# Good southern US accents in movies and TV? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 15, 2000, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-southern-us-accents-in-movies-and-tv/41248 "2000-11-15T03:21:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![screech-owl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@screech-owl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/screech-owl)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2000, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-southern-us-accents-in-movies-and-tv/41248/1 "2000-11-15T03:21:45Z")
**spoke-**'s thread [Worst fake southern accent in cinematic history?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=46363) got me to thinking: What are some movies or tv shows where the actors have GOOD/passable southern accents? Give me some good examples so I can attempt to blend in, or get a job doing voice-overs. ---
**Author:** ![T140](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ed655f/32.png) [@T140](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/T140)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2000, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-southern-us-accents-in-movies-and-tv/41248/2 "2000-11-15T03:32:08Z")
I’m not sure about the best, but I can tell you the worst. Nick Cage in Con-Air. That is the worst southern accent I have EVER heard. If I think of a good example I’ll let you know. Later… ---
**Author:** ![screech-owl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@screech-owl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/screech-owl)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2000, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-southern-us-accents-in-movies-and-tv/41248/3 "2000-11-15T03:44:05Z")
Um, I already have a good list of the worst [sub]hint - that’s why I posted the link[/sub]. Nicholas Cage had 5 ‘worst’ votes and one ‘not-seen-the-movie-yet’. ---
**Author:** ![zigaretten](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/91b2a8/32.png) [@zigaretten](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zigaretten)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2000, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-southern-us-accents-in-movies-and-tv/41248/4 "2000-11-15T03:53:40Z")
Rod Stieger - In the Heat of the Night ---
**Author:** ![T140](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ed655f/32.png) [@T140](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/T140)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2000, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-southern-us-accents-in-movies-and-tv/41248/5 "2000-11-15T03:58:45Z")
> [@](#): > > hint - that’s why I posted the link > \*\* Sorry about that but as soon as I read you post the image of Cage in that movie overwhelmed me and made me warn you. Sorry that you already knew that. Later… ---
**Author:** ![cykrider](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f19dbf/32.png) [@cykrider](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cykrider)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2000, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-southern-us-accents-in-movies-and-tv/41248/6 "2000-11-15T04:30:01Z")
I didn’t know their was such a thing. Can a good southern accent even exsist? Maybe you haven’t heard a southern accent before. eww… ---
**Author:** ![Rock-n-Rolga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/22d042/32.png) [@Rock-n-Rolga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rock-n-Rolga)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2000, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-southern-us-accents-in-movies-and-tv/41248/7 "2000-11-15T05:22:53Z")
…the little kid in ‘Sling Blade’! (Lucas Black, right?) Man, if I could have a young’un just like him, I’d have me one! ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_Rhosis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@Sir\_Rhosis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_Rhosis)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2000, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-southern-us-accents-in-movies-and-tv/41248/8 "2000-11-15T05:36:06Z")
Emily Lloyd (a Brit, I believe) did a passable accent in “In Country.” Kevin Bacon’s was passable (as opposed to Costner’s) in “JFK.” Sir ---
**Author:** ![bwk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e79b87/32.png) [@bwk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bwk)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2000, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-southern-us-accents-in-movies-and-tv/41248/9 "2000-11-15T05:56:26Z")
I liked Vivien Leigh’s accent in Gone with the wind. Clark Gable’s wasn’t too bad either. And I liked Mammy’s as well. It is interesting to me that Leigh had an English accent, but managed a southern accent. Most of the put-on southern accents don’t sound convincing, especially if you are a southerner. And I think longest, slowest, drawl beats a nasal northern accent any day. But I’d better not go there, I am in a sort of mood right now. Except for a Boston accent. That sounds pretty cool. ---
