# “There’s No Such Thing As A Bad Movie Accent” **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [August 18, 2023, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-s-no-such-thing-as-a-bad-movie-accent/988773 "2023-08-18T23:34:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2023, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-s-no-such-thing-as-a-bad-movie-accent/988773/101 "2023-08-23T16:45:15Z")
Whatever the hell it was Jon Voight was trying to do in **Anaconda** , he did not succeed. Occasionally it sounded Eastern European, sometimes it sounded like an intentionally bad Pacino **Scarface** impression, other times it sounded like Nic Cage doing Marlon Brando. ---
**Author:** ![alovem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@alovem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alovem)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2023, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-s-no-such-thing-as-a-bad-movie-accent/988773/102 "2023-08-23T16:46:35Z")
How about the Boston accents in Black Mass? They feature heavily in the film. Excellent acting and something else that I don’t know how to describe (presence?), but I got to wondering about the authenticity of the accents when I watched the film a few days ago. > **[Black Mass (2015) ⭐ 6.9 | Biography, Crime, Drama](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1355683/)** > > 2h 3m | R ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2023, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-s-no-such-thing-as-a-bad-movie-accent/988773/103 "2023-08-23T17:21:50Z")
I think Voight’s “accent” there was just him trying to speak with bits of chewed scenery still stuck in his mouth. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2023, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-s-no-such-thing-as-a-bad-movie-accent/988773/104 "2023-08-23T18:03:15Z")
> [@veryfrank](#): > > When Mike Myers dials up the “oot and aboot” for comedic effect, he’s actually representing a rural Ontario accent pretty accurately. Huh. I’ve been living in Ontario since 2008, and have yet to hear that.\* On the other hand, I once knew a guy from the Maritimes who said it all the time. \*Granted, I’ve not ventured far from Toronto… 😳 ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2023, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-s-no-such-thing-as-a-bad-movie-accent/988773/105 "2023-08-23T19:08:50Z")
Question- locals deride Dick and others for their bad Cockney accents. Was there ever a non-native GOOD cockney accent? ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2023, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-s-no-such-thing-as-a-bad-movie-accent/988773/106 "2023-08-23T19:15:32Z")
I’ve lived and worked all over Canada. Americans sometimes use a longer vowel sound for _about_ than Canadians. But it is fairly rare for me to hear an “ooh” sound. Yet most Americans I know claim most Canadians make this sound. I’ve studied languages and have a good ear, but still think they are largely exaggerating things. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2023, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-s-no-such-thing-as-a-bad-movie-accent/988773/107 "2023-08-23T19:35:07Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > But it is fairly rare for me to hear an “ooh” sound. Usually to me the Canadian pronunciation sounds more like a-ba-oot than a-boot. > [@terentii](#): > > Huh. I’ve been living in Ontario since 2008, and have yet to hear that. On the radio (in Ontario), I used to hear an ad for DioGuardi Tax Law that had a line like “Before you transfer your house to your spouse, call me”. There was definitely some Canadian accent with “house” and “spouse”. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2023, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-s-no-such-thing-as-a-bad-movie-accent/988773/108 "2023-08-23T19:36:13Z")
Marlene Dietrich in _Witness for the Prosecution_? ---
**Author:** ![iamatractorboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iamatractorboy/32/21261_2.png) [@iamatractorboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamatractorboy)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2023, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-s-no-such-thing-as-a-bad-movie-accent/988773/109 "2023-08-23T19:44:04Z")
Depends if by non-native you mean non-Cockney or non-English/British! ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2023, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-s-no-such-thing-as-a-bad-movie-accent/988773/110 "2023-08-23T21:17:47Z")
> [@iamatractorboy](#): > > Depends if by non-native you mean non-Cockney or non-English/British! No one from England. Scots, etc okay. > [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](#): > > Marlene Dietrich in _Witness for the Prosecution_? I saw a clip- German cockney? ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2023, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-s-no-such-thing-as-a-bad-movie-accent/988773/111 "2023-08-23T21:36:59Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Was there ever a non-native GOOD cockney accent? I thought [Brian Tyree Henry’s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Nm9hlac4js) in Bullet Train wasn’t so bad. I did have to google him to work out if he was British or not (though I’ve been living in the states a while, and found I’ve lost my ear for regional British accents) ---
**Author:** ![alovem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@alovem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alovem)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2023, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-s-no-such-thing-as-a-bad-movie-accent/988773/112 "2023-08-24T05:04:00Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > I’ve lived and worked all over Canada. Americans sometimes use a longer vowel sound for _about_ than Canadians. But it is fairly rare for me to hear an “ooh” sound. Yet most Americans I know claim most Canadians make this sound. I’ve studied languages and have a good ear, but still think they are largely exaggerating things. I don’t like to question real-life experience by pointing out a TV show, but what about Canadian actress Cobie Smulders’ pronunciation in her role as Robin Scherbatsky in How I Met Your Mother? She hit the _aboots_ pretty hard there, although I don’t know if she speaks that way in real life. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2023, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-s-no-such-thing-as-a-bad-movie-accent/988773/113 "2023-08-24T05:50:32Z")
I’m unfamiliar with the show in the sense I’ve never watched it. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2023, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-s-no-such-thing-as-a-bad-movie-accent/988773/114 "2023-08-24T06:33:18Z")
