# Harder to fake - a british accent or an american accent? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 10, 2010, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harder-to-fake-a-british-accent-or-an-american-accent/563669 "2010-12-10T16:21:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2010, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harder-to-fake-a-british-accent-or-an-american-accent/563669/61 "2010-12-12T18:32:05Z")
I also wanted to mention Christian Bale. Also, Colin Farrell, who’s Irish. I thought he did a good job as Officer Street in S.W.A.T. and as Sonny Crockett in Miami Vice. Nicole Kidman also does a good job speaking with a convincing American accent. Yes, she was born in Hawaii, but grew up in Australia, and speaks with an Australian accent normally. I think someone who tried to speak with an American accent for awhile, but gave it up was Gabrielle Anwar (English), who plays Fiona on Burn Notice. Fi is Irish, but put on an American accent in the early episodes. Her accent degraded over time so that I now hear faint traces of a British accent when Fi speaks. ---
**Author:** ![SuperNelson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7feea3/32.png) [@SuperNelson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuperNelson)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2010, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harder-to-fake-a-british-accent-or-an-american-accent/563669/62 "2010-12-12T19:13:12Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > I think someone who tried to speak with an American accent for awhile, but gave it up was Gabrielle Anwar (English), who plays Fiona on Burn Notice. Fi is Irish, but put on an American accent in the early episodes. Her accent degraded over time so that I now hear faint traces of a British accent when Fi speaks. The change is particularly noticable in the opening credits, where they show a clip from the pilot in which Fi says “Miami” in her earliest accent. And it’s bit off topic, but there’s a brilliant moment in “Buffy” where James Marsters (A southern California native), plays Spike (a Brit), pretending badly to be a native Californian. For just one or two lines, he completely butchers his own accent, saying “Ayhm a freeend of Xandeerssseees.” ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2010, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harder-to-fake-a-british-accent-or-an-american-accent/563669/63 "2010-12-12T19:43:41Z")
> [@PunditLisa](#): > > Anna Paquin does a passable Southern American accent. . See, I lol’ed, and then I looked at your location and then I understood. No, dear. She does not. ETA - Oh, I forgot about another awful one - Captain Jack Harkness is, I realize, supposed to be American by way of time traveling future, but he drops his accent _all_ the time. I believe the actor is from the UK but moved to the States as a child - evidently it didn’t take. ---
**Author:** ![Alias](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a88e4f/32.png) [@Alias](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alias)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2010, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harder-to-fake-a-british-accent-or-an-american-accent/563669/64 "2010-12-12T20:51:46Z")
> [@PunditLisa](#): > > I think the hardest is the Australian accent. The guy who does the voiceover for Outback Steakhouses sure sounds phony. Horrible, horrible accent! Every time I see those commercials, I’m imagining the director shouting, “No! No! It’s got to be MORE Australian!” ---
**Author:** ![Apollyon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/apollyon/32/4238_2.png) [@Apollyon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apollyon)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2010, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harder-to-fake-a-british-accent-or-an-american-accent/563669/65 "2010-12-12T21:46:34Z")
> [@Lust4Life](#): > > When we discuss this subject I can’t help but think of Dick Van Dykes legendary performance in Mary Poppins. He should get a pass on the accent. In the context of the film it’s obvious that Bert is actually a Pooka pretending to be human… just as Mary Poppins herself is a Sidhe noble. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Apollyon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/apollyon/32/4238_2.png) [@Apollyon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apollyon)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2010, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harder-to-fake-a-british-accent-or-an-american-accent/563669/66 "2010-12-12T21:49:56Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > ETA - Oh, I forgot about another awful one - Captain Jack Harkness is, I realize, supposed to be American by way of time traveling future, but he drops his accent _all_ the time. I believe the actor is from the UK but moved to the States as a child - evidently it didn’t take. Capt. Jack is an immortal alien time traveller and former con man from the 51st century. American? Not so much. (He was pretending to be American in the first episodes he appeared during the Blitz in London). ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2010, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harder-to-fake-a-british-accent-or-an-american-accent/563669/67 "2010-12-12T21:51:00Z")
> [@Apollyon](#): > > Capt. Jack is an immortal alien time traveller and former con man from the 51st century. American? Not so much. (He was pretending to be American in the first episodes he appeared during the Blitz in London). That’s why I said he’s “American by way of time traveling future” - but he continues to have an American accent throughout _Torchwood._ (Well, sort of an American accent.) ---
**Author:** ![Apollyon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/apollyon/32/4238_2.png) [@Apollyon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apollyon)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2010, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harder-to-fake-a-british-accent-or-an-american-accent/563669/68 "2010-12-12T21:54:55Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > That’s why I said he’s “American by way of time traveling future” - but he continues to have an American accent throughout _Torchwood._ (Well, sort of an American accent.) Yeah… “sort of” indeed. 🙂 Makes sense, Scottish born moved to Illinois at 9… accent would be pretty established by then. Off topic, but favourite bit of Barrowman trivia: He was considered for the role of Will in _Will and Grace_, but the producers felt he was “too straight” for the role. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2010, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harder-to-fake-a-british-accent-or-an-american-accent/563669/69 "2010-12-12T22:19:14Z")
I would say the American accent is easier simply because Britain is inundated with American pop culture and not vice versa. Actors also have a serious incentive to become involved in Hollywood where American actors have no comparable need. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2010, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harder-to-fake-a-british-accent-or-an-american-accent/563669/70 "2010-12-13T17:51:43Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > That’s why I said he’s “American by way of time traveling future” - but he continues to have an American accent throughout _Torchwood._ (Well, sort of an American accent.) See, that’s quite funny, because I suspect most Brits think he’s American by virtue of his accent, and not just from Torchwood. He appears on TV here a lot (chat shows, entertainment shows etc) and, whatever he’s speaking, it ain’t British! ---
