# Actors whose natural voices sound totally different than you'd expect **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 5, 2019, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-whose-natural-voices-sound-totally-different-than-youd-expect/828990 "2019-02-05T03:25:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2019, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-whose-natural-voices-sound-totally-different-than-youd-expect/828990/21 "2019-02-05T18:46:47Z")
Jamie Bamber played Lee Adama on Battlestar and his American accent was so perfect, I could not believe he was English. Reversing. Alexis Denisof played Wesley on Angel and Buffy and when I hear him speak with his real American accent, it sounds fake. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2019, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-whose-natural-voices-sound-totally-different-than-youd-expect/828990/22 "2019-02-05T19:13:11Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Gillian Anderson, who was born in the U.S., but spent a good portion of her childhood living in England, sometimes appears in interviews speaking with an English accent – the first time I heard her with it, I was very surprised. As far as I can tell, she moves back and forth between American and English accents, and I have no idea which is her “natural” accent. She moves back and forth between America and England too, so the question of her natural accent is probably moot at this stage. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2019, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-whose-natural-voices-sound-totally-different-than-youd-expect/828990/23 "2019-02-05T19:38:03Z")
> [@bobkitty](#): > > Andrew Lincoln. Husband only knew him from TWD and I ended up completely breaking his brain by showing him a random Lincoln interview. Along with that, Lennie James, who plays Morgan on **TWD**. It never even occurred to me that he was anything but American, and then I watched him on **Talking Dead** , and my head exploded. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2019, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-whose-natural-voices-sound-totally-different-than-youd-expect/828990/24 "2019-02-05T20:13:19Z")
I had seen Melanie Lynskey in a bunch of stuff (_Ever After_, _Two and a Half Men_, Togetherness\*) before I heard her speak in her native New Zealand accent. ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2019, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-whose-natural-voices-sound-totally-different-than-youd-expect/828990/25 "2019-02-05T20:49:48Z")
Dan Stevens does aristocratic British in Downton Abbey, but switches over to an American accent in Legion effortlessly. There’s an episode where he splits into several personalities, each with a different accent, including the smart and cultured British version. ---
**Author:** ![cormac262](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f14d63/32.png) [@cormac262](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cormac262)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2019, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-whose-natural-voices-sound-totally-different-than-youd-expect/828990/26 "2019-02-05T20:51:30Z")
Along with Christian Bale and Marina Sirtis (Troi), I was suprized to find Millie Bobby Brown (“Eleven”) has an english accent as well. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2019, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-whose-natural-voices-sound-totally-different-than-youd-expect/828990/27 "2019-02-05T20:56:15Z")
A few that surprised me are Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Alan Cumming, Margot Robbie, and Benedict Wong. ---
**Author:** ![janis\_and\_c0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/janis_and_c0/32/21_2.png) [@janis\_and\_c0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/janis_and_c0)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2019, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-whose-natural-voices-sound-totally-different-than-youd-expect/828990/28 "2019-02-05T21:21:34Z")
Not an accent, but [this dude](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdbElWMnkyY%22). ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2019, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-whose-natural-voices-sound-totally-different-than-youd-expect/828990/29 "2019-02-05T21:32:45Z")
> [@Morbo](#): > > I had seen Melanie Lynskey in a bunch of stuff (_Ever After_, _Two and a Half Men_, Togetherness\*) before I heard her speak in her native New Zealand accent. Wait, what? She’s a kiwi? Okay, time to look for some interview videos. (BTW: she and Jason Ritter just had a baby girl. Granddaughter of John, great-granddaughter of Tex and has other ancestral actors. No pressure to be an actor, kid.) ---
**Author:** ![Penfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penfeather/32/384_2.png) [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2019, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-whose-natural-voices-sound-totally-different-than-youd-expect/828990/30 "2019-02-05T23:28:49Z")
> [@TRC4941](#): > > Simon Baker (The Mentalist) > > I’m always surprised at all of the Australian actors out there doing American accents. Antipodean actors get a _whole_ lot more employable if they can do an American accent, so the smart ones ones learn to do one fast: it’s why you’ll see a lot of Karl Urban, but not so much Tem Morrison. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2019, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-whose-natural-voices-sound-totally-different-than-youd-expect/828990/31 "2019-02-06T00:05:27Z")
