# Actors who a very good at imitating accents. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 25, 2007, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-a-very-good-at-imitating-accents/401533 "2007-04-25T00:01:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![CaerieD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@CaerieD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaerieD)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2007, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-a-very-good-at-imitating-accents/401533/41 "2007-04-25T14:18:06Z")
[QUOTE=McNew] Why would he do this? I think he’s a great actor, but maintaining the affected accent during interviews and such strikes me as a tad self-important and arrogant. Anyhow, I think Cate Blanchett is completely believable in all character accents. [/QUOTE] I don’t know if he’s done this for other roles. The only one I ever heard of him doing it for was when he was doing the circuit for **Batman Begins**. His reasoning was that Batman is such a huge American icon that it might kind of turn people off for him to use his native accent while promoting it. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2007, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-a-very-good-at-imitating-accents/401533/42 "2007-04-25T14:39:23Z")
[QUOTE=Nava] IME, many non-Brits think that everybody in the British Isles sounds the same except when you cross over some line in the map. Many non-Hispanics have the same notion about Spain; in this case, without map lines. [/QUOTE] Here in the New World, we’ve got an even bigger variety of Spanish accents. In a Venezuelan-owned restaurant in Houston, I accidentally pronounced _Xerez_ with a Spanish “Z.” The waiter almost sneered at me. Then, there are the Argentinos! ---
**Author:** ![awldune](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c77e96/32.png) [@awldune](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/awldune)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2007, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-a-very-good-at-imitating-accents/401533/43 "2007-04-25T15:02:48Z")
[QUOTE=LifeOnWry] Toni Collette (…) I saw her in Velvet Goldmine, too, which was an awful movie, but Collette’s character went back and forth between American and British accents seamlessly. [/QUOTE] Actually, she was playing an American doing a bad fake British accent. Her ‘real’ accent was excellent, however. ---
**Author:** ![GrizzRich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7ba0ec/32.png) [@GrizzRich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrizzRich)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2007, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-a-very-good-at-imitating-accents/401533/44 "2007-04-25T15:11:30Z")
[QUOTE=Crotalus] I think Tracey Ullman does various accents pretty well. [/QUOTE] She had me convinced when I heard her do a Baltimore accent on her show years ago. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2007, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-a-very-good-at-imitating-accents/401533/45 "2007-04-25T15:13:41Z")
[QUOTE=awldune] Actually, she was playing an American doing a bad fake British accent. Her ‘real’ accent was excellent, however. [/QUOTE] Watch Collette doing working-class American with just a touch of the Philly twang in “The Sixth Sense.” She’s excellent. ---
**Author:** ![betenoir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/258eb7/32.png) [@betenoir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/betenoir)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2007, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-a-very-good-at-imitating-accents/401533/46 "2007-04-25T15:23:51Z")
I think Hugh Laurie does a great job. Most Brits seem to go for flat nasal middle american accents. But he sounds like he really could be from Princetown . ---
**Author:** ![FatBaldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecd19e/32.png) [@FatBaldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FatBaldGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2007, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-a-very-good-at-imitating-accents/401533/47 "2007-04-25T15:39:13Z")
I was amazed years ago to find out that James Doohan (Scotty on Star Trek) was Canadian. I lived in Scotland for 2 years, and would never have guessed that he wasn’t a native. ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2007, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-a-very-good-at-imitating-accents/401533/48 "2007-04-25T16:10:34Z")
[QUOTE=BluePitbull] [I thought the main character for House MD](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugh_Laurie) is an American. [/QUOTE] Ha! I specifically came here to mention Hugh Laurie! Joe ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2007, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-a-very-good-at-imitating-accents/401533/49 "2007-04-25T16:44:08Z")
Ian McShane is another Brit doing an American accent. And, Ciarán Hinds who played Caesar in HBO’s Rome does American pretty well. He was in Miami Vice 2006. I knew Dominic West (McNuts) was British. I like guys like this. They’re great actors who can bring something to an American role without the mental typecasting that goes on when you see some of our regulars. ---
**Author:** ![descamisado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@descamisado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/descamisado)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2007, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-a-very-good-at-imitating-accents/401533/50 "2007-04-25T16:55:15Z")
[QUOTE=RickJay] Whoa, whoa, whoa, back that train up. MEL GIBSON? I like a lot of his work but he sounds as Australian as a kangaroo in a billabong whenever he tries to do an American accent. (The irony being that Mel Gibson is, in fact, American by birth. Same with Nicole Kidman.) The only movie I’ve seen him in where you couldn’t tell he was Australian was “Braveheart,” where it was masked by his Scots affectation. [/QUOTE] I have nothing to based this on, so I’m just throwing it out there. Could it be that Australia’s relative geographic and linguistic isolation means that, when it’s time to learn another accent, there’s less of a melting pot of other accents already there to affect the outcome? I also wonder if the Mel Gibson example undoes or proves this theory. ---
