# House, Hugh Laurie, Englishness, Accent **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 30, 2008, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-hugh-laurie-englishness-accent/470208 "2008-10-30T03:54:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Kaio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c68b51/32.png) [@Kaio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaio)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2008, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-hugh-laurie-englishness-accent/470208/81 "2008-11-02T05:04:46Z")
On a related tangent, how good is James Marsters’ varied British accents? He sounds good from where I sit, but I haven’t been in England in 10 years, so I’ve sort of lost my ear for the accents. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2008, 7:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-hugh-laurie-englishness-accent/470208/82 "2008-11-02T07:33:06Z")
I’ve gotten used to Laurie’s accent on House. I think I originally thought the character was supposed to be British. I think sometimes there’s a slight underlying Welshness to his cadences, but he really really works at it. It’s not a real Yank accent, of course, & doesn’t quite sound like anywhere in particular as far as I know, but it’s a plausible Yank accent. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2008, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-hugh-laurie-englishness-accent/470208/83 "2008-11-02T07:34:47Z")
> [@Ataraxy](#): > > Yvonne Strahovski on “Chuck” does a great fake Yank. Yvonne Strahovski isn’t a Yank? Wow. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2008, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-hugh-laurie-englishness-accent/470208/84 "2008-11-02T07:39:52Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > I’m a Doctor Who fan and this show has had some truly awful American Accents. However Laurie and Anna Friel from \*Pushing Daisies \*are dead on in their accents. Yeah, the guy who plays Captain Jack drives me up the wall with his accent. Unfortunately, it’s his real accent; he was educated in California. ---
**Author:** ![DaphneBlack](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/daphneblack/32/5389_2.png) [@DaphneBlack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DaphneBlack)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2008, 11:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-hugh-laurie-englishness-accent/470208/85 "2008-11-02T11:10:26Z")
Thumbs up to Hugh, from an American living in England currently. I’ve only heard him slip once (he said ‘been’ like ‘bean’ instead of ‘bin’). The one who fooled me was Joely Richardson on Nip/Tuck. I heard her on an awards show and thought it was some sort of skit for a few minutes, because I couldn’t understand why she was speaking in a British accent. If I’d remembered she was a Redgrave, I guess I wouldn’t have been so surprised… ---
**Author:** ![Darryl\_Lict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7cd45c/32.png) [@Darryl\_Lict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darryl_Lict)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2008, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-hugh-laurie-englishness-accent/470208/86 "2008-11-02T12:21:40Z")
> [@foolsguinea](#): > > Yvonne Strahovski isn’t a Yank? > > Wow. She speaks fluent Polish. On Craig Ferguson’s [show](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QP0kqwwF5fY) she explains her drama school background and learning accents, and does a Scottish accent at about 3:45. Damn, she’s a hottie. Here’s the obligatory link of [Amy Walker’s accents](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yke-uDZGEvI). ---
**Author:** ![Jolly\_Roger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/91b2a8/32.png) [@Jolly\_Roger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jolly_Roger)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2008, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-hugh-laurie-englishness-accent/470208/87 "2008-11-02T12:57:40Z")
I used to love watching **Blackadder**. I have all of them on DVD. The first time I saw House I couldn’t place the actor until I rewatched my **Blackadder** DVDS on night. then I was like _ **"Holy Frijoles! That House guy was the Prince Regent and the goofy Leiutenant!" .** _ ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2008, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-hugh-laurie-englishness-accent/470208/88 "2008-11-02T13:26:12Z")
> [@foolsguinea](#): > > Yeah, the guy who plays Captain Jack drives me up the wall with his accent. Unfortunately, it’s his real accent; he was educated in California. I wasn’t talking about him. He’s fine. Other episodes they have had scenes in the US and the accents were awful. Strangely the two I can think of both had Daleks. One took place as the Empire State Building was being built and I there were some of the worst New York accents I ever heard. The other one had some bad ones but a particularly bad Texan accent. ---
**Author:** ![Kaio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c68b51/32.png) [@Kaio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaio)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2008, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-hugh-laurie-englishness-accent/470208/89 "2008-11-02T18:42:35Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > I wasn’t talking about him. He’s fine. Other episodes they have had scenes in the US and the accents were awful. Strangely the two I can think of both had Daleks. One took place as the Empire State Building was being built and I there were some of the worst New York accents I ever heard. The other one had some bad ones but a particularly bad Texan accent. I figured you were talking about “Daleks in New York”. 🙂 The showgirl’s accent was so over the top I figured they were doing a characature on purpose. It did make me laugh. (I don’t remember a Texan, though… which episode was that?) John Barrowman was raised in Joliet, IL since he was a kid (5 or 6? don’t recall). I can’t distinguish his American accent from a “native” one in normal listening. I could probably pick apart a few accent quirks if I bothered to pay attention that closely, but I’ve heard more obvious Brit/American mash-up accents before. (I used to know a girl who moved from England to Virginia Beach at around the age of 12. Her accent was this weird blend of both.) ---
**Author:** ![Charley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/97f17d/32.png) [@Charley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charley)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2008, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-hugh-laurie-englishness-accent/470208/90 "2008-11-02T19:44:18Z")
> [@Kaio](#): > > On a related tangent, how good is James Marsters’ varied British accents? He sounds good from where I sit, but I haven’t been in England in 10 years, so I’ve sort of lost my ear for the accents. Others may disagree, but I was never convinced by any (either?) of the Buffy accents. The faux-Cockney nonsense he had as Spike took a long time to register with me as a real attempt at an English accent, I just mentally filed it as your typical 80spunkBillyIdol kind of thing. When they did the William flashbacks I half assumed it was set in Boston or somewhere like that, to be honest - somewhere that I vaguely think of as ‘might have looked a bit English (in the late 1800s)’. I very kindly excused the character in my head as having been in America for so long that he’d picked up other accents on the way. 