I was also going to mention Marina Sirtis. But I mainly came on to this thread to mention Richard Feynmann. I went to an hour talk he gave, in which he spoke pure Brooklyn. Then came the question period and in answering them he slipped into his southern Californian. Which was his true accent. Well, of course he grew up in Brooklyn, but after Los Alamos spent most of the rest of his life in Socal. ---
**Author:** ![flaming\_yawn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/cab0a1/32.png) [@flaming\_yawn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flaming_yawn)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2019, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-whose-natural-voices-sound-totally-different-than-youd-expect/828990/32 "2019-02-06T00:14:31Z")
Rosa on Brooklyn 99 … sorry cannot remember her last name on show or her real name but she has a high squeeky voice in real life! ---
**Author:** ![planetcory](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/planetcory/32/1032_2.png) [@planetcory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/planetcory)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2019, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-whose-natural-voices-sound-totally-different-than-youd-expect/828990/33 "2019-02-06T00:27:23Z")
> [@flaming\_yawn](#): > > Rosa on Brooklyn 99 … sorry cannot remember her last name on show or her real name but she has a high squeeky voice in real life! Definitely this. Stephanie Beatriz. Not just how high her voice is, but also her general manner of speaking. A completely different person from what her character would lead you to believe. ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2019, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-whose-natural-voices-sound-totally-different-than-youd-expect/828990/34 "2019-02-06T00:58:18Z")
Melissa Rauch from Big Bang Theory. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2019, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-whose-natural-voices-sound-totally-different-than-youd-expect/828990/35 "2019-02-06T01:11:13Z")
> [@janis\_and\_c0](#): > > Not an accent, but [this dude](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdbElWMnkyY%22). I’ve heard it before and it always makes me laugh to hear his normal “calm” voice. ---
**Author:** ![senoy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dbc845/32.png) [@senoy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/senoy)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2019, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-whose-natural-voices-sound-totally-different-than-youd-expect/828990/36 "2019-02-06T02:39:57Z")
Brian Baumgartner. Kevin from The Office. It’s nuts to see him interviewed. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2019, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-whose-natural-voices-sound-totally-different-than-youd-expect/828990/37 "2019-02-06T02:48:59Z")
Not “totally different”, but I’ve been surprised when I’ve heard Kelsey Grammer speak. His natural voice is thinner and higher than Frasier’s. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2019, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-whose-natural-voices-sound-totally-different-than-youd-expect/828990/38 "2019-02-06T22:00:24Z")
> [@outlierrn](#): > > Melissa Rauch from Big Bang Theory. I’ve seen her several times on talk shows. Sounds quite close to Bernadette to me. Sometimes she’ll even demo the source of the voice (her mother) during an interview. Hardly a difference at all. ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Mapp](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miss_mapp/32/369_2.png) [@Miss\_Mapp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Mapp)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2019, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-whose-natural-voices-sound-totally-different-than-youd-expect/828990/39 "2019-02-12T14:01:51Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > And, my nomination: David Tennant. I’m too used to hearing him doing some flavor of English accent on _Doctor Who_, whereas his natural accent is clearly very Scottish. I’ve been listening to the Dr. Who commentaries the past few days, and when David Tennant is speaking I always think he sounds like Billy Boyd. The other one who surprised me was John Barrowman, who plays the dashing Captain Jack. He was brought up in the US, so his American accent is very good, but he’s originally from Glasgow and occasionally switches back to a Scottish accent. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2019, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-whose-natural-voices-sound-totally-different-than-youd-expect/828990/40 "2019-02-12T15:27:32Z")
Gilbert Gottfried’s screeching voice is not, in fact, his real voice, but he remains in character so consistently that most people have never heard his real voice. If you hear his real voice, he sounds normal. If you know it’s him you can hear where the screechy voice comes from, but if you heard his voice and didn’t know it was him, you might not guess who it was. He just sounds like a guy from New York. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-whose-natural-voices-sound-totally-different-than-youd-expect/828990.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-whose-natural-voices-sound-totally-different-than-youd-expect/828990.md?page=3)