Top 10 Best Fake American Accents
Published on September 19, 2008 - 137 Comments
It seems to be a Hollywood chic to adopt a British accent for a UK role or 9even an ancient warrior), but the reverse is just as prevalent with Brits, Aussies, or other an actor of another nationality playing an American character. I realize that plenty of actors and actresses were born or even partially raised abroad, but this list is a reflection of actors whose primary dialect is not American. This list excludes Canadian actors/actresses.
Hails From: London, England
Noted Roles: Spiderman 2, Boogie Nights, a guest star on Law and Order SVU and Trial By Jury
Hails From: born in Ely, England, raised in Victoria, Australia
Noted Roles: Memento, Factory Girl, LA Confidential
Hails From: Bury St. Edmonds, England
Noted Roles: Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Hollywoodland
Hails From: Manchester, England
Noted Roles: Law and Order, RFK
Hails From: Perth, Australia
Noted Roles: Brokeback Mountain, The Dark Knight
Hails From: Oxford, England
Noted Roles: House MD
Hails From: Reading, England
Noted Roles: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Little Children, Titanic
Hails From: Haverfordwest, Wales
Noted Roles: Batman Begins, American Psycho
Hails From: London, England
Noted Roles: There Will Be Blood, Gangs of New York, The Crucible
Hails From: London, England
Noted Roles: Leon, The Fifth Element, and Romeo is Bleeding
Contributor: Ginger Lee
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1. warrrreagl - September 20th, 2008 at 3:28 am
I never, ever, do this, but I have to point out a great one that was missing. Peter Sellers in “Where Does it Hurt?” All you have to do is hear him say, “Hopfnagel here, talk to me,” and you’ll see why.
2. astraya - September 20th, 2008 at 3:28 am
How about a follow-up list: Americans trying to do other accents? Meryl Streep in Evil Angels, anyone?
3. rob - September 20th, 2008 at 3:39 am
I love Boogie Nights…anything by PT ANderson…amazing stuff,esp. Magnolia
4. jfrater - September 20th, 2008 at 3:43 am
astraya - meryl Streep is brilliant - one of my favorite actresses
5. kiwiboi - September 20th, 2008 at 4:43 am
meryl Streep is brilliant - one of my favorite actresses
jfrater - ugh. I cannot stand Meryl Streep (though I’m not sure why exactly).
To turn things on their side a little…have you heard Madonna’s derisible attempts at adopting a London accent??!!
6. jasontimmer - September 20th, 2008 at 4:44 am
Ok, wow- I feel like an idiot. I never knew Guy Pearce, Heath Ledger, or Gary Oldman weren’t from the states. Great actors, though.
7. LordCalvert - September 20th, 2008 at 4:52 am
i can’t even understand Colin Farrell when he’s not playing an American
8. Drogo - September 20th, 2008 at 4:53 am
You can’t tell that Melanie Lynskey is from New Zealand because her character speaks perfect “American” on the tv show Two And A Half Men.
9. Drogo - September 20th, 2008 at 4:57 am
p.s. Melanie Lynskey’s imdb bio
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001491/bio
10. jfrater - September 20th, 2008 at 4:57 am
kiwiboi: I have! I don’t think she knows what she is anymore!
11. smurff - September 20th, 2008 at 4:57 am
Brilliant list as always
12. LemonKiwi - September 20th, 2008 at 5:01 am
Alfred Molina also did an American accent in Maverick (with Mel Gibson, Jody Foster, and James Garner)
13. Jrodickens - September 20th, 2008 at 5:26 am
Heath should get number 1, more of a shocker awsome number 1 noone would deny. Even if debated shock value always makes for a good read.
14. akelly318 - September 20th, 2008 at 5:34 am
gary oldman should be noted in batman begins and harry potter too!!! he is a really good actor! great list
15. dischuker - September 20th, 2008 at 5:50 am
it might be too late to do so, but i would venture to guess we know how all these people sound speaking “american”. i haven’t heard most of them with their natural accent, i.e. english, australian, welch, etc. are there videos out there with the original inflection?
the first time i heard hugh laurie without his american accent i almost felt betrayed. i had no idea he wasn’t from our side of the pond.
16. ciunas - September 20th, 2008 at 5:51 am
Hey — interesting list but where’s Tim Roth? Excellent actor. Plays an American so convincingly in Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, Gridlock’d, Dark Water, & Funny Games, to name just a few, that I’ll bet lots of American viewers don’t realize he’s a Brit…
17. Spok - September 20th, 2008 at 5:51 am
Colin Farrell’s “real” accent is put on.
18. SoCalJeff - September 20th, 2008 at 5:57 am
Great list. Special shout-out for Anthony LaPaglia who I bet most Americans would think is American (CSI, Frasier, Without a Trace)…but is in fact Australian. Interestingly its said that Anthony LaPaglia, originally from South Australia, had to re-learn his Australian accent in order to play the starring role role in the 2001 Australian film Lantana.