> [@alovem](#): > > I don’t like to question real-life experience by pointing out a TV show, but what about Canadian actress Cobie Smulders’ pronunciation in her role as Robin Scherbatsky in How I Met Your Mother? She hit the _aboots_ pretty hard there, although I don’t know if she speaks that way in real life. Her regular accent for most of the show, IMHO, is fairly mild: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njzHT2JVaaQ/](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njzHT2JVaaQ/) Contrast it to the time her character got drunk and became “super-Canadian:” > **[How I Met Your Mother - Give Me the Stick](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_PIixlTHfQ%2F)** > > Never break up a girl fight! ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2023, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-s-no-such-thing-as-a-bad-movie-accent/988773/115 "2023-08-24T15:37:15Z")
> [@Gretzky](#): > > But I at least know that Tom Cruise talking like an Iowa farm hand as a German officer is a bad movie accent. FTR, “Valkyrie” was released in 2008. So are these also bad accents or is it only Tom Cruise? [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/kFa1DI_4vEs/maxresdefault.jpg "Valkyrie (2/11) Movie CLIP - Retrieving the Liquor Bomb (2008) HD") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFa1DI_4vEs) ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2023, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-s-no-such-thing-as-a-bad-movie-accent/988773/116 "2023-08-24T16:09:01Z")
I believe it was Damien Lewis who said that doing an American accent is easier than an American doing a British accent. It’s about relaxing the mouth and throat for American and tightening it British. Damien Lewis is just about the best out there. I don’t know if it’s universal but I noticed something. When Brits do a bad American accent it tends to be way too nasal. One clip I saw recently was Ryan Sampson in the Doctor Who episode “The Sontaran Stratagem.” Very nasally and I could immediately tell he wasn’t American. When Australians do a bad American accent they get all husky and breathy. Like Sullivan Stapleton in _Blindspot._ Yes a bad accent takes me right out of it. ---
**Author:** ![WalterBishop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/aeb1de/32.png) [@WalterBishop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WalterBishop)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2023, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-s-no-such-thing-as-a-bad-movie-accent/988773/117 "2023-08-24T16:31:01Z")
Anyone who thinks a bad accent can’t run a movie has clearly never seen Keanu Reeves in Dracula. Well, maybe _ruin_ isn’t quite the right word. But he definitely made it funny in places where it shouldn’t have been. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2023, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-s-no-such-thing-as-a-bad-movie-accent/988773/118 "2023-08-24T16:54:48Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > I believe it was Damien Lewis who said that doing an American accent is easier than an American doing a British accent. It’s about relaxing the mouth and throat for American and tightening it British. Damien Lewis is just about the best out there. I recently re-watched him in the series [Life](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_(American_TV_series)). He’s does do it well, and it went beyond word by word pronunciations, he managed to talk like an American in tone and pacing. Good show that didn’t get much notice. Another Brit who did well on American TV was Mark Addy. He co-starred with Jamie Gertz for 4 seasons on the show [Still Standing](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0320970/?ref_=nm_flmg_t_40_act). I didn’t initially recognize him on the show and didn’t realize who he was until he slipped a little with his accent on occasion. I don’t recall much of a heavy accent from him in movies. I don’t know what he sounds like when he’s not acting though, he might sound a lot like an American already. ---
**Author:** ![Pavelb1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/439d5e/32.png) [@Pavelb1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pavelb1)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2023, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-s-no-such-thing-as-a-bad-movie-accent/988773/119 "2023-08-24T16:58:27Z")
I do a great Jason Statham. “My Gawd. It’s mehgluh dawn.” As for Damien Lewis, his casting as Steve McQueen in Once Upon a Time In Hollywood is brilliant. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2023, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-s-no-such-thing-as-a-bad-movie-accent/988773/120 "2023-08-24T17:40:27Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > > [@Loach](#): > > > > I believe it was Damien Lewis who said that doing an American accent is easier than an American doing a British accent. It’s about relaxing the mouth and throat for American and tightening it British. Damien Lewis is just about the best out there. > > I recently re-watched him in the series [Life](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_(American_TV_series)). He’s does do it well, and it went beyond word by word pronunciations, he managed to talk like an American in tone and pacing. Good show that didn’t get much notice. > > Another Brit who did well on American TV was Mark Addy. He co-starred with Jamie Gertz for 4 seasons on the show [Still Standing](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0320970/?ref_=nm_flmg_t_40_act). I didn’t initially recognize him on the show and didn’t realize who he was until he slipped a little with his accent on occasion. I don’t recall much of a heavy accent from him in movies. I don’t know what he sounds like when he’s not acting though, he might sound a lot like an American already. I did like _Life._ In _Band of Brothers_ he didn’t just sound American, he sounded like he could be from central Pennsylvania. BoB was full of Brits doing good American accent. Marc Warren made up for that by being especially bad. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-s-no-such-thing-as-a-bad-movie-accent/988773.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-s-no-such-thing-as-a-bad-movie-accent/988773.md?page=7)