We British often pour scorn on American actors trying to use a British accent. Dick van Dyke should have been taken outside and shot for what he did in “Mary Poppins”. Renee Zellwegger was brilliant in the Bridget Jones films, but IMHO that’s the exception that proves the rule. So I was just wondering what do Americans think of British actors using an American accent, for example the gorgeous Anna Friel in “Pushing Daisies”?
By: Deskpilot - 7th May 2009 at 08:31
Yes you’re right Dave…i stand corrected…similar accent though!!!
You’ve got to be joking……… cause that’s fighting talk and a bloody insult to us Ozzies. Expat actually, but all the same…..
By: steve rowell - 7th May 2009 at 06:42
Um Steve, Lindy Chamberlain is a Kiwi, not an Aussie.
Yes you’re right Dave…i stand corrected…similar accent though!!!
By: swerve - 6th May 2009 at 13:37
Did you know Mel Gibson is actually American…the Aussies like to claim him as their own as they do with Russell Crow ( New Zealand) and Olivia Newton John ( English )
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mel_Gibson
Yeah. One Aussie grandparent.
By: Dave Homewood - 6th May 2009 at 12:51
Have you ever heard an American or a Brit trying to mimic the Aussie accent…cringe worthy!!!…help a Dingo’s got my baby!!!
Um Steve, Lindy Chamberlain is a Kiwi, not an Aussie.
By: mike currill - 5th May 2009 at 08:12
The Irish accent is another one that has suffered a total mauling at the hands of actors from both sides of the pond. For starters….
Tommy Lee Jones in Blown Away
Richard Gere in the Jackal
Sean Connery in The UntouchablesNot knocking acting skills…..but the accents…..oh dear !!! 😮
There are definitely some cringeworthy examples out there. Mind you we have the same problem to a lesser degree with British Actors/Actresses. Southerners attempting Northern accents and vice versa. They’re not always all they might be.
By: mike currill - 5th May 2009 at 08:09
Did you know Mel Gibson is actually American…the Aussies like to claim him as their own as they do with Russell Crow ( New Zealand) and Olivia Newton John ( English )
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mel_Gibson
Thta’s right his parents moved to OZ when he was about 5 or so
By: Loose-Head - 5th May 2009 at 05:54
The Irish accent is another one that has suffered a total mauling at the hands of actors from both sides of the pond. For starters….
Tommy Lee Jones in Blown Away
Richard Gere in the Jackal
Sean Connery in The Untouchables
Not knocking acting skills…..but the accents…..oh dear !!! 😮
By: steve rowell - 5th May 2009 at 05:27
What about an Aussie playing a Scotsman…? Mel Gibson in Braveheart, now that was truly cringe worthy….!:D
Did you know Mel Gibson is actually American…the Aussies like to claim him as their own as they do with Russell Crow ( New Zealand) and Olivia Newton John ( English )
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mel_Gibson
By: J Boyle - 5th May 2009 at 00:18
as a secondary question, can you Americans tell if it is an English actor/ess playing an American?….
Most are terrible!
They sound like drunken Southerners…or a bad community theater group doing a production of “Gone with the Wind”.
A lot of Americans who weren’t familiar with his earlier work (like the guy who hired him for House) didn’t know he was English.
I came across something UK actress Jane Merrow did for an American TV show in the 70s, she did a great accent too.
The Scottish chap that did the US version of Life on Mars did a very good accent too.
By: chuck1981 - 4th May 2009 at 19:20
One of the Band of Brothers lead actors, Damian Lewis, portrayed an American soldier. As an Englishman he did a very good job of getting the voice correct methinks.
Here Here, I will second that and add an “excelent” job to your report. Funny thing is, I have met a few or the “real” guys from Easy Company, and none of them even sound the same…..I think we Americans have more accents than anyone, I guess its our individualism and wide range of peoples.
By: Denis - 4th May 2009 at 19:13
One of the Band of Brothers lead actors, Damian Lewis, portrayed an American soldier. As an Englishman he did a very good job of getting the voice correct methinks.
By: Ren Frew - 4th May 2009 at 17:08
And who can forget Sean Connery, a Scotsman playing a Russian in ‘The Hunt for Red October’; he didn’t even try!
Or Sean the Scotsman playing a Portuguese dandy alongside a Frenchman playing a Scotsman in Highlander, or even Big Sean/Tam playing an Irish cop in The Untouchables alongside Kevin Costner who once played an English outlaw with an accent that can best be described as ‘west of Nottingham’ !
By: old shape - 4th May 2009 at 12:23
I’ve actually ………..is actually how we are meant to write our words, we just changed it to suite people’s preference.
Sorry for my dork entry … 😮
Did the study look into the different voicebox shapes of people speaking different languages and accents? There are some languages (Welsh for example) which can never be truly spoken (Purist speaking) unless the voicebox was trained / shaped during its growth.
Facial shapes is another, prime example is the curled lip of the Scots (Bill Shankley is a prime example). And I’m sure you can’t speak Texan unless your mouth is 5 feet wide.
By: mike currill - 4th May 2009 at 12:17
Ah dear old Sean. Doesn’t matter what nationality he plays he always sounds like a Scotsman.
By: jbritchford - 4th May 2009 at 11:17
And who can forget Sean Connery, a Scotsman playing a Russian in ‘The Hunt for Red October’; he didn’t even try!
By: heslop01 - 3rd May 2009 at 22:25
I’ve actually just done a personal study in school about American TV show Grey’s Anatomy and looking at the differences between American and British English. The only differences I could find speech wise are the possibility in some areas of saying vowels differently and then the using of different lexical choices for the meaning of something ie, theatre/cinema, plus American English doesn’t have Anlgo-Saxon, Norman or Germanic language that was brought directly to them, it’s indirect, meaning their whole language was brought by our nation, however, today a lot of foreign countries have Americanisms through what is called “americanisation”, showing how British English is really “dying out” per say, but obviously not real, due to the popularity of American phrasing and easier pronunciation of words (according to a study). Whereas written BrE and AmE have a lot of differences which are obvious, like colour/color, oesophagus/esophagus and apologise/apologize. However, the -ize ending is actually how we are meant to write our words, we just changed it to suite people’s preference.
Sorry for my dork entry … 😮
By: Ren Frew - 3rd May 2009 at 20:37
Have you ever heard an American or a Brit trying to mimic the Aussie accent…cringe worthy!!!…help a Dingo’s got my baby!!!
What about an Aussie playing a Scotsman…? Mel Gibson in Braveheart, now that was truly cringe worthy….!:D
By: steve rowell - 3rd May 2009 at 01:09
Have you ever heard an American or a Brit trying to mimic the Aussie accent…cringe worthy!!!…help a Dingo’s got my baby!!!
By: old shape - 3rd May 2009 at 01:00
as a secondary question, can you Americans tell if it is an English actor/ess playing an American?…..as we can always tell an American playing a Brit. We can even tell if a Lancashire man is playing a Yorkshireman!
Unless your brought up in a County, there are some aspects of an accent that you never get the hang of.
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May 2, 2009 at 9:47 pm