19. littlemissrock - September 20th, 2008 at 6:02 am
Christain Bale should not be on the list, his accent sounds so unnatural in American Psycho it’s practically painful. Gary Oldman on the other hand is probably one of the most underated actors around.
20. ciunas - September 20th, 2008 at 6:02 am
dischuker: Not all movies are made in Hollywood. Hugh Laurie, for instance, has been famous in the UK for over 20 years.
BTW, I think his Yank accent in Street Kings is a clunker.
21. Matt Howard - September 20th, 2008 at 6:07 am
I don’t wanna sound ignorant, but I think that the ‘generic’ mid-west American accent is pretty easy to do. Not being American though, I guess I don’t really know what the ‘official’ accent really sounds like:P
Oh yeah, I just wanna say that I think the New York accent is awesome and really hard to do:)
22. astraya - September 20th, 2008 at 6:33 am
jfrater: The list submitter didn’t include Russell Crowe. How would you rate him? Re Meryl Streep playing Lindy Chamberlain: Lindy was born in NZ, but lived in Australia from the age of 1. She has a strange accent, which I don’t know where came from.
Because I emphasise English as a world language, I often (attempt to) use other accents. I can do American well enough to fool Korean students, but not American colleagues and the Korean wife of one.
When I was travelling in Europe, I said “Danke schoen” (add umlat) to a woman in Germany and she replied in full-on German. I said I didn’t speak German and said “But your accent is so good!”. I’d just sung Mahler 8 in the Albert Hall, and we’d had German drilled into us. A singing friend of mine said that Italians keep complimenting her on her accent and speaking to her in Italian, which she doesn’t actually speak.
23. glaukopis - September 20th, 2008 at 6:35 am
Let’s not forget the women. Minnie Driver does a wonderful American accent.
24. Cheatz - September 20th, 2008 at 6:36 am
WHERE is John Barrowman?
25. postman - September 20th, 2008 at 6:41 am
Half the cast of Without a Trace are non American, 2 Aussies and 1 English.
But my all time favourite accent was Tommy Lee Jones in Blown Away (I know it’s not an American accent but it still makes me laugh).
26. postman - September 20th, 2008 at 6:44 am
I forgot about Sean Connery - he does an American accent (that would be the part of America from the east coast of Scotland)
27. rushfan - September 20th, 2008 at 6:46 am
Wow. How did I not know Alfred Molina and Gary Oldman were Brittish? I am blown away, cool list!
28. Teapixie - September 20th, 2008 at 6:56 am
@Drogo,
Thank you thank you thank you
I knew she looked familiar, but I never bothered to look her up. Her accent is so perfect. And she is one of the best things in 2 1/2 men. Heavenly Creatures is one of Jackson’s best. Sorry for getting off track a little, but thanks again.
29. kiwiboi - September 20th, 2008 at 7:15 am
Gary Oldman’s sister is an excellent actress. She has a right old Cockney accent in the British soap-opera Eastenders. Here’s a sample (she’s the one that gets kissed by the dog) :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jo__2wMVbMo
30. kiwiboi - September 20th, 2008 at 7:22 am
Again…slightly off-topic, but if there is an Oscar for the most notoriously bad attempt at a foreign accent in a movie, Dick van Dyke wouls surely be a nominee for his role in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. It is cringeworthy…
From IMDB :
“In Britain, his attempt at a Cockney accent in Mary Poppins (1964) is so notorious that a “Dick Van Dyke accent” is an accepted slang term for an American’s unsuccessful attempt at a British accent. Despite that, he is quite popular in Britain.”
31. HarleQuin - September 20th, 2008 at 7:44 am
I watched Frasier for years before I learned that John Mahoney (Martin Crane on the show) was born in Blackpool, England. Apparently he lost his original English accent while serving in the U.S. army.
32. Heroajax - September 20th, 2008 at 7:51 am
Interesting list. Here’s an amazing British accent from Americans: James Marsters and Juliet Landau who played Spike and Drusilla in Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
33. tfisch73 - September 20th, 2008 at 8:07 am
You know, as much as he is a religious crackpot (at least he’s not a scientologist), I never hear Mel Gibson’s Aussie accent.
34. Bill - September 20th, 2008 at 8:10 am
Someone should do a list of American entertainers who do/did a horrible job imitating British accents…like Madonna or Dick Van Dyke.
35. kiwiboi - September 20th, 2008 at 8:15 am
You know, as much as he is a religious crackpot (at least he’s not a scientologist), I never hear Mel Gibson’s Aussie accent.
Did he not have an Oz accent in the first Mad Max? Or in Tim? I think he did, but I’m not entirely sure…
36. tfisch73 - September 20th, 2008 at 8:26 am
kiwiboi- He did in Mad Max, but when they first released it in the states, they dubbed over his voice with an American, as to sell it better (much like the Governator’s Hercules In New York). Since then, though, I haven’t been able to discern one.
37. jeannie_brim - September 20th, 2008 at 9:05 am
Someone not on the list that I like is Ian McShane from Deadwood. He hails from England.