**Author:** ![Hippy\_Hollow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hippy_hollow/32/4841_2.png) [@Hippy\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2007, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-a-very-good-at-imitating-accents/401533/51 "2007-04-25T17:18:32Z")
Agree with the praise on Hugh Laurie. He does a lot of accents in _A Bit of Fry and Laurie_ as well. It’s hard to place his accent - it’s sort of a neutral American, but it sounds real. It’s jarring to see him look like House and talk normally. Harry Enfield is a British comedian who does an excellent South African and American accent. (US Dopers will know him as the annoying “Dr. Angus” from the BK commercials, as well as the Traveling Gnome from Travelocity.) Lenny Henry does a great West Indian accent, and a pretty good American one as well. Eamonn Walker, who played Kareem Said in _Oz_, is British. His accent is excellent, and again, seeing him speak out of character is shocking. And I am blown away to learn that Carcetti from _The Wire_ is Irish! He’s great. ---
**Author:** ![Electrical\_Storm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ac8455/32.png) [@Electrical\_Storm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Electrical_Storm)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2007, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-a-very-good-at-imitating-accents/401533/52 "2007-04-25T17:20:23Z")
[QUOTE=OneCentStamp] \ Her character in that movie should have hooked up with John Malkovich’s character in _Rounders_. Two worst Russian accents I ever heard. 🙂 [/QUOTE] Yeah, just like John Malkovich’s faux French accent in “Johnny English”. Stank to the end of the world. Was the accent intentionally stinko for the movie, a goofy comedy, or was it just really the best he could do for a French accent? I had no idea Hugh Laurie was British until shortly after I started watching “House”. I stumbled upon a television interview where he was speaking in his normal British accent and thought his delivery on the American accent was amazing, just flawless. ---
**Author:** ![Hippy\_Hollow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hippy_hollow/32/4841_2.png) [@Hippy\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2007, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-a-very-good-at-imitating-accents/401533/53 "2007-04-25T17:26:56Z")
Somewhat obscure, but in a _Young Ones_ episode Rik Mayall (Rick) and Nigel Planer (Neil) play two cheesy American entertainers. Mayall was not good but Planer had the laconic, California-style lounge singer accent down. ---
**Author:** ![BluePitbull](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e9bcb4/32.png) [@BluePitbull](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BluePitbull)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2007, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-a-very-good-at-imitating-accents/401533/54 "2007-04-25T17:28:29Z")
[QUOTE=Electrical Storm] Yeah, just like John Malkovich’s faux French accent in “Johnny English”. Stank to the end of the world. Was the accent intentionally stinko for the movie, a goofy comedy, or was it just really the best he could do for a French accent? I had no idea Hugh Laurie was British until shortly after I started watching “House”. I stumbled upon a television interview where he was speaking in his normal British accent and thought his delivery on the American accent was amazing, just flawless. [/QUOTE] Anyone has any clips of Hugh Laurie talking normally? ---
**Author:** ![Lunar\_Saltlick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/977dab/32.png) [@Lunar\_Saltlick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lunar_Saltlick)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2007, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-a-very-good-at-imitating-accents/401533/55 "2007-04-25T17:31:02Z")
[QUOTE=FatBaldGuy] I was amazed years ago to find out that James Doohan (Scotty on Star Trek) was Canadian. I lived in Scotland for 2 years, and would never have guessed that he wasn’t a native. [/QUOTE] Wikipedia says that his parents were Irish, though James was born in BC, and grew up in the beautiful town of Sarnia, Ontario. It wouldn’t have been strange, however, to find a Canadian with a strong Scottish accent, especially in the 1900s. Half the people in the flippin’ country have got some Scots blood. Near as I can tell, that’s where the aboot, doot and oot come from. Immigration patterns have changed massively over the past thirty years, however, and I doot you’ll hear an aboot in Canada for much longer. (Or was your comment a whoosh? I can be pretty thick.) ---
**Author:** ![betenoir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/258eb7/32.png) [@betenoir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/betenoir)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2007, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-a-very-good-at-imitating-accents/401533/56 "2007-04-25T17:49:48Z")
[QUOTE=BluePitbull] Anyone has any clips of Hugh Laurie talking normally? [/QUOTE] Are you kidding? Have you seen Blackadder? Although I suppose that wasn’t normal either.. And Bertie wasn’t very normal either. In fact House may be the most normal character he’s played. ---
**Author:** ![Hippy\_Hollow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hippy_hollow/32/4841_2.png) [@Hippy\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2007, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-a-very-good-at-imitating-accents/401533/57 "2007-04-25T18:15:24Z")
[QUOTE=BluePitbull] Anyone has any clips of Hugh Laurie talking normally? [/QUOTE] See [here](http://youtube.com/watch?v=XXVlldAD8KA). ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2007, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-a-very-good-at-imitating-accents/401533/58 "2007-04-25T18:17:40Z")
Jamie Bell and Hugo Weaving. ---
**Author:** ![vertizontal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/ad7895/32.png) [@vertizontal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vertizontal)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2007, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-a-very-good-at-imitating-accents/401533/59 "2007-04-25T18:26:14Z")
[QUOTE=FatBaldGuy] I was amazed years ago to find out that James Doohan (Scotty on Star Trek) was Canadian. I lived in Scotland for 2 years, and would never have guessed that he wasn’t a native. [/QUOTE] I vaguely recall sometime in the early '70s, Doohan and some other Star Trek cast members were interviewed on the Tomorrow show. He did not speak with an accent, and he mentioned that he called himself an excellent dialectician who could do all kinds of foreign accents. But he said he was having trouble getting acting jobs after Trek, because whenever his name came up, directors would immediately say “but I don’t want a Scottsman for the part”. At the time, Doohan seemed fairly bitter about it, but some years later he eventually accepted that he would be forever known as Scotty. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2007, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-a-very-good-at-imitating-accents/401533/60 "2007-04-25T18:29:13Z")
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