**Author:** ![Candyman74](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Candyman74](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Candyman74)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2010, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harder-to-fake-a-british-accent-or-an-american-accent/563669/71 "2010-12-13T18:03:30Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > See, that’s quite funny, because I suspect most Brits think he’s American by virtue of his accent, and not just from Torchwood. He appears on TV here a lot (chat shows, entertainment shows etc) and, whatever he’s speaking, it ain’t British! He has a weird transatlantic accent which is closer to American than British, but is neither. ---
**Author:** ![amarone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@amarone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarone)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2010, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harder-to-fake-a-british-accent-or-an-american-accent/563669/72 "2010-12-13T18:30:26Z")
> [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > I think Gwyneth Paltrow’s British accent in _Sliding Doors_ and _Shakespeare In Love_ was perfect; but I don’t know how it sounds to a Britisher. > [/SIZE] “Britisher?” I am a Briton and the first thing I ever saw Gwyneth Paltrow in was Sliding Doors and I thought she was perfect. Pretty darn good accent too. Seriously, I thought she was English. However, she was doing estuary English, which is not my native accent (I am from Yorskshire), so maybe I am still not the best person to tell. ---
**Author:** ![Scubaqueen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c0e974/32.png) [@Scubaqueen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scubaqueen)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2010, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harder-to-fake-a-british-accent-or-an-american-accent/563669/73 "2010-12-13T18:52:53Z")
> [@jasg](#): > > Branagh impressed the crap out of me in Dead Again - he nailed it as a Southern Californian. Barrowman was born in Scotland, but grew up in Joliet, Illinois. i thought about barrowman, but didn’t post, thinking that not many folks even on the dope would have a clue who he is. the torchwood ep where James Marsters starred opposite him had me grinning from ear to ear with the irony: in this corner we have barrowman, who is a native scot, but uses mostly his american accent (rare to hear him speak in anything but an american accent), and then there’s marsters, an american playing a brit who used to play a vampire that also sported a british accent. 😛 correct me if i’m wrong, fellow torchwood/buffy fans, but didn’t he use the same accent for both characters? ---
**Author:** ![Oogly\_Woogly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ee7513/32.png) [@Oogly\_Woogly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oogly_Woogly)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2010, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harder-to-fake-a-british-accent-or-an-american-accent/563669/74 "2010-12-14T00:52:05Z")
I’ve delurkified myself in order to give Damian Lewis (Band of Brothers, Life) some credit. I think he does a great American accent but maybe that’s just me. ---
**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:** [December 14, 2010, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harder-to-fake-a-british-accent-or-an-american-accent/563669/75 "2010-12-14T01:15:10Z")
> [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](#): > > Should we also exclude Jamie Bamber (Apollo from BSG)? Or Marian Keyes (Chuck from Pushing Daisies)? And as for the accents of the Bionic Woman and Sarah Connor, well… Marian Keyes is British??? Well, shut my mouth. ---
**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:** [December 14, 2010, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harder-to-fake-a-british-accent-or-an-american-accent/563669/76 "2010-12-14T01:17:45Z")
Wait, marian Keyes didn’t play Chuck, Anna Friel did…but she’s a Brit too. ---
**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:** [December 14, 2010, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harder-to-fake-a-british-accent-or-an-american-accent/563669/77 "2010-12-14T01:25:40Z")
> [@kevlaw](#): > > A last thought. I don’t get the deal with Hugh Laurie. I think it is a magnificent feat that he manages to cover up his Hugh Laurie accent but he, as House, doesn’t sound american to me. As an American who has been told by many Brits that I have an excellent ear and do several British accents perfectly (years of trying and I still can’t capture a geordie, but I love the sound), I have to say I question your ear. Laurie is perfect, I’ve never heard a single slip. ---
**Author:** ![villa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/bc79bd/32.png) [@villa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/villa)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2010, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harder-to-fake-a-british-accent-or-an-american-accent/563669/78 "2010-12-14T03:47:12Z")
> [@Stoid](#): > > As an American who has been told by many Brits that I have an excellent ear and do several British accents perfectly (years of trying and I still can’t capture a geordie, but I love the sound), I have to say I question your ear. Trust me, you don’t. We all tell Americans that to stop them telling us what a perfect British accent they do, and demonstrating it to us when we are trying to get bladdered watching the footy. It’s a recommended tactic in the book the Foreign Office gives us when we travel here. ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2010, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harder-to-fake-a-british-accent-or-an-american-accent/563669/79 "2010-12-14T03:56:32Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > Is the Outback guy fake or genuine? Sounds very fake to me. Anyone got a link? ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2010, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harder-to-fake-a-british-accent-or-an-american-accent/563669/80 "2010-12-14T04:32:32Z")
Ok, if it’s Jemaine Clement from[this Outback Steakhouse ad](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mb-LjF-pLNM) then no, he doesn’t sound Australian. That’s probably because he’s from New Zealand. Kiwis sound exactly like Aussies in the same way that Canucks sound exactly like Yanks. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harder-to-fake-a-british-accent-or-an-american-accent/563669.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harder-to-fake-a-british-accent-or-an-american-accent/563669.md?page=5)