# Movies with 'authentic' Scottish accents **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 24, 2009, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-authentic-scottish-accents/482833 "2009-01-24T21:49:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2009, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-authentic-scottish-accents/482833/1 "2009-01-24T21:49:06Z")
What movies have good Scottish accents? Modern ones preferable. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2009, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-authentic-scottish-accents/482833/2 "2009-01-24T21:52:39Z")
Anything with Sean Connery. ---
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2009, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-authentic-scottish-accents/482833/3 "2009-01-24T21:52:57Z")
“The Hunt For Red October” and “The Untouchables” spring to mind 😉 Edit: Ack simulpost! What Clothahump said. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_Wright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@Steve\_Wright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_Wright)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2009, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-authentic-scottish-accents/482833/4 "2009-01-24T22:04:16Z")
While Christopher Lambert’s accent in _Highlander_ is, errr, open to question, many of the actors in the Scottish flashback bits are, in fact, Scottish … ---
**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:** [January 24, 2009, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-authentic-scottish-accents/482833/5 "2009-01-24T22:04:38Z")
> [@Pushkin](#): > > “The Hunt For Red October” and “The Untouchables” spring to mind 😉 And Highlander. (Ironically, of course, Connery’s character was an Egyptian-born Spaniard, while the actual Scottish character was played by an American-born, Swiss-raised Frenchman (Christopher Lambert), so, while there was a very good Scottish accent in a movie about a Scot…it was still epic accent fail.) ---
**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:** [January 24, 2009, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-authentic-scottish-accents/482833/6 "2009-01-24T22:30:34Z")
The accents in _Trainspotting_ are pretty good, although Ewan McGregor cannot really disguise his roots (private school, Perthshire) but there again Renton was supposed to be a bit brighter than the rest of them and in any case he’s Scottish. Jonny Lee Miller as Sick Boy does a great job as a posh Scots boy slumming it. Ewan Brember and Robert Carlyle do good work too, to drop down to working class demotic, but neither are too far from native in real life, especially Carlyle, the doss cunt. _tosses pint glass and chibs tourist_ Sean Connery’s accent is, well, just Sean. He’sh in a group of hish own. ---
**Author:** ![robardin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@robardin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robardin)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2009, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-authentic-scottish-accents/482833/7 "2009-01-24T22:30:43Z")
I would think the relatively recent movie _Trainspotting_ featured very authentic Scottish accents from the principals involved. ---
**Author:** ![Gotterfunken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/58956e/32.png) [@Gotterfunken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gotterfunken)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2009, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-authentic-scottish-accents/482833/8 "2009-01-24T23:56:32Z")
For a Glasgow accent, I’d recommend [Ratcatcher](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0171685/). The US edition (via Criterion) actually comes with subtitles, even though it’s in English. It is a rather depressing movie, mind. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2009, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-authentic-scottish-accents/482833/9 "2009-01-25T00:01:39Z")
Rent _My Name is Joe_ to hear thick Glaswegian accents. I first saw this in a theater in Frankfurt and had to read the German subtitles to understand what they were saying in English, at least for the first half of the film. It’s also a bit depressing. I think that’s authentic Scottish movies stock-in-trade. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2009, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-authentic-scottish-accents/482833/10 "2009-01-25T00:41:41Z")
I’m not British, so I’ll be cautious about proclaiming anyting “most authentic.” But in the Mike Leigh film _Secrets and Lies_, the wife played by Phyllis Logan ( who is Scottish ) seems to show a nice accent contrast vs. the rest of the ( English ) actors. ---
**Author:** ![Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/face_intentionally_left_blank/32/288_2.png) [@Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Face_Intentionally_Left_Blank)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2009, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-authentic-scottish-accents/482833/11 "2009-01-25T00:51:07Z")
Gregory’s Girl. Local Hero. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2009, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-authentic-scottish-accents/482833/12 "2009-01-25T04:02:20Z")
Well, let’s rephrase the question- are there any movies in which actors or actresses who are NOT actually Scottish play Scottish characters and get the accent right? I can think of countless embarrassingly BAD Scottish burrs in Hollywood films… but who’s gotten it right? Strangely enough, Scottish actors often do American accents (even REGIONAL American accents) extremely well. Glasgow’s Kelly Macdonald was FAR more convincing as a Texan (In “No COuntry for Old Men”) than many American actresses have been. ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2009, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-authentic-scottish-accents/482833/13 "2009-01-25T04:05:52Z")
Here ya go–[so Scottish and modern it requires subtitles](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0122515/)! Also contains some of the funniest, sickest shit I’ve ever seen in my life. Highly recommended… ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2009, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-authentic-scottish-accents/482833/14 "2009-01-25T04:43:57Z")
Trainspotting is Danny Boyle. Is his _Millions_ “Scottish”? I’m directing a play so subtitles are out. I don’t want accents so thick you canna understan what they mean. ---
**Author:** ![Saltire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saltire/32/553_2.png) [@Saltire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saltire)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2009, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-authentic-scottish-accents/482833/15 "2009-01-25T06:48:55Z")
Not a movie, but if you want to study a Scots accent, watch The Late Late Show on CBS. Craig Ferguson has a quite authentic burr. ---
**Author:** ![Illuminatiprimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/illuminatiprimus/32/11520_2.png) [@Illuminatiprimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Illuminatiprimus)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2009, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-authentic-scottish-accents/482833/16 "2009-01-25T13:17:11Z")
Also not a movie, but the TV series _The book group_ is set in Glasgow with quite a few actual Scottish actors playing Scottish characters. It’s also extremely funny. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2009, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-authentic-scottish-accents/482833/17 "2009-01-25T13:21:23Z")
> [@SmartAleq](#): > > Here ya go–[so Scottish and modern it requires subtitles](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0122515/)! Also contains some of the funniest, sickest shit I’ve ever seen in my life. Highly recommended… I saw this film again recently. It’s a piece of shit but the accents are pretty good. ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2009, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-authentic-scottish-accents/482833/18 "2009-01-25T16:29:14Z")
> [@An\_Gadai](#): > > I saw this film again recently. It’s a piece of shit but the accents are pretty good. Please, best malign God EVAR in any movie, hands down! And the middle section of the triptych was a fabulous character study. I think I was married to that guy once–_sans_ accent, mind you, and never had to go through nearly that much shit from me, but the similarities are quite marked. The first section was just friggin’ hilarious. I swat flies with a happy heart after that–always knew the little fuckers were up to more than we suspect! ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2009, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-authentic-scottish-accents/482833/19 "2009-01-25T16:46:49Z")
Any movie with John Hannah in it. Yum. ---
**Author:** ![Rayne\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@Rayne\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rayne_Man)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2009, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-authentic-scottish-accents/482833/20 "2009-01-25T16:47:10Z")
To my ears Alec Guinness has a very good shot of it in Tunes of Glory. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-authentic-scottish-accents/482833.md?page=2)