# American accents as performed by non-Americans **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 29, 2012, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-accents-as-performed-by-non-americans/633082 "2012-08-29T23:01:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2012, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-accents-as-performed-by-non-americans/633082/41 "2012-08-30T13:16:18Z")
Adrian Lester did a flawless American accent in _Primary Colors_, while Emma Thompson in the same film was less convincing. ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2012, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-accents-as-performed-by-non-americans/633082/42 "2012-08-30T13:16:38Z")
Kenneth Branagh’s American accent was only so-so in that reincarnation murder mystery movie with Emma Thompson. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2012, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-accents-as-performed-by-non-americans/633082/43 "2012-08-30T13:33:26Z")
> [@Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](#): > > John Barrowman - Scotland - Captain Jack on Doctor Who - As I said, pretty good but a bit “John-Wayne-ey”. Barrowman moved to the US, specifically the Chicago suburbs, when he was about 8 and stayed there at least through high school. Unless he’s trying for something regional, his American accent is pretty much “white boy from western Chicago suburbs”. On UK shows like _Doctor Who_ and _Torchwood_ he often uses British pronunciations and some British phrasing which makes the accent sound off, but makes some sense in shows aimed primarily at a UK audience. It takes little effort for him to pull off a flawless Mid-western US accent when he wants to do it. ---
**Author:** ![Rollo\_Tomasi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/58956e/32.png) [@Rollo\_Tomasi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rollo_Tomasi)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2012, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-accents-as-performed-by-non-americans/633082/44 "2012-08-30T14:20:04Z")
> [@Koxinga](#): > > Kenneth Branagh’s American accent was only so-so in that reincarnation murder mystery movie with Emma Thompson. **Dead Again** , which is one of my favorite movies of all time. But yes, neither Branagh’s nor Thompson’s accent is exactly flawless in that one. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2012, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-accents-as-performed-by-non-americans/633082/45 "2012-08-30T15:16:05Z")
> [@Rollo\_Tomasi](#): > > Stephen Graham, who plays Al Capone on _Boardwalk Empire_, is from Liverpool, but you’d never know it from watching the show. His Brooklyn accent might be a bit broad (although I’m not sure what Capone actually sounded like), but it’s by far one of the better regional accents I’ve heard from British actors. Yeah yeah! I saw him in _This Is England_ literally the week before he first appeared in “Boardwalk Empire”. He didn’t talk much in that first episode but you’re right, his accent has been amazing! ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_Tyger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@Silver\_Tyger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Tyger)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2012, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-accents-as-performed-by-non-americans/633082/46 "2012-08-30T15:49:46Z")
> [@Hail\_Ants](#): > > Christian Bale still gets me, he not only has a British accent but was in several big films as a child actor speaking with this normal Brit accent (_Empire of the Sun, Henry V_). He seemed to disappear as a teen actor and just reappeared all grown up and American (and crazy) in _American Psycho_. He was in Newsies in 1992 when he was 18, with a good accent (and unlike most of the other kids, he kept the same accent the whole movie). Looking at his wiki page, he did work as a teenager, but nothing huge. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2012, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-accents-as-performed-by-non-americans/633082/47 "2012-08-30T16:51:34Z")
Could anyone tell me what Sean Beans accent was in _Missing_ ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2012, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-accents-as-performed-by-non-americans/633082/48 "2012-08-30T18:19:21Z")
Portia de Rossi was very convincing in both Ally McBeal and Arrested Development. It’s a little jarring to hear her speak with her native Australian accent. ---
**Author:** ![Corcaigh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Corcaigh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Corcaigh)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2012, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-accents-as-performed-by-non-americans/633082/49 "2012-08-30T19:19:26Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > Heh. “Pretty good” amuses me a bit, as that \*is \*his accent. He was born in Glasgow but moved to Illinois when he was 8, so he does have an American accent. (He can slip back into the Scottish one easily, but American is now his “normal” accent.) I saw him on TV, his parents both speak with a Scottish accent, and when he visits them he does too. I’m LOLing at everyone admiring Hugh Laurie’s American accent, I thought it was awful, but maybe I’m just used to hearing him speak with an English accent? ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2012, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-accents-as-performed-by-non-americans/633082/50 "2012-08-30T20:09:14Z")
> [@Corcaigh](#): > > I’m LOLing at everyone admiring Hugh Laurie’s American accent, I thought it was awful, but maybe I’m just used to hearing him speak with an English accent? I’m used to hearing his English accent but I’ve never found a flaw in his American accent (I’ve seen every episode). Now, his _vocalization_ might be grating. I don’t like his gruff voice and get tired of listening to it. But his _pronunciation_ is spot-on. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2012, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-accents-as-performed-by-non-americans/633082/51 "2012-08-30T20:47:18Z")
