# What's with all the British lead characters on US TV? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 17, 2015, 8:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-all-the-british-lead-characters-on-us-tv/712895 "2015-02-17T08:56:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![kaltkalt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bb73d2/32.png) [@kaltkalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaltkalt)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2015, 8:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-all-the-british-lead-characters-on-us-tv/712895/1 "2015-02-17T08:56:10Z")
I don’t have a problem with it, mind you… I just find it sort of odd. To be clear, I’m not talking about british ACTORS. I know there are also a lot of british actors playing Americans on American TV. It’s been that way for a while now, especially after Hugh Laurie. But recently there are a lot of main characters who are brits in America on American TV. Just off the top of my head, we have: Elementary Sleepy Hollow Marvel’s Agent Carter (a british lady in the US military no less) Forever (a new show i just recently saw) And there are at least 2 or 3 more I’m forgetting right now. I don’t watch reality shows, so I have no idea how many “Simons” there are on such shows at the moment, either. It seems there’s a new, beloved trope of a clever but quirky british person living and working in america, solving crimes or whatnot but at the same time not quite fitting in. Why? Seems odd to me. Again, I don’t have a problem with it, in fact I like some of these shows. And I like British people, too. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2015, 9:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-all-the-british-lead-characters-on-us-tv/712895/2 "2015-02-17T09:56:15Z")
There have been a lot of UK, Australian, and NZ actors taking US roles for the last ten years or so, and most of the time they have to put on an accent. Sometimes they manage it seamlessly, but half the time they do not, and they concentrate so hard on doing the accent and takes up so much of their attention, it causes their performances to falter. I am pleased, therefore, that they are now letting UK actors keep their accents. I don’t think it’s in any way distracting or difficult to understand (that used to be the excuse) and it’s quite the breath of fresh air, adding a new flavour to shows. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2015, 9:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-all-the-british-lead-characters-on-us-tv/712895/3 "2015-02-17T09:58:31Z")
Wasn’t there a fad a while back for villains to be British? ---
**Author:** ![kaltkalt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bb73d2/32.png) [@kaltkalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaltkalt)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2015, 10:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-all-the-british-lead-characters-on-us-tv/712895/4 "2015-02-17T10:25:03Z")
Yes there are still a lot of bad-guy brits. But they’re not main characters typically, just bad guys of the week or whatever. I agree that it isn’t a problem for anyone to understand. But why british people? It would be somewhat odd if a main character were, say, Russian. I don’t think most people would innately comprehend that. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2015, 10:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-all-the-british-lead-characters-on-us-tv/712895/5 "2015-02-17T10:25:29Z")
Is Ichabod Crane really British, though? Any more than any other Rev War colonial? ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2015, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-all-the-british-lead-characters-on-us-tv/712895/6 "2015-02-17T11:39:13Z")
> [@kaltkalt](#): > > Yes there are still a lot of bad-guy brits. But they’re not main characters typically, just bad guys of the week or whatever. Yes, but for an actor, isn’t being ‘bad guy of the week’ part of the career path, a stepping-stone to being on the main cast of another series? So, with lots of Brits having been bad guys, you would expect a fair few to progress to the main cast and then the hero role. ---
**Author:** ![kaltkalt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bb73d2/32.png) [@kaltkalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaltkalt)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2015, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-all-the-british-lead-characters-on-us-tv/712895/7 "2015-02-17T12:43:59Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > Is Ichabod Crane really British, though? Any more than any other Rev War colonial? Well, in the show he was a british military officer fighting against the americans, but he changed sides. But now that he’s in “modern times” he’s definitely british… accent and all. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2015, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-all-the-british-lead-characters-on-us-tv/712895/8 "2015-02-17T13:25:12Z")
It seems odd to you that Sherlock Holmes is played by a British actor, but you’re okay with Lucy Liu as Watson? :dubious: Also, Agent Carter is part of a multinational organization, not a member of the US military; the show is set in America because otherwise, ALL of the actors would have to be foreign. Also also, I can’t remember for sure (guess I’ll have to watch CA again… oh darn…), but I think the General referred to her as Agent Carter even during the war. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Lowry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Sam\_Lowry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Lowry)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2015, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-all-the-british-lead-characters-on-us-tv/712895/9 "2015-02-17T14:11:19Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > There have been a lot of UK, Australian, and NZ actors taking US roles for the last ten years or so, and most of the time they have to put on an accent. Sometimes they manage it seamlessly, but half the time they do not, and they concentrate so hard on doing the accent and takes up so much of their attention, it causes their performances to falter. > > I am pleased, therefore, that they are now letting UK actors keep their accents. I don’t think it’s in any way distracting or difficult to understand (that used to be the excuse) and it’s quite the breath of fresh air, adding a new flavour to shows. Right, some non-American actors handle the American accent well, some do it well some of the time and mangle it others, and some just aren’t good at it at all. If someone is too focused on getting the accent right, it can distract them from other parts of their performance. And for some roles you need people doing American accents, like for the main characters of Justified or Fargo. But for a lot of procedural shows, it doesn’t matter as much about where the character is from, so if you have a British actor who seems like the best choice, might as well let them keep their accent. > [@kaltkalt](#): > > Yes there are still a lot of bad-guy brits. But they’re not main characters typically, just bad guys of the week or whatever. > > I agree that it isn’t a problem for anyone to understand. But why british people? It would be somewhat odd if a main character were, say, Russian. I don’t think most people would innately comprehend that. There are a lot of British actors, are there a lot of Russian actors? I genuinely don’t know. Also, I would think the networks would see putting a Russian actor with a Russian accent as the star of a show as being a risk. They would have to speak English perfectly, and there would probably still be viewers who would say that they can’t understand him. Maybe if there was a show with a Russian detective and it’s a big success then other shows would start casting Russian actors as the leads in their shows, but maybe not. ---
