# British, which American actor has nailed your accent the best. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 25, 2006, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-which-american-actor-has-nailed-your-accent-the-best/358196 "2006-05-25T17:19:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Uncommon\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Uncommon\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncommon_Sense)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2006, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-which-american-actor-has-nailed-your-accent-the-best/358196/1 "2006-05-25T17:19:41Z")
Any nominees? Gwyneth Paltrow in Sliding Doors is one off the top of my head that I can come up with. Whose your nomination? Is it harder for an American to do British or for British to do American? ---
**Author:** ![amarone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@amarone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarone)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2006, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-which-american-actor-has-nailed-your-accent-the-best/358196/2 "2006-05-25T17:43:44Z")
> [@Uncommon Sense](#): > > Any nominees? > Gwyneth Paltrow in Sliding Doors is one off the top of my head that I can come up with. That performance came to mind as soon as I saw the thread title. I hadn’t heard of Gwyneth Paltrow at the time and was surprised to learn some months later that she is American. And of course there is Dick Van Dyke in Mary Poppins. ---
**Author:** ![Pjen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Pjen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pjen)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2006, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-which-american-actor-has-nailed-your-accent-the-best/358196/3 "2006-05-25T17:47:22Z")
Even better- Renée Zellweger in Bridget Jones Diary. ---
**Author:** ![YaWanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/bbce88/32.png) [@YaWanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YaWanna)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2006, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-which-american-actor-has-nailed-your-accent-the-best/358196/4 "2006-05-25T17:54:43Z")
> [@amarone](#): > > And of course there is Dick Van Dyke in Mary Poppins. Just who do you think you’re whooshin’ with that shit? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Sal\_Ammoniac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@Sal\_Ammoniac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sal_Ammoniac)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2006, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-which-american-actor-has-nailed-your-accent-the-best/358196/5 "2006-05-25T18:07:02Z")
IANAB, but I want to nominate Forest Whitaker in _The Crying Game_. Something of a bit part, but excellently done. ---
**Author:** ![Szlater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/90ced4/32.png) [@Szlater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Szlater)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2006, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-which-american-actor-has-nailed-your-accent-the-best/358196/6 "2006-05-25T18:15:01Z")
I think Alexis Denisof and James Marsters in Buffy/Angel did their respective accents pretty well. > [@Pjen](#): > > Even better- Renée Zellweger in Bridget Jones Diary. I have to agree with you, it wasn’t perfect but it was one of the best. I thougt the best, deliberately bad accents were the ones of the ‘Wee Britain’ residents in ‘Arrested Development’, Charlize Theron in particular. ---
**Author:** ![FatBaldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecd19e/32.png) [@FatBaldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FatBaldGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2006, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-which-american-actor-has-nailed-your-accent-the-best/358196/7 "2006-05-25T18:34:25Z")
I was very surprised to learn that James Doohan (Scotty on Star Trek) was not a native Scot, but actually from Canada. ---
**Author:** ![shelbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3d9bf3/32.png) [@shelbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shelbo)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2006, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-which-american-actor-has-nailed-your-accent-the-best/358196/8 "2006-05-25T18:46:00Z")
The other way around, I was amazed when I first heard Bob Hoskins interviewed (having only ever seen him in Who Framed Roger Rabbit). ---
**Author:** ![Szlater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/90ced4/32.png) [@Szlater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Szlater)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2006, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-which-american-actor-has-nailed-your-accent-the-best/358196/9 "2006-05-25T18:51:29Z")
What’s the opinion of Hugh Laurie’s attempt at an “American” accent in “House, MD”? I’ve read that the producers didn’t realise he wasn’t American when he auditioned for the part, but that smacks of promotional fluff to me. ---
**Author:** ![TheBoneyKingofNowhere](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@TheBoneyKingofNowhere](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheBoneyKingofNowhere)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2006, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-which-american-actor-has-nailed-your-accent-the-best/358196/10 "2006-05-25T19:00:54Z")
> [@Szlater](#): > > What’s the opinion of Hugh Laurie’s attempt at an “American” accent in “House, MD”? > > I’ve read that the producers didn’t realise he wasn’t American when he auditioned for the part, but that smacks of promotional fluff to me. I was surprised to learn he was British! Very good, then, imo. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2006, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-which-american-actor-has-nailed-your-accent-the-best/358196/11 "2006-05-25T19:05:11Z")
