# Best accent by an actor/actress **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 28, 2001, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-accent-by-an-actor-actress/90109 "2001-10-28T16:29:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**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:** [October 29, 2001, 10:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-accent-by-an-actor-actress/90109/21 "2001-10-29T10:08:45Z")
Adrian Lester’s accent in **Primary Colors** was amazing; I was astonished to learn that he is British. On the other end of the spectrum, there’s Meryl Streep’s Australian accent: “A din-gow ite moy bye-bye!” :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2001, 10:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-accent-by-an-actor-actress/90109/22 "2001-10-29T10:26:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Miller \* > Brad Pitt’s accent in Snatch. It wasn’t bad but the best Irish accent I’ve heard from a non-mick has to be Daniel Day Lewis in _My Left Foot_ or _In the name of the Father_. Couldn’t tell the difference. A lot of people actually think he’s Irish. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2001, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-accent-by-an-actor-actress/90109/23 "2001-10-29T12:12:36Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by longjohn \* > Tim Roth does American accents very well (as far as this brit can tell). I’m sure some american reviewer praised him as being one of the best american actors of his generation after his appearances in Resevoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction. Egad, how could I have left out Hugo Weaving’s American accent in _The Matrix_? I would think that American would be hard for an Australian. He did a splendid job. In fact, I had no idea he was not American until I saw him in an interview. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2001, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-accent-by-an-actor-actress/90109/24 "2001-10-29T12:15:30Z")
I meant to recognize especially his line when the other agents came back and interrupted his interrogation of Morpheus. One of them looked at the other and said, “He doesn’t know.” Weaving looked up and without batting an eye asked, “Know **whut**?” Perfect! ---
**Author:** ![shelbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3d9bf3/32.png) [@shelbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shelbo)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2001, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-accent-by-an-actor-actress/90109/25 "2001-10-29T18:00:15Z")
I’ll add another vote for Bob Hoskins. His American accent in “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?” was great - I did a full double take when I heard him interviewed after seeing that movie. ---
**Author:** ![panamajack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/47e85d/32.png) [@panamajack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panamajack)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2001, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-accent-by-an-actor-actress/90109/26 "2001-10-29T18:26:35Z")
While there have been some mentions of some really excellent particular accents, I have to put in another vote for Bob Hoskins as the most versatile with accents. Listen to him in _Who Framed Roger Rabbit?_ as a tough-guy American. Then see _The Favor, the Watch, and the Very Big Fish_ with him as a soft-spoken Frenchman. Yet the man is English (what I’d call Cockney, but I could be misrecognizing it). He also played Khrushchev in _Enemy At the Gates_ (which I haven’t seen) & J. Edgar Hoover in _Nixon_. ---
**Author:** ![justinh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9fc29f/32.png) [@justinh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/justinh)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2001, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-accent-by-an-actor-actress/90109/27 "2001-10-29T19:02:54Z")
Vivien Leigh - as scarlet O’hara - Gone with the Wind Bogart as Bogie - every movie he played (love all of them by the way) ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2001, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-accent-by-an-actor-actress/90109/28 "2001-10-29T19:05:03Z")
I thought Kevin Kline did a fine job as a Frenchman in _French Kiss_ and as a – what, German? – in _A Fish Called Wanda_. Still, I’m sure Francophones pooh-pooh’s Kline’s accent in _French Kiss_. But it worked for me. Another one – I had no idea Hugh Jackman was Australian after I’d seen _X-Men_. Yet another - Sam Neill did a pretty good Russian accent in _Hunt for Red October_. ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2001, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-accent-by-an-actor-actress/90109/29 "2001-10-30T02:25:47Z")
> [@](#): > > It wasn’t bad but the best Irish accent I’ve heard from a non-mick has to be Daniel Day Lewis in My Left Foot or In the name of the Father. Couldn’t tell the difference. A lot of people actually think he’s Irish. Day-Lewis’s father,Cecil Day-Lewis was born in Ireland and spoke with a brogue. “(Daniel’s father)…spoke, mostly, in a soft, sing-song brogue made even more seductive by a gentle lisping on his final r’s and the affectation of a thoroughbred Irishness that was not quite his claim.” (p. 6, “Daniel Day-Lewis” by Garry Jenkins) So, it appears that putting on accents ran in the family. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2001, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-accent-by-an-actor-actress/90109/30 "2001-10-30T02:27:22Z")
I think Ed Norton’s Kentucky accent in Primal Fear was impeccable. It wasn’t an over-the-top southern accent like some would do. I have relatives who hail from Kentucky and it was dead on. ---
**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:** [October 30, 2001, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-accent-by-an-actor-actress/90109/31 "2001-10-30T02:40:13Z")
Guy Pierce’s American accents in **L.A. Confidential** and **Memento** were pretty impressive. Come to think of it, Russel Crowe’s American accent in **L.A. Confidential** was pretty good, too. And what about Kevin Costner? Southern in **Bull Durham** , New Orleans in **JFK** , British in **Robin Hood** , Hyannisport in **Thirteen Days** , the guy can do it all!!!\* \*[sub]I don’t really need to say I’m kidding, do I? :-)[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![Helen\_s\_Eidolon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Helen\_s\_Eidolon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helen_s_Eidolon)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2001, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-accent-by-an-actor-actress/90109/32 "2001-10-30T03:09:17Z")
