Does It Annoy You When An Actor You Like Has To Do An Accent?

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matt72582's Avatar
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There's so many scenarios where a certain actor could have been an American in England, and kept his accent instead of pretending a guy in NYC was born in London. Especially in the movie business with so many expatriates.

I won't even ask about dubbing. I started a movie over the weekend, and after hearing someone with clear English dubbing in for Marcello Mastroianni, I had to shut it off.



Accents don't bother me unless they sound totally fake. I think American audiences in general aren't as sensitive to non Americans speaking with an 'American accent' as British audiences are about Americans doing a British accent.



Accents don't bother me unless they sound totally fake. I think American audiences in general aren't as sensitive to non Americans speaking with an 'American accent' as British audiences are about Americans doing a British accent.
One of the tricks in doing a British accent (when you’re actually American) is to have a very light touch. Don’t clobber the audience with your accent skills & don’t attempt any kind of thick regional accent.

Gwyneth Paltrow played a Brit in Sliding Doors & she was terrific. Ditto Renée what’s-her-face in Bridget Jones Diary.

I do wonder why several movies & tv shows I’ve seen (C’mon C’mon, for example) bring a British kid over here to play an American. Why not cast an American kid?
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One of the tricks in doing a British accent (when you’re actually American) is to have a very light touch. Don’t clobber the audience with your accent skills & don’t attempt any kind of thick regional accent.

Gwyneth Paltrow played a Brit in Sliding Doors & she was terrific. Ditto Renée what’s-her-face in Bridget Jones Diary.

I do wonder why several movies & tv shows I’ve seen (C’mon C’mon, for example) bring a British kid over here to play an American. Why not cast an American kid?
That makes sense. I just seen Jude Law as an American in Contagion and he did what you suggested...he did an American accent but didn't over do it. He was good at it too.

*Of course all countries have many different accents.



Yes, it annoys me.



If the person has it in their skill set to be solid, fine.



If not, move one. And yes, a person from the region being depicted is probably going to naturally sound like a person from that region, so why not use them more often? I'd rather eat ground glass than listen to Keanu Reeves "being English" in Bram Stoker's Dracula.



That makes sense. I just seen Jude Law as an American in Contagion and he did what you suggested...he did an American accent but didn't over do it. He was good at it too.

*Of course all countries have many different accents.
Domhnall Gleason, who is Irish, is doing a terrific American accent in The Patient on Hulu. And Robert Pattinson has done American accents & cast & crew actually thought he was American.



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That makes sense. I just seen Jude Law as an American in Contagion and he did what you suggested...he did an American accent but didn't over do it. He was good at it too.

*Of course all countries have many different accents.
I like how a British actor does an American accent, like Kate Winslet in Titanic and Tracy Ullman in Panic. They do a really good job at it. I didn't even know Kate Winslet was English until I heard her talk in an interview.



I like how a British actor does an American accent, like Kate Winslet in Titanic and Tracy Ullman in Panic. They do a really good job at it. I didn't even know Kate Winslet was English until I heard her talk in an interview.
When Winslet was making the limited series Mare of Easttown, she was the only actor in the cast who reverted to their natural accent during breaks. Nobody else did since they were afraid of losing the accent once the cameras rolled again.



I like how a British actor does an American accent, like Kate Winslet in Titanic and Tracy Ullman in Panic. They do a really good job at it. I didn't even know Kate Winslet was English until I heard her talk in an interview.
Tracy Ullman is a little different since she refers to herself as British-American. (I never do this.) I heard her on something just last week (can’t remember what) & I wasn’t sure it was her because of her somewhat American accent. I was confused.



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It annoys me when they don't do a good job on the accent. Some actors are great at accents while others not so much. Some like the late great Sean Connery didn't even bother to even try an accent .
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I like how a British actor does an American accent, like Kate Winslet in Titanic and Tracy Ullman in Panic. They do a really good job at it. I didn't even know Kate Winslet was English until I heard her talk in an interview.
Wow, I didn't know Kate Winslet was English either until just this moment. Agreed she does the homogenized/standardized American accent perfectly...she fooled me.

It annoys me when they don't do a good job the accent. Some actors are great at accents while others not so much. Some like the late great Sean Connery didn't even bother to even try an accent .
Yeah it's probably a good thing that Sean Connery didn't try doing other accents, unless he was really skilled at it.

Orson Welles in Shanghai Lady does a jarring Irish accent. It's not that he's bad at it, I suppose he's actually pretty good... but fans of classic cinema know what Orson sounds like as he had a very distictive voice and it wasn't Irish.



Andrew Garfield does both British & American accents very well since his parents are from both sides of the Atlantic.



Wow, I didn't know Kate Winslet was English either until just this moment. Agreed she does the homogenized/standardized American accent perfectly...she fooled me.

Yeah it's probably a good thing that Sean Connery didn't try doing other accents, unless he was really skilled at it.

Orson Welles in Shanghai Lady does a jarring Irish accent. It's not that he's bad at it, I suppose he's actually pretty good... but fans of classic cinema know what Orson sounds like as he had a very distictive voice and it wasn't Irish.
Sometimes it’s best not to even try. Catherine Zeta Jones kept her British accent in Traffik & it made no difference whatsoever to this terrific movie.

And let’s not forget Meryl Streep who is the master of accents.



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I love that Jason Statham always uses his natural British accent no matter which movie it is. It actually added to the comedy in Spy to have a British angry guy yelling at all his American co-workers.



I love that Jason Statham always uses his natural British accent no matter which movie it is. It actually added to the comedy in Spy to have a British angry guy yelling at all his American co-workers.
He couldn’t do a foreign accent if it hit him over the head with it. Not the most talented of actors & he makes very mediocre movies.