38. segue - September 20th, 2008 at 9:11 am
Ginger Lee, brilliant list, though I might have changed the order a bit and included examples of the actors real accents as an example of what excellent accent work they had to do to over come their natural speaking voice. It would have been more powerful.
Otherwise, fantastic!
Disc, you didn’t know Hugh Laurie was a Brit? I was leery of his being able to pull off an American accent! But he does it so fabulously, even I forget he’s not one of “ours” during “House”.
Daniel Day Lewis can do anything. He’s absolutely amazing. Perhaps the best actor of that generation.
39. deepthinker - September 20th, 2008 at 9:13 am
I was expecting Hugh Laurie to be number one… I actually prefer his American accent, and I am one of those girls who goes crazy for a British accent! Oh, I like the New Zealand accent too! For the longest I didn’t even know Kate Winslet wasn’t American! Yay for accents!!
40. Wally - September 20th, 2008 at 9:14 am
The best thing is… nobody and I mean NOBODY can do an Australian accent like an Australian. There will never be a list for Australian axxents because there isnt anyone who do one like we can…
41. Panthea - September 20th, 2008 at 9:36 am
I gotta nominate Damian Lewis here (lead actor in Life, Dick Winters in Band of Brothers). British actor, awesome American accent, and one of the few (if not only) cases where I prefer the fake American to real British; his accent in The Baker, which I assume is natural, sounds too much like the stereotypical joke of the uptight Brit.
42. Vera Lynn - September 20th, 2008 at 9:39 am
Wow! Fun stuff here. I too would like to se/hear a video with their natural speaking voices. When I drink, I get a southern accent.
43. hilly - September 20th, 2008 at 10:00 am
Kelly Macdonald in No Country For Old Men, anyone?
44. dustin - September 20th, 2008 at 10:02 am
good list. i thought christian bale’s yuppy accent in american psycho was amazing
45. Cedestra - September 20th, 2008 at 10:04 am
Sorry to be the picky one, but there’s an extra ‘9′ in the opening.
13. akelly318: All actors in the Harry Potter series had British accents- it was demanded early on that all actors be British. I get your point, though, he is fantastic.
I’m pretty pleased at the rating on this list. Hugh Laurie sprang to mind at first. Going down, I knew about Alfred Molina (great accent in Spiderman II, loved him in Chocolat) and Christian Bale.
I’m okay with accents, but I find my Scottish accent fades to Russian at some point. I don’t know why. Cockney is hard because I don’t know all the phrases.
Gunna throw out Brad Pitt in Snatch for the next list.
46. goof_ball - September 20th, 2008 at 10:10 am
good list
47. Major Wood - September 20th, 2008 at 10:17 am
Americans don’t have accents! Everyone else does!
48. ChristineM - September 20th, 2008 at 10:25 am
Spot-on list, especially the top 5.
It’s still freaky how different Laurie’s real voice and accent are so completely different than House’s. He’s even done other foreign accents while using House’s accent, amazing
49. Cass - September 20th, 2008 at 10:33 am
What about Nicole Kidman? She is a fantastic actress and can mask her Aussie accent. Notable: The Others and Moulin Rouge.
50. tank - September 20th, 2008 at 10:37 am
Damian Lewis in Band of Brothers
51. yodadiedtrying - September 20th, 2008 at 10:45 am
Hugh Grant in Mickey Blue Eyes…(laughs)…just kidding
52. Sheena - September 20th, 2008 at 10:46 am
This is a good list but Linus Roache’s RFK accent was atrocious. My mother couldn’t stop talking smack about it when she first heard it.
53. DK - September 20th, 2008 at 10:50 am
@Heroajax (#31) I would have to agree, at least with Spike, I was heartbroken the first time I heard him speak “normally” and realized that the accent wasn’t real!
@Matt Howard (#20), I would actually think that a more specific American accent would be easier than a generic one (like a southern accent, or a New York, or Boston accent), as there are more little things to pick up on & imitate. Anyone out there that “does voices” have any insight on this?
54. YogiBarrister - September 20th, 2008 at 11:02 am
The best American TV show ever is THE WIRE. It has two British actors, Idris Elba and Dominic West, who manage to pull off a Baltimore accent. I see others have cited Damian Lewis and Ian McShane, I concur.
The worst American accent by a Brit was Emma Thompson in PRIMARY COLORS. Her ex-husband isn’t much better, as you can see Branagh’s mind working when he’s playing an American.
55. carpe_noctem - September 20th, 2008 at 11:23 am
See, I’m please (as always) to see Aussies added to the lists, but I reckon a better follow up list would be FAILED attempts at foreign accents. I seriously have not heard more than a handful of half-decent attempts at the Aussie accent…
56. tfisch - September 20th, 2008 at 11:25 am
42. Hilly- Nice! I was amazed at Kelly MacDonald’s West Texas accent. Damien Lewis has been mentioned, too. Another good choice.
