Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Location: Charlotte,NC, US, North America, Earth, Alpha Quadrant,Milky Way Galaxy
3,770 posts, read 7,543,620 times
Reputation: 2118
Advertisements
My Brit friends all think it's basically impossible for any American to pull off a convincing accent. I think most could come close intimating a cockney accent since that's probably the most common type of accent most Americans have been exposed to (Oliver Twist type accent).
I watch a lot of Walking Dead and actually hadn't realized Andrew Lincoln wasn't an American. I started listening closely and I can pick up his attempt at a subtle southern drawl. I think Americans are fairly more forgiving in this (i.e., liam neeson playing American CIA, Army Colonels lol). It sounds sorta stupid when Donald Southern plays an 14th century king.
The flip side is the US pretty much owns the world wide movie industry and probably much of the popular TV series that are syndicated worldwide so we don't have to really work at playing non-American actors to much. Brit actors and every other non-American actor *wants* to be here so I'm sure they'll do what it takes to get into character for American acting gigs to make that happen.
Spike and Drucilla were both played by American actors.
How about Sam Worthington's poor attempt at an American accent in Avatar?
The usually reliable Karl Urban messes on occasion. Listen to him when he says "19" in Judge Dredd - pure Aussie there.
Carrie Fisher gave up trying to sound posh throughout the original Star Wars trilogy, pretty much dropping the "Imperial" accent before Star Wars even ended.
Why do you think Sam Worthington's accent was poor? I hadn't seen him before Avatar and I never guessed he wasn't what he portrayed...I was surprised he was Australian. Now that I've seen him elsewhere, I can pick up clues here and there depending on the role, but I don't think it was a poor attempt at all.
Also, Karl Urban is a Kiwi...close but not quite Australian...and yes, sometimes he slips but it's pretty good otherwise.
It's cool you have a talent for accents...some folks just have it and some just don't...I really enjoy listening to all the different accents of the world actually...a great way to learn more about different regions of the world.
Anyway, even though I like Andrew Lincoln...I think his accent needs some work. For those of us who live in the south, there are as many subtleties between the states as there are in the north. It's not all twang and sugar...there's a bit more to it...he's ok though...I still wouldn't have guessed that he was English!
A couple pages back, someone mentioned Andrew Lincoln from The Walking Dead. I had NO IDEA he was British but I still don't think his southern, Georgia in particular, is all that great. I don't hate it and since I love that show and his acting, I'm ok...but still.
Now, Lauren Cohan (also on TWD) was raised in England and has a pretty thick accent but her southern seems a lot more natural.
I do like finding out where that actor is from though so I can see if they're "acting" or "just speaking naturally". I'm way more surprised when I realize the actor is British and pulls off the alternate accent...although I have to say, I'm VERY impressed with Alan Tudyk...I had no idea he was from Texas and grew up in my neck of the woods. I've been watching Dodgeball on HBO the last couple of weeks...he plays Steve the Pirate...very amusing...not until the end does he speak normally, but even then, I thought he was pulling off an American accent. TOO FUNNY!!
Lenny James, who plays Morgan on The Walking Dead, is also British.
I've seen plenty of American actors pull off the British accent with ease, and vice versa. Perhaps one reason why many British actors take to American accents so well is because they've been exposed to US culture via music, movies, and TV shows far more than Americans are to UK shows.
Yes, exactly what I was thinking. What I've noticed is that many European performers resort to the safe, flat, "American accent" which isn't really an American accent at all. There's no nuance to the way they speak, so I wouldn't classify their accent as the standard midwestern American accent at all. It's actually a non accent.
I also think that because there have been some notable high profile flops in American actors trying British accents, they can really stand out to people (I'm looking at you Kevin Costner as Robin Hood, Keanu Reeves as Jonathan Harker and Tom Cruise in Far & Away...)