**Author:** ![evilbeth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/evilbeth/32/2268_2.png) [@evilbeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/evilbeth)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2000, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-southern-us-accents-in-movies-and-tv/41248/10 "2000-11-15T05:56:44Z")
Matt Damon in _The Rainmaker_ wasn’t bad. Of course, Brad Renfro (_The Client_, _The Cure_, _Tom and Huck_) has a good one–but his is real. ---
**Author:** ![evilbeth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/evilbeth/32/2268_2.png) [@evilbeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/evilbeth)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2000, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-southern-us-accents-in-movies-and-tv/41248/11 "2000-11-15T06:03:46Z")
Sissy Spacek (_The River_, etc.) ---
**Author:** ![bwk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e79b87/32.png) [@bwk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bwk)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2000, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-southern-us-accents-in-movies-and-tv/41248/12 "2000-11-15T06:12:24Z")
Forgot to mention Andy Griffith, but not in the first episodes of the Andy Griffith show. He was being too ‘countryfied’. But otherwise, he sounds good. ---
**Author:** ![lesa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/34f0e0/32.png) [@lesa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lesa)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2000, 10:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-southern-us-accents-in-movies-and-tv/41248/13 "2000-11-15T10:45:19Z")
It’s fun to see Gone With The Wind is on the good AND bad southern accent list. (When I was a kid, I thought Rhett Butler was playing a Yankee.) The best southern accents are the real ones. Park Overall of Empty Nest used her own accent. I’ve heard Kim Basinger lapse into her real accent (“I love my dawgs”). From the other thread I gather she used a fakey accent in some movie - too bad. Though I hate to say it, the accents on The Beverly Hillbillies always sounded fine to me. They didn’t sound like anyone who lived 'round hyere. But they sounded like people who live over yonder. ---
**Author:** ![whitetho](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whitetho/32/1059_2.png) [@whitetho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whitetho)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2000, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-southern-us-accents-in-movies-and-tv/41248/14 "2000-11-15T10:47:23Z")
For “Deep South” the best I’ve heard was Jasmine Guy, who played Whitley Gilbert on the Cosby spin-off “A Different World”. I was surprised when she was interviewed on TV to find out that she doesn’t actually have a southern accent in regular speech. If I remember correctly, she said she picked up the accent she used on the show from family in Atlanta. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2000, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-southern-us-accents-in-movies-and-tv/41248/15 "2000-11-15T12:31:20Z")
I loved all the accents in ‘Raising Arizona’, especially John Goodman’s. ---
**Author:** ![muppetsoup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/aca169/32.png) [@muppetsoup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muppetsoup)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2000, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-southern-us-accents-in-movies-and-tv/41248/16 "2000-11-15T15:17:16Z")
Sam Elliot in ‘The Big Lebowski’… but that’s how he probably really talks, so maybe that doesn’t count. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2000, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-southern-us-accents-in-movies-and-tv/41248/17 "2000-11-15T16:09:48Z")