57. Phillies - September 20th, 2008 at 11:34 am
Great list! If/When you watch The Dark Knight, when Harvey Dent, Lt. Gordon and Batman are arguin on the rooftop, Oldman lets his British (original) accent slip through. A minor slip up, and, considering his works throughout his career, he’s allowed a slip every now and again
58. dave4248 - September 20th, 2008 at 12:01 pm
Very good list overall. Thank you for not including Ben Kingsley, the king of awful American accents. I can’t believe some people actually think his is good. I would have replaced Linus Roache with Lee Evans (There’s Something about Mary) Otherwise your list is perfect.
59. Diogenes - September 20th, 2008 at 12:10 pm
i think it comes down to the accessability factor and that the Hollywood Big Dicks have a problem with english speaking actors from other countries not making sence to the minds of generic movie going american english speakers. Something about coming across as proper or more intelligent sounding. It’s also about money. The other end of the scope is to create cliches and stereo types. To dum down, such is the case with mexicans, chicanos as displayed in Hollywood California Films. Then theres the aloof canadians and redneck southerners and cartoon blacks ect, ect.
It reminds me of White men playing Indians.
I don’t mean to toss in the race card, but theres something odd to me in all this.
just a tad of thoughts happing
60. Diogenes - September 20th, 2008 at 12:14 pm
happening
When ever I have seen some of these actors on late night talk sows in america and they speak in their native tounges, The Interviewer(usually Jay Leno) gets his kicks out of asking the actor to speak in english accent. And the audiance laughs and oohs and claps.
61. Josh - September 20th, 2008 at 12:20 pm
Mel Gibson had a discernable Aussie accent in the Lethal Weapon movies. At times it sounded like he was trying not to have one, but then he would say something that usually is Australian or British such as “give us a rise in pye” where we’d say “pay raise”.
And in Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, Fionnula Flannigan and Maggie Smith, Irish and British respectively, had Southern American accents. The funniest thing I’ve heard in ages.
I’m a Southerner working in the Midwest (Kansas) and here I tend to adopt everyone else’s (to me accentless) speech, but back home in Appalachia I drawl and twang my way…
62. Diogenes - September 20th, 2008 at 12:21 pm
and by “english accent”, i mean “american”
haha
must be that i am like a worm on a hook
63. Diogenes - September 20th, 2008 at 12:41 pm
and how bout all them silent actors who try to talk but cant.
64. Cedestra - September 20th, 2008 at 12:57 pm
60. Josh- Better to twang than to have the dreaded Boston accent. I grew up near Worcester (Wuhstah, not Worchester), which is far enough away not to have a strong accent, but I do have to stop myself before calling a water fountain a “bubblah”. My mother’s accent is worse than my brother’s and mine and we tease her about driving in the “cah”. Say chowdah, Frenchie!
65. Cedestra - September 20th, 2008 at 12:58 pm
62. What older movie was about the silent actor/actress making their debut to talkies? The woman was a b!t@# and had a horrible, nasally, Brooklynite accent. Was that “Singing in the Rain”?
66. JabberingJanet - September 20th, 2008 at 1:24 pm
Good list but leaning way more to the male gender and just one female in a quick moment brings to mind Nicole Kidman who hides her australian accent very well.
67. segue - September 20th, 2008 at 1:29 pm
39. Wally
The best thing is… nobody and I mean NOBODY can do an Australian accent like an Australian.
****
Maybe this is cheating, but I sure can do an Australian accent!
My mum was Australian, and I spent several of my childhood years in Sydney, even started school there. I lived in America from the time I was almost 7 onward.
Though I have an accent of some kind on some words, I can “do” an Australian accent full on.
68. Diogenes - September 20th, 2008 at 1:31 pm
You got me Cedestra. I thought they all had “high pitched nasally brooklynite accents” in the early talkie days! .
One of the best actors of all time, Lon Chaney, had mute-deaf parents and learned sign language and pantomime in order to be understood and get a message across. When The sound pictures arrived he was allready suffering from lung cancer and his only(?) talkie included three voices. His own, a ventriloquist dummy, and an old woman .
And talk about great silent actors who struggled through the transition, Buster Keaton had one helleva gruff and awesome sounding voice.
69. Nejikun - September 20th, 2008 at 3:13 pm
Segue: It doesn’t count if you actually lived in australia.
70. jt - September 20th, 2008 at 3:33 pm
i have to throw Toni Collette and Rachel Griffiths in there. i would even throw Cate Blanchette in too.
71. Hannah - September 20th, 2008 at 3:58 pm
James McAvoy does and excellent American accent when given the chance. “Penelope” is a good example.
72. Hannah - September 20th, 2008 at 4:06 pm
And I totally agree with jt and the three actresses he mentioned above. I had no idea Toni Collette or Rachel Griffiths were Australian until I saw “Muriel’s Wedding”!
