# Actors accents changing over the years
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-accents-changing-over-the-years/678274
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [January 8, 2014, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-accents-changing-over-the-years/678274 "2014-01-08T14:48:24Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)
#### Post date: [January 8, 2014, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-accents-changing-over-the-years/678274/1 "2014-01-08T14:48:24Z")
Well, it turns out that Mel Gibson did once have an [Australian accent](http://aso.gov.au/titles/documentaries/coming-up-from-down-under/clip2)(about 1:30 in). Nowdays though, [not so much](http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x15hptn_mel-gibson-roars-back-with-machete-kills_people).
Any other examples of actors accents changing over the years? I mean actual accents, not ones adopted for roles or promotion purposes
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### Author:  [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)
#### Post date: [January 8, 2014, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-accents-changing-over-the-years/678274/2 "2014-01-08T15:00:05Z")
This happens for pretty much anyone living in an area without their native accent for a long time. I’ve seen it in both directions between the States and Oz, for example. People also can emphasize the accent they have for different audiences, especially if speaking one-to-one with someone with an accent they are familiar with.
In the first clip MG has a very mild Australian accent, understandable for someone born and raised in NJ until he was 12. I think he affects a stronger one for his early movies in Australia.
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### Author:  [@Hamlet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamlet)
#### Post date: [January 8, 2014, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-accents-changing-over-the-years/678274/3 "2014-01-08T15:04:22Z")
Personally, I would never call her an actual “actor”, and it wasn’t just in movies, but Madonna adopted a poseur-esque English accent after dating/marrying the supremely more talented Guy Ritchie. I haven’t paid attention enough to know if she’s now lost it again.
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### Author:  [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)
#### Post date: [January 8, 2014, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-accents-changing-over-the-years/678274/4 "2014-01-08T16:03:41Z")
Weirdly, Madonna started using that accent before she married Guy Ritchie.
Often actors from other English-speaking countries force themselves to speak all the time in an American accent. Anthony Lapaglia, from Australia, now speaks in a New York accent. Charlize Theron, from South Africa, uses some sort of American accent. Ryan Gosling, from Canada, sounds like he came from New York. More obviously, speakers of non-English languages force themselves to speak in ways that don’t sound accented. Rutger Hauer, from the Netherlands, now sounds like he grew up in California.
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### Author:  [@Cayuga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cayuga)
#### Post date: [January 8, 2014, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-accents-changing-over-the-years/678274/5 "2014-01-08T16:33:40Z")
Portia de Rossi no longer has a hint (to my ears, anyway) of her original Aussie accent.
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### Author:  [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)
#### Post date: [January 8, 2014, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-accents-changing-over-the-years/678274/6 "2014-01-08T16:45:55Z")
Gillian Anderson (born in US, grew up in UK) speaks with either an American or an English accent, depending on the situation.
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### Author:  [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)
#### Post date: [January 8, 2014, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-accents-changing-over-the-years/678274/7 "2014-01-08T16:49:28Z")
> [@Telemark](#):
>
> This happens for pretty much anyone living in an area without their native accent for a long time. I’ve seen it in both directions between the States and Oz, for example. People also can emphasize the accent they have for different audiences, especially if speaking one-to-one with someone with an accent they are familiar with.
>
> In the first clip MG has a very mild Australian accent, **understandable for someone born and raised in NJ** until he was 12. I think he affects a stronger one for his early movies in Australia.
Mel Gibson was born in New York state.
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### Author:  [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)
#### Post date: [January 8, 2014, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-accents-changing-over-the-years/678274/8 "2014-01-08T16:59:09Z")
I just saw a special on James Bond on BBC America, and was stunned to hear George Lazenby. He sounds completely American, with no trace of a British accent at all.
Of course, he sounded very British\* in **on Her Majesty’s Secret Service** , playing Bond. And he all-but-in-name played Bond in **the Return of the Man from U.N.C.L.E.** , but in the other things I’ve seen him in (like **Kentucky fried Movie** ) he still sounded like that.
\*even though he’s really Australian
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### Author:  [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)
#### Post date: [January 8, 2014, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-accents-changing-over-the-years/678274/9 "2014-01-08T17:45:12Z")
> [@cochrane](#):
>
> Mel Gibson was born in New York state.
Aren’t NY and NJ the same thing? Just like Australia and New Zealand, just different names for the same place?