Why do you think Sam Worthington's accent was poor? I hadn't seen him before Avatar and I never guessed he wasn't what he portrayed...I was surprised he was Australian. Now that I've seen him elsewhere, I can pick up clues here and there depending on the role, but I don't think it was a poor attempt at all.
Also, Karl Urban is a Kiwi...close but not quite Australian...and yes, sometimes he slips but it's pretty good otherwise.
It's cool you have a talent for accents...some folks just have it and some just don't...I really enjoy listening to all the different accents of the world actually...a great way to learn more about different regions of the world.
Anyway, even though I like Andrew Lincoln...I think his accent needs some work. For those of us who live in the south, there are as many subtleties between the states as there are in the north. It's not all twang and sugar...there's a bit more to it...he's ok though...I still wouldn't have guessed that he was English!
Quite right about Karl Urban, I forgot he's from NZ vs. Australia. Thank you!
I have an ear for accents so I pick them up quickly. It helps me not only do them but place where people are from easily. That said it wasn't hard to pick up Sam Worthington's mistakes in Avatar. Watch the movie again and pay attention to the voice over when he's looking at his twin's body. Also the spot where he says, "I was in the place the eye does not see, " after Hometree is destroyed. He has said in interviews that trying an American accent was the hardest part of the movie for him.
And Jane Seymour in The Woman He Loved playing Wallis Simpson, horrifying accent. That's the example I always think of as the worst attempt at an American accent ever - Jane Simpson in The Woman He Loved about the divorcee who married Prince Edward.
Ever been to Baltimore? That's where Mrs. Simpson was from. If Ms. Seymour's accent sounded horrifying to you, that just might mean that it was very accurate.
I knew about Karl Urban since I had seen his older movies. Same Worthington did a decent job in avatar with his accent but his acting generally seems very wooden to me.
I think he does a pretty good job ergo most people are surprised to find out he is a Kiwi. Who else is a Kiwi that also is an awesome supporting actor?
This guy (Cliff Curtis):
Also, other Foreign born/raised actors that have long been doing a great job with their accent:
Sam Neill, Russel Crowe, Nicole Kidman, Guy Pearce, Liam Neeson, Viggo Mortensen, Peter Storemare.
I also had a feeling that James Earl Jones was British, perhaps due to his voice in SW as Darth Vader.
Yea, Karl Urban has been on my radar since Lord of the Rings but not before...but ever since!! It's funny but when we expect "American", we sometimes (or at least, I do) miss the little slurs that give away the actor's accent. I like Sam Worthington...I don't know what it is but he kind of "purrs" to me so I don't care what accent he uses! I know, I know...
But holy smokes...I didn't know Cliff Curtis was a Kiwi...I LOVE HIM...been watching him for years and thought he's such a chameleon...he really can transform to be anything he wants. I actually just saw a kind of crappy movie with great actors recently...where the ship takes over and kills the crew with Donald Sutherland, Jamie Lee Curtis etc. I saw Cliff Curtis with long hair and wild tattoos and thought...he looks GOOD. I digress...great actor.
Viggo is from Manhattan...are you referring to his distinct NY accent that he hides or something else?
Anyway, even though I like Andrew Lincoln...I think his accent needs some work. For those of us who live in the south, there are as many subtleties between the states as there are in the north. It's not all twang and sugar...there's a bit more to it...he's ok though...I still wouldn't have guessed that he was English!
He pretty much admits in interviews that his Southern accent is terrible. People from Atlanta and the surrounding area, IMO, have a pretty light accent when compared to people from say Louisiana or Mississippi. I love it though, because it informs his character as a small town sheriff deputy from the south.
Quote:
Spike and Drucilla were both played by American actors.
I didn't find Juliet Landau's accent to be quite as good as James Marsters, though. Are you Cockney? Are you from Manchester? Are you Welsh? Pick a dialect, Dru!
Hell, she did a lot better than I would though, so props to her. Plus maybe she picked up accents from moving around so much in the past few hundred years
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