73. YogiBarrister - September 20th, 2008 at 4:31 pm
Wally #39 is FOS. Anybody can do an Australian accent, it’s as esay as throwing another shrimp on the barbie. That’s not a knife, now THAT’S a knife. I’ll have another Foster’s mate, on second thought, better make that three.
74. Rockdocsteve - September 20th, 2008 at 4:36 pm
For those old enough to remember, there is Don Novello who created the cracked Vatican character Father Guido Sarducci, a frequent visitor to Laugh In, and early Sat. Nite Live.
He’s from Ohio.
75. Matt Howard - September 20th, 2008 at 4:45 pm
@ wally and segue:
I totally agree about the Aussie accent. When you think about it, the Aussie accent is extremely weird! But I always think more highly of an American/British/Canadian etc actor who can pull off a convincing Aussie accent, purely because it is so difficult to do unless you have lived here.
76. Spinner - September 20th, 2008 at 5:27 pm
Oh please please do a ‘worst/least convincing/cringe provoking accent in a film’ list .
77. Brian - September 20th, 2008 at 6:40 pm
dont say nobody can do an accent. Tropic Thunder, Robert Downey Jr. nuff said
78. kat - September 20th, 2008 at 7:02 pm
Although there was no accent involved, I think Oldman did a great job of protraying Sid Vicious in the movie Sid & Nancy. I love Sid.
79. Miss Destiny - September 20th, 2008 at 7:58 pm
I KNEW Hugh Laurie was going to be on this list! I can never decide which accent I prefer to hear him speak in, but either way he is wonderful! I also was glad to see Christian Bale and Gary Oldman on this list. Very nice!
I love “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” and I never knew Bob Hoskins was from England. I also loved him in the “Mario Bros.” movie. XD
Great list, very interesting idea!
80. Vera Lynn - September 20th, 2008 at 8:35 pm
kat (78)I know what you mean. He was very intriguing. Sexy in an odd way. I do think he killed Nancy but it was a black out.He never remembered. I’ve had nights like that. I mean w/o the blood of course
81. waty - September 20th, 2008 at 9:49 pm
I’m not so sure about #1…
In that particular scene, Gary has distinct “English” undertones. He doesn’t even sound like he’s trying to be American. He sounds like his character is a British guy who’s been in the States long enough to have his accent watered down, but it still has the lilt of an Englishman. Hugh Laurie is the runaway winner “imho”.
82. Aussie Boy - September 20th, 2008 at 10:32 pm
I agree with those who’ve mentioned Toni Collette, Cate Blanchett and Nicole Kidman… these (Aussie) ladies have mastered (variations of) the southern Californian American accent. Actually, without detracting from their success in elocution, it’s relatively easy for us Aussies to “do” the American accent - or rather, I should say, the Los Angelino White American accent. Australian television, music and cinema are so swamped with ‘Californian’. But as I’ve implied already, there are a huge number of American accents: the (Texan) drawl, the (Virginian) whisper, the North eastern states’ twang… and so on. And even in smaller areas the accents shift: the supposedly “Noo Yoik” Brooklyn / Bronx accent is a different accent from that of someone from neighbouring “Noo Joisy”. Not to mention the wide variety of Black American, Hispanic, First Nations [getting a Navajo accent right is a real tester!]… the list goes on and on.
Not so in Australia. We really only have 2 or 3 accents at best - and most people, even here, can barely tell the difference. I’ve yet to hear a convincing attempt at our accent by a non-Australian.
83. hilly - September 20th, 2008 at 10:44 pm
Yeah, Cate’s “continental” Kate Hepburn accent in The Aviator is pretty impressive, actually. Oh! I forgot about The Good German, as well (shit movie, but she is charming and ethereal, per usual).
Frankly, I’m quite surprised that Tim Roth didn’t make the list. Someone else mentioned it before me, I believe. I’d almost say he deserves to be above Gary Oldman…
84. ChrisG - September 20th, 2008 at 10:49 pm
I agree with every entry on this list, and it could even be expanded. A question though, why are Canadian actors and actresses exluded? My Canadian accent is about as close to American speech as South Africans are to New Zealand speech. The standard practice for any Canadian actor is to immediately lose their Canadian accent if they ever hope to get work, so every Canadian actor blows all these people away.
85. jfrater - September 20th, 2008 at 11:47 pm
ChrisG: the reason they are excluded is that they start with an accent that is so similar to the American accent that most non-Canadians and Non-US Americans can’t tell the difference. It is like saying a kiwi needs to lose his kiwi accent to be on Aussie TV - it is simple - every kiwi can sound aussie and vice versa. But to go from kiwi or Aussie to US requires a considerable amount of effort.
86. cloud_strych9 - September 21st, 2008 at 12:14 am
24: WHERE is John Barrowman?