> [@Lamia](#): > > I generally like Ewan McGregor as an actor, but he’s not very good with American accents. This worked fine in _Down With Love_, where his character was _supposed_ to be faking a rather over-the-top American (Southern) accent, but in movies I’ve seen where he’s actually playing an American he hasn’t been very convincing. Concur, and I would add that his Southern accent in _Big Fish_ was godawful. ---
**Author:** ![Invisible\_Chimp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/f05b48/32.png) [@Invisible\_Chimp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Invisible_Chimp)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2012, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-accents-as-performed-by-non-americans/633082/52 "2012-08-30T21:09:53Z")
In [this](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ofg6tJpW0Q&feature=relmfu) scene from “The Riches,” I can’t tell if Eddie Izzard and Minnie Driver are bad, or if I just think they are bad because I know I they are both British. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2012, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-accents-as-performed-by-non-americans/633082/53 "2012-08-30T21:18:21Z")
> [@Invisible\_Chimp](#): > > In [this](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ofg6tJpW0Q&feature=relmfu) scene from “The Riches,” I can’t tell if Eddie Izzard and Minnie Driver are bad, or if I just think they are bad because I know I they are both British. Are they both trying to sound American? Eddie pulls it off slightly better but comes off, I dunno, with a bit of a Northern Irish or Northern English twang to it or something? The way he says “lawyer” in particular, strikes as odd. Minnie’s not even close, in my opinion, coming off as having bits of Australian crossed with a bit of Southern American crossed with god knows what. It’s a mutt of a weird accent. Yeah, those are both unrecognizable, in my opinion, as actual American accents. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2012, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-accents-as-performed-by-non-americans/633082/54 "2012-08-30T21:33:34Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > On UK shows like _Doctor Who_ and _Torchwood_ he \* [John Barrowman]\* often uses British pronunciations and some British phrasing which makes the accent sound off, but makes some sense in shows aimed primarily at a UK audience. It takes little effort for him to pull off a flawless Mid-western US accent when he wants to do it. Yeah, I remember him in the _Doctor Who_ episode “Bad Wolf” talking about “getting in the lift”, which was jarring. Britishisms sound weird in American accents. I suppose it’d have sounded equally odd to hear Billie Piper say “y’all”. ---
**Author:** ![Corcaigh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Corcaigh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Corcaigh)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2012, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-accents-as-performed-by-non-americans/633082/55 "2012-08-30T21:51:36Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > I’m used to hearing his English accent but I’ve never found a flaw in his American accent (I’ve seen every episode). > > Now, his _vocalization_ might be grating. I don’t like his gruff voice and get tired of listening to it. But his _pronunciation_ is spot-on. Was it? He must’ve been using an accent from an area of America I’ve never been to/have relatives from, he always sounded like an English blerk forcing himself to speak in an American accent on House to my ears. MMDV ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2012, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-accents-as-performed-by-non-americans/633082/56 "2012-08-30T21:52:45Z")
> [@Hello\_Again](#): > > Jamie Bamber - Battlestar Gallactica. I was stunned to hear his English accent in an interview. I was gonna say this. He totally convinced me he was American. ---
**Author:** ![Palo\_Verde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/65b543/32.png) [@Palo\_Verde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palo_Verde)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2012, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-accents-as-performed-by-non-americans/633082/57 "2012-08-30T22:16:47Z")
How about Hugo Weaving in The Matrix? It’s exaggerated, but I think it is supposed to be for the character. He is English-Australian, and sounded authentically American. ---
**Author:** ![Palo\_Verde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/65b543/32.png) [@Palo\_Verde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palo_Verde)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2012, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-accents-as-performed-by-non-americans/633082/58 "2012-08-30T22:22:41Z")
Emma Watson is working to perfect hers, as she has an upcoming moving in which she portrays and American: > **[Hear Emma Watson's American Accent in 'Perks of Being a Wallflower' Trailer](https://jezebel.com/hear-emma-watsons-american-accent-in-perks-of-being-a-w-5915438)** > > Last night marked the 2012 MTV Movie Awards, which, in addition to Russell Brand, the tributes from the Hunger Games, Fun (Period), and lots of 16-year-olds screeching, promised the debut trailer for the film adaptation of Stephen Chbosky popular,... [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/h1eyKdq9Jug/hqdefault.jpg "Emma Watson American Accent") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1eyKdq9Jug) ---
**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:** [August 30, 2012, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-accents-as-performed-by-non-americans/633082/59 "2012-08-30T22:32:25Z")
I always bring up Melanie Lynskey in these threads - probably most well known as Rose from Two And A Half Men. She’s from [New Zealand](http://youtu.be/bxdBjKPsL9A). ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2012, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-accents-as-performed-by-non-americans/633082/60 "2012-08-30T22:35:15Z")
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