Actor Randy Quaid told Canada's immigration board that he and his wife Evi are seeking asylum from "the murderers of Hollywood" and will therefore apply for refugee status in Canada, after they were arrested on US warrants related to vandalism charges.

The pair were arrested on Thursday afternoon in a shopping area of an affluent Vancouver neighbourhood and were jailed on outstanding US warrants. The Quaids are wanted in Santa Barbara, California, where they missed a court hearing last Monday on felony vandalism charges.

The couple told the immigration adjudicator they were being persecuted in the US.

Evi Quaid begged a Canadian immigration adjudicator not to force them to return, saying that friends, such as actors David Carradine and Heath Ledger, had been "murdered" under mysterious circumstances and she worried something would happen to her husband next.

"We feel our lives are in danger," she said. "Randy has known eight close friends murdered in odd, strange manners... We feel that we're next."

During a break in the proceedings, the Quaids' lawyer, Brian Tsuji, approached the media to read a single-sentence statement from the Quaids.

"We are requesting asylum from Hollywood star whackers," he read.