John Barrowman grew up in Illinois and affects a natural American accent except in the company of family or when in Scotland.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Barrowman
87. Posy - September 21st, 2008 at 5:48 am
NOBODY can do a Northern Ireland accent unless they are a native. The nuances of different towns mean that a Belfast accent from one area is distinct from one from another. Whilst other towns have very distinct differences. Some are unintelligible to their fellow countrymen. Anyway onto actors. Brad Pitt in Snatch had elements of a NI accent but it was such a mess! In the Devil’s own, even worse! Southern Irish accents are just as bad. Kevin whatshisname in Ordinary Decent Criminal, yikes!!!
BTW………….. Linus Roach is William Roach’s son AKA Ken Barlow, veteran actor in Coronation Street since the early 1960s
88. segue - September 21st, 2008 at 8:07 am
82. Aussie Boy
these (Aussie) ladies have mastered (variations of) the southern Californian American accent.
****
Uh, Aussie Boy, I don’t know how to break this to you but…well…we southern Californian’s don’t *have* an accent.
We are accentless.
Unless you are referring to the phony Moon Unit Zappa accent she put on for the song about the Valley/Shopping Mall generation.
89. Aaron - September 21st, 2008 at 8:48 am
Cool list, but I wish it said which role they play in the clips, for those that don’t know who they are.
I would also love to see either a list of Americans doing really bad foreign accents, or other people doing really bad American accents
90. postman - September 21st, 2008 at 9:54 am
I forgot about Jean Reno in Godzilla….. ‘thankyou very much’
91. JP Miller - September 21st, 2008 at 12:49 pm
I think more women need to be on this list. Minnie Driver needs to be included because of her role in The Riches.
92. cass - September 21st, 2008 at 4:21 pm
Hey Segue,
Sorry to break this too you, but everyone has an accent. And I worked with a guy from San Diego, he had a very thick ´dude´ accent.
And as for Robert Downey Jr. Haven´t seen TT yet but in Natural Born Killers his Aussie accent was a bit rough, and basically an impersonation of the host of Hard Copy. Forgotten his name.
93. Spinner - September 21st, 2008 at 5:07 pm
Cass…Shhhhhhh, im still laughing!
94. bigski - September 21st, 2008 at 9:17 pm
Eddie Izzard and Minnie Driver amaze me when they speak a flawless southern U.S accent on The Riches.Im from the south and i know when someone is trying to fake a southern accent even a lot of people from up north try it and i can tell.Not Eddie and Minnie plus they throw in a little white trash twist in there dailog.They got there props from me.
95. Komikero - September 22nd, 2008 at 2:38 am
Come on… Kenneth Brannagh in Gingerbread man.
96. Wlad - September 22nd, 2008 at 2:39 am
Great list but where are Ewan McGregor, Eric Bana and the cast of Blackhawk Down? When I saw the “Making of” I was astounded at the number of non-Americans faking the accent in that movie.
97. Drogo - September 22nd, 2008 at 4:51 am
I thought of 4 more. I double checked with the Internet Movie Database.
Mark Addy - from York, (England)UK has a British accent when he’s himself. Speaks American on the tv show “Still Standing”
Barry Morse - London, UK - had natural british accent when not playing Americans.
Eric Braeden - Kiel, Germany (Mom watches his soap opera) has a german accent when he’s not playing Victor.
Simon Baker is from Tasmania, but has an American accent on his tv show.
98. rbR - September 22nd, 2008 at 5:04 am
Charlize “Monster” Theron? South Africa!
99. Brickhouse - September 22nd, 2008 at 8:56 am
Nice list! Sadly, some of them I thought were Americans.
Shows you how much I pay attention.
100. Kahvi - September 22nd, 2008 at 9:12 am
Two of my favorite actors are on the list, Christian Bale and Gary Oldman. They are both great at not only doing American accents, but different American dialects.
101. A - September 22nd, 2008 at 9:17 am
What about that one guy who played the knife wolf thing in x-men? I was always impressed with his accent. But great list, nonetheless.
RIP Heath Ledger
102. egomania - September 22nd, 2008 at 9:41 am
How could no one have mentioned Hugh Jackman?!
He is australian, and has acted in someone like you, XMen, leopold etc.!
103. Cdavis - September 22nd, 2008 at 10:31 am
Awesome list! I always thought Bale was the best, but now I have to say it must be guy pearce! I had no idea!
104. Jenova4 - September 22nd, 2008 at 2:14 pm
When you don’t know who someone is in a movie, chances are that it’s Gary Oldman.
105. segue - September 22nd, 2008 at 2:52 pm
92. cass
Hey Segue,
Sorry to break this too you, but everyone has an accent. And I worked with a guy from San Diego, he had a very thick ´dude´ accent.
****
Amazing. I would have sworn we don’t have accents here, that’s why all the accent coach’s try to teach our way of speaking; it’s essentially un-nuanced, but I do get your point.
btw, segue, small s. Different words. Only slightly, very slightly, but important.
106. segue - September 22nd, 2008 at 2:53 pm
Oh, and a “Dude” accent?
Totally put on.
107. jadester - September 22nd, 2008 at 3:16 pm
Segue, its canadians, particularily from bc to ontario who are without accent. I do find that people from the west coast in the usa speak similar to us though.
