That's interesting because I always thought Carlyle was great at accents. He'd previously played a scouser in Cracker as well.
This Sporting Life was on again recently and I love William Hartnell playing a northerner. He sounds great.
Interesting that you mentioned
This Sporting Life, a wonderful film, and one of my early "art film" viewings.
As a general statement it seems to me that Brit actors as a group are the best at nuances of accents, more so than the Aussies or the Americans. My guess is that's because --for a country of its size-- there are dozens of identifiable accents in a fairly proximate geographical expanse, so folks are more attuned to the subtle (and not so subtle) differences.
I recall Michael Caine's Georgia accent in an otherwise forgettable movie,
Hurry Sundown. It seemed pretty good to me at the time, although I lived in the North U.S.
Awhile later Caine was on the
Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, and the subject of accents came up. Caine stated that a "southern accent" was not so much different from a Cockney accent. Carson took exception to the statement, so in a stunning display of technique, Caine started speaking in a Cockney accent, then gradually morphed it into a southern drawl. It was very impressive.
Of course American actors themselves (at least the coastal or northern ones) are peculiarly bad at southern accents. There are several distinct accents in Dixie, and there's a great difference between, say, New Orleans accents (there are 3), Arkansas, Mississippi, Georgia and Tennessee.
But yet oftentimes U.S. actors effect what I call a "hick" accent, as if saying "y'all", or altering the "i" sound is sufficient to get the job done. It's particularly hilarious when a NY or NJ actor attempts a "southern accent".
And that's the least of it...
~Doc