I’ve always liked James Marsters’ (Spike in Buffy) accent. He’s from California. But now that I find out Bob Hoskins is British… ---
**Author:** ![Angel\_of\_the\_Lord](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/angel_of_the_lord/32/2949_2.png) [@Angel\_of\_the\_Lord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angel_of_the_Lord)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2001, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-accent-by-an-actor-actress/90109/33 "2001-10-30T03:23:46Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by bordelond \* > \*\*I thought Kevin Kline did a fine job as a Frenchman in _French Kiss_ and as a – what, German? – in _A Fish Called Wanda_. > > Still, I’m sure Francophones pooh-pooh’s Kline’s accent in _French Kiss_. But it worked for me. > \*\* Actually, my mom grew up hearing French spoken at home, majored in it, and has a flawless accent (or so people have told me). She was quite impressed by Kline’s accent, especially when he was speaking French. In fact, she told me that the first time she heard it, she thought that it was dubbed, until she recognized his voice. ---
**Author:** ![DeadlyAccurate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac91a4/32.png) [@DeadlyAccurate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeadlyAccurate)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2001, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-accent-by-an-actor-actress/90109/34 "2001-10-30T05:08:30Z")
Jeffrey Wright’s Hispanic accent in _Shaft_ as Peoples Hernandez. When I heard his interview, I was expecting at least the trace of an accent. Guy Pearce _isn’t_ an American?! ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2001, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-accent-by-an-actor-actress/90109/35 "2001-10-30T05:44:00Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by LaurAnge \* > **I’ve always liked James Marsters’ (Spike in Buffy) accent. He’s from California.** Darn…I was going to mention Marsters. An fake accent, but a great (and sexy) fake accent. ---
**Author:** ![Crunchy\_Frog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ebca7d/32.png) [@Crunchy\_Frog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crunchy_Frog)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2001, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-accent-by-an-actor-actress/90109/36 "2001-10-30T05:54:19Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by throatshot \* > \*\*Guy Pearce _isn’t_ an American?! \*\* Nope. He’s Australian IIRC. He and Russell Crowe (great accents in _LA Confidential_ and _The Insider_) were going to be my additions to this thread, but I’ve been beaten me too it. And Brad Pitt’s accent in _Snatch_ wasn’t supposed to be quite Irish **yojimbo** and I thought he did good Irish in _The Devil’s Own_ (that was the one he did with Harrison Ford, right?) But, since I’m American, you’re probably a better judge than I on that matter. ---
**Author:** ![Katisha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bcef8e/32.png) [@Katisha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Katisha)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2001, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-accent-by-an-actor-actress/90109/37 "2001-10-30T06:11:30Z")
Bob Hoskins – good call! BTW, I cringed whenever Kevin Costner opened his mouth in _Thirteen Days._ People like to make fun at his sorry attempt at a British accent in _Prince of Thieves,_ but nonexistent is probably easier to listen to than painfully abrasive… (And yes, **Dooku** , I know you were joking. Just felt like complaining.) ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2001, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-accent-by-an-actor-actress/90109/38 "2001-10-30T06:33:07Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ianzin \* > \*\*Gwyneth Paltrow in ‘Sliding Doors’. Required to do two different English accents using completely different idioms. Nailed them both convincingly. \*\* Ummm, huh? 😕 She was playing exactly the same woman, whose life split into two paths at one particular moment in time, as an adult, for just a short period. There was no requirement for differnt accents, and she didn’t do different accents. Lots of good ones, but I think the two that spring immediately to mind as top notch are \*\* Judy Davis \*\*playing any American (she’s another Aussie) and Meryl Streep playing anyone ever, but of course, most spectacularly as Polish Sophie, most subtly in Bridges of Madison County (Italian by way of 20 years in the midwest) Funny this thread came up, I just watched “Bridget Jones” and I was startled by how good an accent Zellweger did. Stumbled…once, maybe. Really, really good. Odd thing, though…I’m never embarassed by non-Americans doing American accents, but I always find something vaguely silly about Americans doing non-American accents, even when they are done perfectly. I have no idea why. stoid who has an excellent ear and does great accents, if she says so herself. But everyone else does, too. ---
**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2001, 10:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-accent-by-an-actor-actress/90109/39 "2001-10-30T10:20:41Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by PunditLisa \* > Day-Lewis’s father,Cecil Day-Lewis was born in Ireland and spoke with a brogue. “(Daniel’s father)…spoke, mostly, in a soft, sing-song brogue made even more seductive by a gentle lisping on his final r’s and the affectation of a thoroughbred Irishness that was not quite his claim.” (p. 6, “Daniel Day-Lewis” by Garry Jenkins) So, it appears that putting on accents ran in the family. 🙂 I didn’t know that. Cheers 🙂 > [@](#): > > And Brad Pitt’s accent in Snatch wasn’t supposed to be quite Irish yojimbo and I thought he did good Irish in The Devil’s Own (that was the one he did with Harrison Ford, right?) But, since I’m American, you’re probably a better judge than I on that matter. Errm Brad Pitt played a Irish Traveler(gypsy) in Snatch living in the UK. His accent in Snatch was better than Devils Own in my opinion but both where pretty good. Better that any attempt I cpuld make at one of the myriad of accents you guys have over your side of the pond. ---
**Author:** ![jinty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/dbc845/32.png) [@jinty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jinty)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2001, 10:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-accent-by-an-actor-actress/90109/40 "2001-10-30T10:32:44Z")
Emma Thompson again: she had an impeccable “posh” Scottish accent (yes, there is such a thing!) in the BBC series “Tutti Frutti”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-accent-by-an-actor-actress/90109.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-accent-by-an-actor-actress/90109.md?page=3)