**Author:** ![BOOM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c4cdca/32.png) [@BOOM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BOOM)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2015, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-all-the-british-lead-characters-on-us-tv/712895/10 "2015-02-17T14:23:05Z")
I dunno, but the answer isn’t too far away from the box office. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2015, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-all-the-british-lead-characters-on-us-tv/712895/11 "2015-02-17T16:07:53Z")
Jane Leeves is on “Hot in Cleveland,” using her British accent. Karen Gillan was on “Selfie” until it got cancelled, using an American accent. The lead of the show “New Girl” has a boyfriend right now - British, with British accent. I don’t have anything to add to the answer. Just more examples 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![kaltkalt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bb73d2/32.png) [@kaltkalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaltkalt)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2015, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-all-the-british-lead-characters-on-us-tv/712895/12 "2015-02-17T16:33:58Z")
Again, I’m not talking about british actors. I’m talking about british (main) characters. I’m sure they’re all played by actual british actors. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2015, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-all-the-british-lead-characters-on-us-tv/712895/13 "2015-02-17T17:20:08Z")
> [@kaltkalt](#): > > I know there are also a lot of british actors playing Americans on American TV. It’s been that way for a while now, especially after Hugh Laurie. I believe in Hollywood, they call this a “Reverse Hillerman”. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2015, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-all-the-british-lead-characters-on-us-tv/712895/14 "2015-02-17T17:34:10Z")
> [@Sam\_Lowry](#): > > There are a lot of British actors, are there a lot of Russian actors? I genuinely don’t know. For some reason, Russian actresses seem to be more successful than Russian actors. You have Milla Jovovich, Mila Kunis, Olga Kurylenko, and Milana Vayntrub\* but the only Russian actor I can think of is Anton Yelchin. \*Technically, Jovovich, Kurylenko, and Kunis are Ukrainian and Vayntrub is Uzbek. But all of them are ethnically Russian. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2015, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-all-the-british-lead-characters-on-us-tv/712895/15 "2015-02-17T22:22:27Z")
Another one that qualifies is [Episodes](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1582350/) on Showtime. Brits making fun of American TV is great fodder. Plus Tamsin Greig! OTOH, _Hello Ladies_ (HBO) is a glaring example of what’s wrong with much of British Humor. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2015, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-all-the-british-lead-characters-on-us-tv/712895/16 "2015-02-18T11:34:17Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > You have Milla Jovovich, Mila Kunis, […]Milana Vayntrub […] Anton Yelchin. So we’re counting people who respectively moved to the US at 5, 7, 3 years, and lastly 7 months old, and all grew up in the US, as Russian now? ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2015, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-all-the-british-lead-characters-on-us-tv/712895/17 "2015-02-18T11:55:33Z")
It’s probably just a blip. Lots of British actors have been getting roles in the US playing Americans, which means either that casting agents are now used to looking for British actors too, or that British casting agents have now got their foot in the door in the US. If a character doesn’t require an American accent or actually benefits from having a British one (like Holmes or Crane) then why not cast one of the many British actors who you aready know? > [@ftg](#): > > Another one that qualifies is [Episodes](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1582350/) on Showtime. Brits making fun of American TV is great fodder. Plus Tamsin Greig! > > OTOH, _Hello Ladies_ (HBO) is a glaring example of what’s wrong with much of British Humor. Well, the former is a British TV show, so it’s not surprising that the lead characters are mostly British. The latter is an American programme; I’d never heard of it before your post. Some of the writers seem to be British, but it’s never been shown in the UK. You can’t blame us for that one! ---
**Author:** ![Smid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/838e76/32.png) [@Smid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smid)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2015, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-all-the-british-lead-characters-on-us-tv/712895/18 "2015-02-18T13:30:42Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > The lead of the show “New Girl” has a boyfriend right now - British, with British accent. There isn’t a british accent. You are talking about an English accent. Unless you count the likes of Sean Connery as having a British accent. What you typically refer to as a British accent, is typically an upper class london newsreader accent. So English is even too generic. But forgivable. British is not. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2015, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-all-the-british-lead-characters-on-us-tv/712895/19 "2015-02-18T13:55:52Z")
> [@Smid](#): > > There isn’t a british accent. You are talking about an English accent. > > Unless you count the likes of Sean Connery as having a British accent. > > What you typically refer to as a British accent, is typically an upper class london newsreader accent. So English is even too generic. But forgivable. British is not. Why DO you people scald your milk with hot tea? Makes no sense to me. Sure did love those Beatles, though! As for the OP, I think part of it is, American directors like working with British actors. They have a more developed work ethic than their Hollywood brethren, or at least when they flake out, it’s for more tolerable reasons. Plus, most current TV directors grew up watching Patrick Stewart as Capt. Picard.