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True, Dominic West on The Wire had me thinking that he was from Baltimore.
Nah. He was doing a serviceable standard American accent with a bit of "grit", but its not a Baltimore accent. Not even close. As far as the run of the mill British actor doing a good American accent - its very rare. I watch a lot of British shows and invariable the supposed American character is played by a British actor who didn't get enough dialog and accent coaching. I saw an interview with Andrew Lincoln (The Walking Dead) and he had nothing but praise for his excellent dialog coach who helped him master the Georgia accent of a middle-class, small town guy. He said it took a lot of work to get it down pat.
Last edited by BeauCharles; 06-13-2014 at 08:18 PM..
This is true...even harder for Americans to imitate Australian, I've NEVER heard a good imitation of an Aussie accent by a yank. Some Brits can pull it off, like Daniel Radcliffe in December Boys, since our accents are similar.
Perhaps because its hard to tone down the rhoticity of most US accents? I've never heard a Brit get it absolutely right, though. The give-aways are usually that the cadence and ending inflection are off, and the British "t" sound - Aussies typically sound their "t"s closer to "d" than the British "t".
Last edited by Richard1098; 06-13-2014 at 09:02 PM..
Nah. He was doing a serviceable standard American accent with a bit of "grit", but its not a Baltimore accent. Not even close. As far as the run of the mill British actor doing a good American accent - its very rare. I watch a lot of British shows and invariable the supposed American character is played by a British actor who didn't get enough dialog and accent coaching. I saw an interview with Andrew Lincoln (The Walking Dead) and he had nothing but praise for his excellent dialog coach who helped him master the Georgia accent of a middle-class, small town guy. He said it took a lot of work to get it down pat.
He does a pretty good job,as Hugh Laurie did . I agree on Ryan Kwantin .On the flip side Steven Moyer's accent is awful
Perhaps because its hard to tone down the rhoticity of most US accents? I've never heard a Brit get it absolutely right, though. The give-aways are usually that the cadence and ending inflection are off, and the British "t" sound - Aussies typically sound their "t"s closer to "d" than the British "t".
Not true. Many older speakers retain definite 't' and do not 'flap'. In John C. Well's 1981 'Accents of English' he commented that it's been noticed that some young people are beginning to replace t with d, so that butter sounds like 'budder', better like 'better'. At the same, most Australians did not flap like Americans. Even now, many who try to sound more proper retain the 't' (it's variable). Of course it's hard to get EXACTLY right, but some get pretty darn close, at least a hell of a lot closer than some of the travesties I've heard Americans attempting...
Nah. He was doing a serviceable standard American accent with a bit of "grit", but its not a Baltimore accent. Not even close. As far as the run of the mill British actor doing a good American accent - its very rare. I watch a lot of British shows and invariable the supposed American character is played by a British actor who didn't get enough dialog and accent coaching. I saw an interview with Andrew Lincoln (The Walking Dead) and he had nothing but praise for his excellent dialog coach who helped him master the Georgia accent of a middle-class, small town guy. He said it took a lot of work to get it down pat.
I can name many performances by British and Australian actors who nailed the American accent. It might not be 100%, but it's at least 90-95%. I've heard of course thousands of Australian AND American accents, so am probably a better judge.
Even now, many who try to sound more proper retain the 't' (it's variable). Of course it's hard to get EXACTLY right, but some get pretty darn close, at least a hell of a lot closer than some of the travesties I've heard Americans attempting...
Yeh, but that's the thing...they are trying to sound "proper".
Meryl Streep did a fairly thorough job of torturing the Aussie accent in Evil Angels.
Yeh, but that's the thing...they are trying to sound "proper".
Meryl Streep did a fairly thorough job of torturing the Aussie accent in Evil Angels.
Well like I said, the flapping thing is a newer development. As in the last 40 years perhaps, largely due to American influence. Listen to older speakers, say over 80 or even 65, and you'll notice more pronounce the 't' in such words. Among those my age, including myself, yes, flapping is typical but not universal.
British actors in general are better at it than the other way around, very very few American actors can convincingly put on foreign accents.
Clearly you've never seen Kevin Costner's seamless English accent in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. Why, if I didn't know better I would have thought Costner was British through and through
I can name many performances by British and Australian actors who nailed the American accent. It might not be 100%, but it's at least 90-95%. I've heard of course thousands of Australian AND American accents, so am probably a better judge.
I'll give it to Australian actors playing Americans in US productions - they generally do a good job. I think where I notice shaky accents are in British productions. Many constantly get certain inflections and nuances of the accent wrong and will use British terms instead of Americans ones. I guess it doesn't matter as much because the home audience wouldn't be harsh critics.
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I've never heard a Brit get it absolutely right, though. The give-aways are usually that the cadence and ending inflection are off, and the British "t" sound - Aussies typically sound their "t"s closer to "d" than the British "t".