🙂 I’m not sure I recognised his accent as American either, just definitely not English. Might be a bit obscure this one, but has anyone outside the UK seen _Press Gang_? It may be a bit more of interest since Steven Moffat took over Dr Who, since it’s his early TV venture. It’s very good, IMHO, especially for a children’s show. Anyway, Dexter Fletcher, who later popped up in _Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels_ among other things, plays one of the main characters in a very eccentric American accent. Any real Americans seen it? Is the accent as fake sounding to you as it is to me? His Wikipedia entry claims he’s often mistaken for a genuine American… ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2008, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-hugh-laurie-englishness-accent/470208/91 "2008-11-02T19:50:28Z")
> [@Kaio](#): > > I(I don’t remember a Texan, though… which episode was that?) “Dalek” from season one. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2008, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-hugh-laurie-englishness-accent/470208/92 "2008-11-02T19:53:43Z")
> [@Charley](#): > > Anyway, Dexter Fletcher, who later popped up in _Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels_ among other things, plays one of the main characters in a very eccentric American accent. Any real Americans seen it? Is the accent as fake sounding to you as it is to me? His Wikipedia entry claims he’s often mistaken for a genuine American… US posters might be more familiar with his American accent on \*Band of Brothers \*. Actually, a fair proportion of the cast of that was non-US. ---
**Author:** ![VoluntaryPlan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/9fc29f/32.png) [@VoluntaryPlan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VoluntaryPlan)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2008, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-hugh-laurie-englishness-accent/470208/93 "2008-11-02T20:14:35Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > They didn’t have the idea of casting Laurie, it was an open audition call. Good thing too, because nobody would have thought of him for the role. > > Laurie just happened to nail the character of House (and boy, wouldn’t I like to do the same) Laurie actually originally auditioned for the role of Wilson. They just thought he fit House much better. ---
**Author:** ![Gail](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Gail](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gail)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2008, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-hugh-laurie-englishness-accent/470208/94 "2008-11-02T20:39:51Z")
Speaking of accents, Kelly MacDonald, who was born in Glasgow, Scotland played Evangeline in _Nanny McPhee_ and Carla Jean in _No Country For Old Men_. I had no idea who she was when I saw No Country. She did, to my ear anyway, a great Texas accent. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2008, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-hugh-laurie-englishness-accent/470208/95 "2008-11-02T21:27:17Z")
> [@VoluntaryPlan](#): > > Laurie actually originally auditioned for the role of Wilson. They just thought he fit House much better. Do you have a citation for that? I ask because he seems pretty old for the character. -FrL- ---
**Author:** ![Brynda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e79b87/32.png) [@Brynda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brynda)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2008, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-hugh-laurie-englishness-accent/470208/96 "2008-11-02T21:56:54Z")
Aren’t Wilson and House about the same age? ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2008, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-hugh-laurie-englishness-accent/470208/97 "2008-11-02T22:50:31Z")
> [@Brynda](#): > > Aren’t Wilson and House about the same age? Yes, I was thinking of the wrong character. Sorry! -FrL- ---
**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:** [November 2, 2008, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-hugh-laurie-englishness-accent/470208/98 "2008-11-02T23:33:08Z")
Laurie auditioned for the role of House all along. However, he was under the impression that Wilson was the protagonist and that House was a supporting character. This was before the show had a title. It was not until Laurie received the full script for the pilot that he realized House was the main character. > **[House (TV series) | Casting](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_(TV_series)#Casting)** > > At first, the producers were looking for a "quintessentially American person" to play the role of House. Bryan Singer in particular felt there was no way he was going to hire a non-American actor for the role. At the time of the casting session, actor Hugh Laurie was in Namibia filming the movie Flight of the Phoenix. He assembled an audition tape in a hotel bathroom, the only place with enough light, and apologized for its appearance (which Singer compared to a "bin Laden video") ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2008, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-hugh-laurie-englishness-accent/470208/99 "2008-11-03T00:33:53Z")
> [@Usram](#): > > Didn’t Stephen Fry say that when he visited Laurie on set he stayed in the House accent the whole time? Apparently it’s easier than switching back and forth from American to English. Must have been a bizarre experience for Fry, talking to his old friend like that. In the same way, David Suchet stayed in character as Hercule Poirot, even while giving interviews between scenes. Not because he was a Method actor, but because he had to work hard to get into his French/Belgian accent, and found it easier to retain that accent during down time than to try to regain it after speaking like an Englishman. ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2008, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-hugh-laurie-englishness-accent/470208/100 "2008-11-03T04:00:16Z")
> [@BaneSidhe](#): > > What I want to know is HOW actors/actresses from the UK and Aussie-land can do American accents so well. Because the Anglosphere is swamped by American TV and movies. We’ve all heard the various US accents a million times by the time we grow up. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-hugh-laurie-englishness-accent/470208.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-hugh-laurie-englishness-accent/470208.md?page=6)