108. segue - September 22nd, 2008 at 3:17 pm
See, jadester , this is weird but I *almost* agree with you. Only thing with Canadians from BC to Ontario, while basically accentless, have a sort of back of the throat thing on certain words. You almost can’t hear it, but you *just* can. It’s more like you can feel it.
I still fell we (I am a West Coaster) have no accent, but I agree that you, apart from that one thing, are too.
109. cass - September 22nd, 2008 at 4:14 pm
segue - Probably right about the put on ´dudeness´and will make sure to use a little s in future.
And jadester not to be an arse, (and I´ll admit that I´m not familiar with the BC way of speaking,) but as I said to segue, to a foreigner´s ears you do have an accent cause everyone does.
It´s funny how most people don´t know the nationality of some of these actors. Most of them even speak with American accents in TV interviews so understandable I guess.
As Christian Bale said, “no one wants to hear Batman with a Welsh accent.”
110. anon - September 22nd, 2008 at 6:18 pm
Kelly Macdonald from “No Country for Old Men.” She is Scottish, so she did a pretty damn good fake American (Texan?) accent for this movie.
111. bubstunner - September 22nd, 2008 at 6:21 pm
Sorry, but i dont know how you can put Gary Oldman at 1. He constantly breaks his accent!
112. Anon - September 22nd, 2008 at 6:38 pm
110,
Look here, this is getting way beyond a joke. Your comment isn’t causing me any problem as such at all, but your LV identity is. I’ve just this very minute come from another topic with yet another *Anon*. What the hell is going on? Pseudo-cloning?
For pity’s sake, site organisers, is there NOTHING you can do? Those who are regulars around LV read anything posted by Anon (and probably anon), and assume it’s the same person. That person presumably being their fellow regular, i.e. me. The situation at its nastiest has already caused a great deal of aggro to a number of others besides myself.
113. PirateXxEsque - September 23rd, 2008 at 4:19 am
48. “He’s even done other foreign accents while using House’s accent, amazing”
Yes, it was hilarious watching him mock Chase while doing a Aussie accent. Pure genius, that bloke.
114. Bob - September 23rd, 2008 at 5:26 am
I’m not sure about Christian Bale. When I first saw American Psycho I thought I liked his American accent but after seeing the new Batman movies…I’m not sold. He sounds like it’s forced and comes off almost as a lisp or some other speech impediment. And it’s even worse when he deepens his voice when in the Batman costume. I do think he is a great actor and love his work.
Bob Hoskins & Daniel Day Lewis would be at the top of my list for fake American accents.
Great list!
115. kris - September 23rd, 2008 at 7:30 am
I happen to go to my Dad’s office a few weeks ago… the employees are called US & UK support dept I came to know that Americans and British call them for lot of problems… one of the “manager who came to our home for dinner… was speaking to me in American accent I couldn’t understand… ( when he slowed down I was able to understand what he said) Dad says they have Voice and accent trainers to teach them to speak like Americans… *why should they do that!!!*
116. segue - September 23rd, 2008 at 9:34 am
112. Anon
jfrater, etc. Please help Anon. He is a good fellow, as you know. Please ask the other Anons, anons, and variations thereof, to add a number or some sort of recognizable addition to their nicks so that all and sundry will know who is speaking. It is confusing to have so many posters with the same nick. I would offer, as a suggestion, that from now on, you have a filter that disallows doubling of nicks.
117. MarcusNyce - September 23rd, 2008 at 1:36 pm
How can you have Gary Oldman on this list and not mention Drexl Spivey from True Romance? He’s like a real life Kirk Lazarus from Tropic Thunder- “I’m the dude playin’ the dude, disguised as another dude!”
118. CrazyCath - September 23rd, 2008 at 3:59 pm
I think Colin Farrell’s american accent is really good. I thought he was american from his role in phonebooth until i saw him in in bruges where he had his strong, irish accent on show!
119. Amanda - September 23rd, 2008 at 7:03 pm
@Kris: “*why should they do that!!!*”
Because if you want to put food on the table, you have to pander to the Great Middle-America.
I’ve faced this trouble when reading for podcasts - I’ve got anti-accent feedback that’s bordered on racism.
With Hugh Laurie, I actually found it a little painful (as in, feeling for him that this is what he had to do to move into Hollywood) when House began. Since the 80s I’ve been so used to his “Jolly Good! Hoo-RAH!” in Blackadder and Fry n Laurie.
“It’s so odd, all my socks seem to have disappeared!”
120. gezzanater - September 23rd, 2008 at 7:19 pm
How about Americans doing Aussie accents, fair dinkum, why they insist on making Aussie’s sound like they are some “cockney git”. Bart Simpsons vs Aust (I know it was TV), but that accent was disgusting. At least try and sound like Hoges or even Steve Irwin. May I point out that no Aussies go around actually saying “crikey”.