**screech owl** , I’m not sure if you’re looking for good fake southern accents, or good examples of southern accents as demonstrated by actual southern actors, so I’ll list both: Reasonable fake southern accents:[ul][li] **David Ogden Stiers** and **Woody Harrelson** in **Doc Hollywood**. In fact, I thought the whole cast did a pretty good job with the accents.[/li][li]As mentioned earlier, **Kevin Bacon** in **JFK**. If memory serves me, he also uses the accent in **Tremors** and **The River Wild**.[/li][li] **Jessica Tandy** in **Driving Miss Daisy**. That is a spot-on southern-matron-of-means accent.[/li][li]Yeah, believe it or not, the **Beverly Hillbillies** are pretty accurate southern Appalachian accents. Well, Jethro was off, but the rest were dead-on. (The stereotyping on that show, by the way, is criminal. But hey, it’s all in fun, I reckon.)[/li][li] **Gregory Peck** did a good southern patrician accent in **To Kill a Mockingbird**. He reprised the accent in the 90’s version of **Cape Fear** [/li][li]Speaking of which, **Robert Mitchum** did a good accent in the 90’s version of **Cape Fear** as well. Can’t remember is he attempted the accent in the original version of the film.[/li][li] **Travolta** did a reasonable job in **Primary Colors** , though he had a few lapses.[/li][li] **Sean Penn** did a masterful job with the accent in **Dead Man Walking**.[/li][li] **Ben Affleck** did a pretty good job in **Dazed and Confused**.[/li][li] **Gene Hackman** and **Frances McDormand** in **Mississippi Burning** [/ul][/li]And now some good examples of Southern accents from real live Southern actors:[ul] [li] **Holly Hunter** in **Raising Arizona**. (Holly is from Conyers, GA.)[/li][li] **Andy Griffith** in the old **Andy Griffith Show**. Only the black and white episodes, though. In the color episodes (and later in Matlock), it seems like Griffith is trying to cover his accent, pronouncing every ‘g’ at the end of his words and such.[/li][li] **Billy Bob Thornton** in **Primary Colors** and in **Armageddon**.[/li][li]All the accents in **Sling Blade** were authentic, and I believe all the actors were true Southerners, except for **John Ritter**. Even Ritter has southern roots, though, being the son of Tex Ritter, if I’m not mistaken.[/li][li]Like **lesa** I love to hear **Kim Basinger** lapse into her southern accent in interviews. I haven’t seen any movies where she uses the accent, though.[/li][li] **Fred Thompson** in **The Hunt for Red October**.[/li][li] **Sissy Spacek** and **Tommy Lee Jones** in **Coal Miner’s Daughter**. All the accents in that film are accurate.[/li][li] **Kris Kristopherson** in **Lone Star**.[/li][li] **Eric Roberts** in **Runaway Train**.[/li][li]All the accents on **Designing Women**.[/li][li] **Matthew McConaughey** in most any film he makes.[/li] **R. Lee Ermy** as the drill sergeant in **Full Metal Jacket** and again as the mayor in **Mississippi Burning** (Note: His bio says he was born in Kansas, but he must have been raised in the South. In interviews he has a Southern accent. If he’s faking, it’s the best fake accent I’ve ever heard.)[/ul] ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2000, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-southern-us-accents-in-movies-and-tv/41248/18 "2000-11-15T16:41:32Z")
Oh yeah, a few more good fake accents:[ul] **Robert Duvall** in **Tender Mercies** and in **The Apostle**. (His bio lists him as being born in San Diego, but I suspect he may have some southern roots.) [li] **Laura Dern** in **Rocket Boys**. (Her mom is southern. I guess that helped.) Also, her dad **Bruce Dern** did a good southern accent in **The Cowboys**.[/li][li] **Geena Davis** in **Thelma and Louise**.[/li][li] **Susan Sarandon** in **Thelma and Louise** , **Bull Durham** and **Dead Man Walking**. Her bio lists her as being born in New York City (New York City?!), but if she doesn’t have any southern roots, she has one of the best fake southern accents around.[/ul][/li] More good authentic accents:[ul][li] **Brad Pitt** in **Thelma and Louise**. (He’s from Oklahoma. Close enough.)[/li][li] **Johnny Depp** in **The Astronaut’s Wife**. (He’s from Kentucky)[/li][li] **Joe Don Baker** in any movie.[/ul][/li] **Jessica Lange** does good southern accents. Her bio shows her as being born in Minnesota, but again, I would be surprised if she didn’t have some southern roots. ---
**Author:** ![screech-owl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@screech-owl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/screech-owl)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2000, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-southern-us-accents-in-movies-and-tv/41248/19 "2000-11-15T17:07:00Z")
Wow! Thanks everyone. (Those are two heckuva lists, **spoke-**!) Off to Blockbuster. ---
**Author:** ![puddleglum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puddleglum/32/137_2.png) [@puddleglum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puddleglum)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2000, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-southern-us-accents-in-movies-and-tv/41248/20 "2000-11-15T17:13:29Z")
I thought Jody Foster did a real good job in “Silence of the Lambs” if a West Virginia accent can be considered Southern. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-southern-us-accents-in-movies-and-tv/41248.md?page=2)