> [@Szlater](#): > > I think Alexis Denisof and James Marsters in Buffy/Angel did their respective accents pretty well. I’ve always thought so too. Alexis lived in London for 3 years studying at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, so one assumes he had plenty of time to hone his accent. Tony Head’s accent is just as fake, incidently. James says in real life Tony sounds like Spike, and he even patterned Spike’s accent from listening to Tony. Juliet Landau, however, belongs in the Dick VanDyke school of accents. “Spoike! Spoike!” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![lisacurl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/41988e/32.png) [@lisacurl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisacurl)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2006, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-which-american-actor-has-nailed-your-accent-the-best/358196/12 "2006-05-25T19:09:34Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > Tony Head’s accent is just as fake, incidently. James says in real life Tony sounds like Spike, and he even patterned Spike’s accent from listening to Tony. For a hint of Tony Head’s natural accent, watch the season three episode “Band Candy.” As he reverts to his Ripper persona, he starts speaking a little rougher and less posh. It’s terrifically sexy. ---
**Author:** ![kelly5078](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6f9a4e/32.png) [@kelly5078](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kelly5078)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2006, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-which-american-actor-has-nailed-your-accent-the-best/358196/13 "2006-05-25T19:23:20Z")
> [@szLater](#): > > What’s the opinion of Hugh Laurie’s attempt at an “American” accent in “House, MD”? He’s superb. In the season finale, he did a very short bit imitating an unidentifiable, lower-class English accent, and _that_ sounded fake! ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2006, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-which-american-actor-has-nailed-your-accent-the-best/358196/14 "2006-05-25T19:24:06Z")
> [@Szlater](#): > > What’s the opinion of Hugh Laurie’s attempt at an “American” accent in “House, MD”? > > I’ve read that the producers didn’t realise he wasn’t American when he auditioned for the part, but that smacks of promotional fluff to me. I can believe the story. I knew Laurie from **Blackadder** and **Jeeves and Wooster** , but his accent in **House** has me saying, “I _know_ this guy is British, isn’t he?” ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2006, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-which-american-actor-has-nailed-your-accent-the-best/358196/15 "2006-05-25T19:27:42Z")
Gwyneth Paltrow, again. Amazing, because she got a regional accent down, too, and the intonation was perfect. Renee Zelweger did a very good job, but there are a few vowel sounds that she just couldn’t get right. The short ‘o’ if I recall. I tutored an American actress girlfriend to do an English accent, and she was very convincing, but the short ‘o’ let her down too. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2006, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-which-american-actor-has-nailed-your-accent-the-best/358196/16 "2006-05-25T19:44:46Z")
IMO: Gwyneth (I too didn’t realise she wasn’t a Brit in Sliding Doors), but not Renee, who sounded like she was trying too hard to remember how to pronounce everything. ---
**Author:** ![h.sapiens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e0b2c6/32.png) [@h.sapiens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/h.sapiens)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2006, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-which-american-actor-has-nailed-your-accent-the-best/358196/17 "2006-05-25T19:52:30Z")
Where does Gillian Anderson fit in here? She was born in the states, lived in England until she was 11, moved to Michigan, lost her accent, and moved back to Britain (I think) after _The X-Files_. I thought her accent was very good in _Bleak House_ but I’m no expert. ---
**Author:** ![garius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e19b73/32.png) [@garius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garius)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2006, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-which-american-actor-has-nailed-your-accent-the-best/358196/18 "2006-05-25T19:59:19Z")
Denisof and Marsters again for me. A lot of it is vocabulary more than anything else though. Being able to do a passable accent is only the start of it - if you don’t use words correctly, use americanisms or use archaic terminology then that flags you up as a fraud quicker than anything else. I’ve done extensive research on this.\* One of the things i quickly discovered on these barbarian shores is that you can pretty much guarantee that being British and sitting on your own in a bar over here is like wearing a large sign saying: > [@](#): > > College Girls! I want to hear the British accent all your mates say is so perfect! Surprisingly it often _is_ pretty damn good. They’d never get mistaken for a native though because the vocabulary is all wrong. So basically there’s a difference between sounding British and actually, well, _sounding_ British if you catch my drift 😃 > [@](#): > > James says in real life Tony sounds like Spike, and he even patterned Spike’s accent from listening to Tony. \ That’s exactly what he told me and a mate a few years back when we had drinks with him on a couple of occasions. It was him that first mentioned the vocabulary thing to me actually. He said that a lot of what he got from Tony Head was learning the right things to _say_ as much as helping him refine how he sounded. \ _Purely for scientific purposes you understand. I’m happily engaged man_\* \*\*just in case. she may be reading this… ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2006, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-which-american-actor-has-nailed-your-accent-the-best/358196/19 "2006-05-25T20:00:35Z")
> [@h.sapiens](#): > > Where does Gillian Anderson fit in here? She was born in the states, lived in England until she was 11, moved to Michigan, lost her accent, and moved back to Britain (I think) after _The X-Files_. I thought her accent was very good in _Bleak House_ but I’m no expert. In interview over here she talks with a perfect, natural English accent. However, I recall her saying that when she’s in the US, it mutates to American. ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2006, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-which-american-actor-has-nailed-your-accent-the-best/358196/20 "2006-05-25T20:06:00Z")
> [@Szlater](#): > > What’s the opinion of Hugh Laurie’s attempt at an “American” accent in “House, MD”? When I first saw _House_, it nagged at me for days that I knew this guy from somewhere, but I just couldn’t place it. A few days later, my wife was watching a rerun of the _Friends_ episode in which Laurie appears. It wasn’t until then that I put the face and the voice together. _"Ah-ha!_, I yelled. _“Blackadder! The Young Ones!”_ Yeah, that got me some strange looks from my wife. To sum up – yes, his American accent is flawless. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-which-american-actor-has-nailed-your-accent-the-best/358196.md?page=2)