And as side note, in Point Break, they are no palm trees at Bells Beach!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
121. BeatlesFan80 - September 24th, 2008 at 6:58 am
Interesting list, but I have to say I don’t particulary like when actors change their accents. What’s the point? I think accents are wonderful and really enjoy hearing them.
122. Monkerz - September 24th, 2008 at 7:00 am
I guess he’s not a big enough star but Cliff Curtis (New Zealand)was pretty convincing as Hispanic gangster Smiley in “Training Day”.
123. bloozen - September 24th, 2008 at 3:54 pm
Also Olivia d’Abo, hails from the UK, played Karen Arnold, the older sister on Wonder Years. You would never guess she’s anything but American from watching her performances on that series. Gotta give her mad props for a totally convincing portrayal of an American teenage girl. All that talent and she’s hot to boot.
124. Hillary - September 25th, 2008 at 10:57 am
So glad House is on the list!
125. iolanthe_duville - September 25th, 2008 at 4:47 pm
i think actors who have to change their accent in a film and still acted their role exceptionally are brilliant. Imagine, you don’t only have to do acting (which is already hard as it is) you would also have to watch out your accent.
126. liz156 - September 25th, 2008 at 6:36 pm
I have to nominate all the Brits who played Yanks in the Band of Brothers series. I’ve seen the show 7 times now, but I am still finding guys who are Brits!
127. dude27 - September 27th, 2008 at 8:43 am
hmmm…surprised not to see Charlize Theron on the list?
128. katalina - October 3rd, 2008 at 1:15 pm
I was going to add Damien Lewis from Life but see someone beat me.
Here’s a new contender - Charlie Hunnam on Sons of Anarchy. You never hear his Brit accent slip in.
And how about Simon Baker on The Mentalist. He’s an Aussie.
And how about Jason O’Mara? He’s Irish.
129. Megan - October 9th, 2008 at 11:56 am
I don’t think I’d put Hugh Laurie on the list; he does that thing where he comes down on his Rs too hard that a lot of Brits do when they’re imitating Americans.
The opposite list would be pretty good; worst American accents in American films.
130. pamb - October 18th, 2008 at 8:41 pm
How about Johnny Lee Miller on Eli Stone? I love him in that show.
131. Daniel - October 20th, 2008 at 8:06 pm
ya know, its people like heath ledger that makes me proud to have lived in perth my whole life
132. Matt White - November 6th, 2008 at 12:02 pm
Australian’s faking american in the US
Russell Crowe
Guy Pearce
Simon Baker - The Mentalist
Hugh Jackman
Nicole Kidman
Heath Ledger
Ana Torv - Fringe
Naomi Watts (i think she may be english but raised in aus ?)
John Noble - Fringe
Portia De Rossi
Poppy Montgomery - Without a trace
Jessie Spencer (altho he uses aus accent in House)
Geoffrey Rush
Rose Byrne - Damages
Eric Bana (i dont like his american accent tho)
Hugo Weaving
Anthony La Paglia - Without a trace
loads more just cant think of them at the moment
133. D - December 7th, 2008 at 3:04 am
Hooray for the Top 6!
134. shelly - December 18th, 2008 at 12:24 am
People screw up American accents all of the time…we are just very forgiving. Plus, we have so man dialects we just write it off as them trying to do one we aren’t as familiar with.
Bad American accents:
-Jude Law, doesn’t even come close & it is just distracting when he tried
-Sienna Miller, really bad & tries waaaay too hard
-Minnie Driver, sounds very affected & flat
-Ewan McGregor, the Scottish always comes through
-Catherine Zeta-Jones, sounds like Elmer Fudd!!! She is absolutely, laughably bad at American accents.
-Heath Ledger, I hear his accent come through
I give Bale credit, as I thought he was American, but I also thought he has some kind of speech impediment, haha. Everyone I know thinks he has a very distracting, bad lisp, but when he speaks with his normal accent he doesn’t.
Kate Winslet does a GREAT American accent.
135. The Grey GOAT - December 18th, 2008 at 5:13 pm
Kelly Macdonald - Very good in No Country (couldn’t believe
it was the same girl from Trainspotting)
Gary Oldman - Great actor and hides the accent well.
What about Kevin Costner playing a guy who’s supposed to be English but has an American accent? Wait a minute, something wrong here.
136. BooRadley - December 21st, 2008 at 10:53 pm
The first person who came to mind for me was Hugh Laurie. I just loved him in Jeeves and Wooster and in Fry and Laurie. I was watching House for almost 3 months before I found out it was the same guy!
What about Tracey Ullman? I think her American accent is straight on.
As an American with a long-time obsession with Monty Python’s Flying Circus, I had to ask someone why they were talking in such a weird way in some scenes. She told me they were trying to sound American! I still laugh uncontrollably when those scenes come on… they have to be the worst accents I’ve ever heard!
I agree with all the others who said we need a list of the WORST accents!
137. Solidus - December 30th, 2008 at 4:57 pm
+1 for Cliff Curtis in Training Day. It completely blew my mind when I found out he was a Kiwi!