the most popular shows on TV. But I watch good shows which are generally at least moderately popular. Seriously, go to IMDB and check the cast of your favorite hour drama, see if you can find one that doesn't have an undercover Brit, Aussie, New Zealander or Scot.

We are all aware of Hugh Laurie as House. But how about the recently cancelled Law & Order? Linus Roache as ADA Michael Cutter. Grey's Anatomy? Kevin McKidd as Dr. Owen Hunt. True Blood - Anna Paquin as Sooky Stackhouse, Stephen Moyer as Bill Compton, Sam Trammell as Sam Merlotte, and Alexander Skarsgard as Eric Northam (okay, so he's Swedish). Chuck - Yvonne Strahovski as Sarah Walker. The Good Wife - Alan Cumming as Eli Gold. The Mentalist - Simon Baker as Patrick Jane. FlashForward - Joseph Fiennes as Mark Benford and Sonya Walger as Dr. Olivia Benford. And those are just shows I watch. I didn't bother to look into shows of which I am not a viewer. Oh, and I didn't even count the portrayals where the Brits are actually playing Brits, just the ones where they're playing Yanks. And I'm not even getting into the movies. But let us acknowledge that Charlize Theron, Colin Firth, Naomi Watts, and Kate Beckinsale are not Americans.

So, what's the deal? Is there some amazing shortage of American actors out there? Are all those stories we've heard about starving artists who can't find work just fables? Because it seems Hollywood is being forced to import immigrants (and if they make any shows in Arizona, are they checking the green cards and work visas on these people?) to do jobs that Americans are seemingly unwilling to take. Or maybe these foreign actors are so grateful to escape the oppressively liberal regimes of England, Scotland, Australia, New Zealand that they're willing to work for wages that our American actors would be unwilling to accept?