# Worst attempts at British accents by American actors **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 23, 2016, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-attempts-at-british-accents-by-american-actors/746884 "2016-02-23T16:04:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![phantom\_lamb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5f9b8f/32.png) [@phantom\_lamb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phantom_lamb)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2016, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-attempts-at-british-accents-by-american-actors/746884/1 "2016-02-23T16:04:55Z")
Come on, let’s get a list going, there might even be a winner. Is it Kevin Costner as Robin Hood? Keanu Reeves in Dracula?.. Or is Dick Van Dyke just unbeatable? ---
**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:** [February 23, 2016, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-attempts-at-british-accents-by-american-actors/746884/2 "2016-02-23T16:08:17Z")
> [@phantom\_lamb](#): > > Is it Kevin Costner as Robin Hood? Keanu Reeves in Dracula?.. Or is Dick Van Dyke just unbeatable? Those were supposed to be British accents?!?! I thought they were just speech impediments. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2016, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-attempts-at-british-accents-by-american-actors/746884/3 "2016-02-23T16:29:38Z")
Carrie Fisher in the original Star Wars is pretty abysmal. She makes a half-hearted attempt in a couple of scenes, and then it just melts away. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2016, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-attempts-at-british-accents-by-american-actors/746884/4 "2016-02-23T16:30:03Z")
> [@phantom\_lamb](#): > > Or is Dick Van Dyke just unbeatable? His attempt in Mary Poppins was bad, but he didn’t even really try in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. ---
**Author:** ![araminty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b5e925/32.png) [@araminty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/araminty)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2016, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-attempts-at-british-accents-by-american-actors/746884/5 "2016-02-23T16:34:43Z")
Urgh. Peter Dinklage in Game of Thrones. It’s AWFUL, and hasn’t improved over time. Don’t get me started on the apologists, “Ohh, it’s a WESTEROSI accent, it’s not meant to be an English accent.” Bullshit. It’s a common fantasy trope, having RP accents signifying upper-class privilege, and working class accents for, well, the plebs. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2016, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-attempts-at-british-accents-by-american-actors/746884/6 "2016-02-23T16:35:13Z")
> [@The\_Hamster\_King](#): > > Carrie Fisher in the original Star Wars is pretty abysmal. She makes a half-hearted attempt in a couple of scenes, and then it just melts away. No wonder. She was trying to do an Alderaanian accent. ---
**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 23, 2016, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-attempts-at-british-accents-by-american-actors/746884/7 "2016-02-23T16:38:43Z")
Don’t blame us for Keanu Reeves. He’s Canadian. ---
**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 23, 2016, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-attempts-at-british-accents-by-american-actors/746884/8 "2016-02-23T16:43:58Z")
I was watching Cinema Sins the other day and they sinned Robert Downey for his accent in _Sherlock Holmes_. This surprised me. I’m not British so I can’t really judge how good his accent is. But my understanding is that even British people found it authentic. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2016, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-attempts-at-british-accents-by-american-actors/746884/9 "2016-02-23T16:49:01Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > His attempt in Mary Poppins was bad, but he didn’t even really try in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. I am sorry, his [accent was first rate](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxyB29bDbBA). ---
**Author:** ![phantom\_lamb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5f9b8f/32.png) [@phantom\_lamb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phantom_lamb)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2016, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-attempts-at-british-accents-by-american-actors/746884/10 "2016-02-23T17:18:35Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I was watching Cinema Sins the other day and they sinned Robert Downey for his accent in _Sherlock Holmes_. This surprised me. I’m not British so I can’t really judge how good his accent is. But my understanding is that even British people found it authentic. Perhaps a British person should weigh in, but to my ears it definitely sounds decent enough. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2016, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-attempts-at-british-accents-by-american-actors/746884/11 "2016-02-23T17:31:53Z")
> [@phantom\_lamb](#): > > Perhaps a British person should weigh in, but to my ears it definitely sounds decent enough. Not British, but lived there for quite a while and I did hear some residual foreignness, but little enough that it could be passed off as an affected quirk. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2016, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-attempts-at-british-accents-by-american-actors/746884/12 "2016-02-23T17:46:26Z")
Does it have to be British? Brad Pitt’s [Irish](http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/video-news/video-the-worst-irish-accents-in-film-history-brad-pitt-as-rory-devaney-in-the-devils-own-31073265.html) accent was horrid in _The Devil’s Own_. ---