🙂
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### Author:  [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)
#### Post date: [January 8, 2014, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-accents-changing-over-the-years/678274/10 "2014-01-08T18:07:36Z")
> [@Telemark](#):
>
> Aren’t NY and NJ the same thing? Just like Australia and New Zealand, just different names for the same place?
>
> 🙂
Meh. Peekskill, NY is in Westchester County, so I suppose it’s close enough.
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### Author:  [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)
#### Post date: [January 8, 2014, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-accents-changing-over-the-years/678274/11 "2014-01-08T18:35:53Z")
> [@cochrane](#):
>
> Meh. Peekskill, NY is in Westchester County, so I suppose it’s close enough.
There are people in New York City who live their whole lives under the delusion that Westchester County is “upstate”.
This [illustration](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Map_of_New_York_highlighting_Westchester_County.svg) will clarify the reality to those unfamiliar with the geography of New York.
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### Author:  [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)
#### Post date: [January 8, 2014, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-accents-changing-over-the-years/678274/12 "2014-01-08T18:40:06Z")
One that surprised me was Antonio Banderas. He now speaks fluent English albeit with a slight accent. So I was surprised when I read that in his early American movies he was learning his lines phonetically because he hadn’t learned to speak English yet.
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### Author:  [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)
#### Post date: [January 8, 2014, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-accents-changing-over-the-years/678274/13 "2014-01-08T20:02:39Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#):
>
> There are people in New York City who live their whole lives under the delusion that Westchester County is “upstate”.
>
> This [illustration](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Map_of_New_York_highlighting_Westchester_County.svg) will clarify the reality to those unfamiliar with the geography of New York.
That is upstate. I bet you people in Putnam and Orange think they’re downstate too but they’re fooling themselves just like Westchester.
Speaking of New York accents, I think Rosie O’Donnell’s has smoothed out a lot since her stand up days.
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### Author:  [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)
#### Post date: [January 9, 2014, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-accents-changing-over-the-years/678274/14 "2014-01-09T05:43:24Z")
Re Gibson’s accent, the later clip seems all American, but perhaps USians can detect some residual “foreignness”.
While not an actor, Bill Bryson’s current accent does not seem quite mid western to me.
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### Author:  [@Accidental\_Martyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Accidental_Martyr)
#### Post date: [January 9, 2014, 7:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-accents-changing-over-the-years/678274/15 "2014-01-09T07:33:13Z")
> [@terentii](#):
>
> Gillian Anderson (born in US, grew up in UK) speaks with either an American or an English accent, depending on the situation.
Christian Bale also does this.
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### Author:  [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)
#### Post date: [January 9, 2014, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-accents-changing-over-the-years/678274/16 "2014-01-09T14:54:59Z")
Joe Namath used to have a Pennsylvania-Alabama-New York accent.
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### Author:  [@Cayuga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cayuga)
#### Post date: [January 9, 2014, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-accents-changing-over-the-years/678274/17 "2014-01-09T15:04:15Z")
> [@AK84](#):
>
> Re Gibson’s accent, the later clip seems all American, but perhaps USians can detect some residual “foreignness”.
Tiny bit. The vowels are a little off somehow. Very close, though.
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### Author:  [@sandra\_nz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sandra_nz)
#### Post date: [January 9, 2014, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-accents-changing-over-the-years/678274/18 "2014-01-09T15:10:35Z")
> [@terentii](#):
>
> Gillian Anderson (born in US, grew up in UK) speaks with either an American or an English accent, depending on the situation.
And John Barrowman is her opposite (born in UK, moved to US as a young child). 🙂
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### Author:  [@kath94](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kath94)
#### Post date: [January 9, 2014, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-accents-changing-over-the-years/678274/19 "2014-01-09T16:59:28Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#):
>
> I just saw a special on James Bond on BBC America, and was stunned to hear George Lazenby. He sounds completely American, with no trace of a British accent at all.
>
> Of course, he sounded very British\* in **on Her Majesty’s Secret Service** , playing Bond. And he all-but-in-name played Bond in **the Return of the Man from U.N.C.L.E.** , but in the other things I’ve seen him in (like **Kentucky fried Movie** ) he still sounded like that.
>
> \*even though he’s really Australian
I caught some Aussie, enough to make me question if he wasn’t British but Australian. Thanks for the clarification!
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### Author:  [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)
#### Post date: [January 9, 2014, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-accents-changing-over-the-years/678274/20 "2014-01-09T17:22:53Z")
I read somewhere that Schwarzenegger was losing his trademark Austrian accent and had to take lessons to retain it.
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