**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:** [February 23, 2016, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-attempts-at-british-accents-by-american-actors/746884/13 "2016-02-23T18:13:37Z")
> [@phantom\_lamb](#): > > Perhaps a British person should weigh in, but to my ears it definitely sounds decent enough. It was fine. I don’t recall ever noticing it, which is a good sign. ---
**Author:** ![sachertorte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sachertorte/32/3727_2.png) [@sachertorte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sachertorte)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2016, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-attempts-at-british-accents-by-american-actors/746884/14 "2016-02-23T18:40:40Z")
Can we discuss the reverse too? It seems to me that British actors tend to do fine with American accents (House MD). I have trouble thinking of examples of bad fake American Accents. Is it because there are so many American actors that Brits faking American accents is less common? Or maybe the bar is higher so that to get an “american” role one has to nail the accent? ---
**Author:** ![Arkcon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Arkcon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arkcon)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2016, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-attempts-at-british-accents-by-american-actors/746884/15 "2016-02-23T18:46:53Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I was watching Cinema Sins the other day and they sinned Robert Downey for his accent in _Sherlock Holmes_. This surprised me. I’m not British so I can’t really judge how good his accent is. But my understanding is that even British people found it authentic. This is always going to be a matter of opinion. When I parroted TV Tropes on Spike’s “Mockney” accent on _Buffy_, people came out of the woodwork to disagree. People did complain about Noomi Rapace in Prometheus, and it did seem like an American doing a bad UK accent … whereas she’s not from the US. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2016, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-attempts-at-british-accents-by-american-actors/746884/16 "2016-02-23T19:00:00Z")
> [@sachertorte](#): > > Can we discuss the reverse too? It seems to me that British actors tend to do fine with American accents (House MD). I have trouble thinking of examples of bad fake American Accents. Maybe no high profile examples, but in situations like comedy sketches or radio plays I’ve heard my share of unconvincing American accents by British actors. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2016, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-attempts-at-british-accents-by-american-actors/746884/17 "2016-02-23T19:06:56Z")
> [@sachertorte](#): > > Can we discuss the reverse too? It seems to me that British actors tend to do fine with American accents (House MD). I have trouble thinking of examples of bad fake American Accents. If you’re British and you’re good enough to get cast as an American on American television, I bet you’re spectacular. If you’re British and you’re working on British television, I bet they just needed to settle for someone who wouldn’t mangle it too embarrassingly and would show up on time for the latest DOCTOR WHO episode. My evidence is various DOCTOR WHO episodes. ---
**Author:** ![BubbaDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bubbadog/32/333_2.png) [@BubbaDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BubbaDog)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2016, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-attempts-at-british-accents-by-american-actors/746884/18 "2016-02-23T19:07:52Z")
> [@sachertorte](#): > > Can we discuss the reverse too? It seems to me that British actors tend to do fine with American accents (House MD). I have trouble thinking of examples of bad fake American Accents. > > Is it because there are so many American actors that Brits faking American accents is less common? Or maybe the bar is higher so that to get an “american” role one has to nail the accent? I would agree with you until I heard Andrew Lincoln call his screen son Carrrrroool. (Carl) - The Walking Dead ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2016, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-attempts-at-british-accents-by-american-actors/746884/19 "2016-02-23T19:12:13Z")
Part of the problem with doing an “American” accent is that that’s vague. There really isn’t a standard American accent. The regional dialects sometimes sound fake even to us. I was born in Southern Indiana. Spent my entire life in this area. Yet I consistently get told that I sound like I’m from Michigan (a state to which I’ve never been). It may be too broad for a Brit to try an American accent, since there are many different variations of that accent to be believable. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2016, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-attempts-at-british-accents-by-american-actors/746884/20 "2016-02-23T19:12:58Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Maybe no high profile examples, but in situations like comedy sketches or radio plays I’ve heard my share of unconvincing American accents by British actors. Yeah, that’s what I was going to say. Many American cities have public television stations that run old Britcoms; those from ITV seem particularly prone to having bad American accents on display. > [@Arkcon](#): > > People did complain about Noomi Rapace in Prometheus, and it did seem like an American doing a bad UK accent … whereas she’s not from the US. That was truly dreadful. Ridley Scott is at fault for not realizing she simply can’t do a UK accent–he should have made the character Swedish. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-attempts-at-british-accents-by-american-actors/746884.md?page=2)