# Worst English accents on US TV (And vice versa) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 23, 2008, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-english-accents-on-us-tv-and-vice-versa/446607 "2008-04-23T22:25:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2008, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-english-accents-on-us-tv-and-vice-versa/446607/81 "2008-04-24T23:37:17Z")
John Hillerman, Higgins on “Magnum P.I.”, sounded pretty posh to me even though he’s from Texas. Any Brits have an opinion? Michael McKean, Christopher Guest, and Harry Shearer got mad props IIRC for their south-London working-class voices in “Spinal Tap.” ---
**Author:** ![cinehead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e79b87/32.png) [@cinehead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cinehead)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2008, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-english-accents-on-us-tv-and-vice-versa/446607/82 "2008-04-25T00:01:20Z")
[QUOTE=Mahna Mahna] Ignorance fought. I had no clue that neither actor was American. In fact, I’m even more amazed by Dominic West, because he pulls of an incredibly convincing American accent, and then proceeds to demonstrate an equally convincing _bad_ fake English accent during the whorehouse raid in Season 2. [/QUOTE] Don’t forget Idris Elba (Stringer Bell) it absolutely freaks me out every time I hear him speak with his native British accent. ---
**Author:** ![Gorgon\_Heap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f475e1/32.png) [@Gorgon\_Heap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorgon_Heap)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2008, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-english-accents-on-us-tv-and-vice-versa/446607/83 "2008-04-25T00:45:41Z")
So many I agree with here. I ditto Laurie, Heady and Bamber. No idea until I saw them out of context. Bob Hoskins totally blew my mind the first time I saw him out of Roger Rabbit. Any the Monty Python crew doing American accents makes me giggle every time. ---
**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:** [April 25, 2008, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-english-accents-on-us-tv-and-vice-versa/446607/84 "2008-04-25T01:11:55Z")
I just thought of two guys that do great American accents. Just thinking out loud but maybe the fact that they are black might subconciously help when an American hears them. I know Britain is multicultural but black is not the first thing that pops into my head when thinking “British”. [Eamon Walker](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0907708/) who I know mostly from the HBO series _Oz_. A flawless accent in my opinion. [Lennie James](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0416694/) from _Jericho_ is from London but I couldn’t tell until I looked him up. ---
**Author:** ![Hippy\_Hollow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hippy_hollow/32/4841_2.png) [@Hippy\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2008, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-english-accents-on-us-tv-and-vice-versa/446607/85 "2008-04-25T02:04:49Z")
[QUOTE=Loach] [Eamon Walker](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0907708/) who I know mostly from the HBO series _Oz_. A flawless accent in my opinion. [/QUOTE] I was gonna mention Walker! I saw him on a UK show and I was like, “Is that Said? No way!” The bloke who plays Carcetti on _The Wire_ - Aidan somebody - is at times good, as cited upthread, but this past season he lost it and became this nasally Irish-American-sounding accent at times. I think Hugh Laurie is great. Listen to him play an American from his sketch days on _A Bit of Fry and Laurie_ - cringeworthy there, quite good now. I also think Rachel Griffiths did great on _Six Feet Under_. The guys who did the voices on _Spitting Image_ in the 80s - including Harry Enfield - did great accents. Enfield is so good, most people didn’t know his annoying “Dr. Angus” character from the Burger King commercial wasn’t American. His sketches have very good, middle-American accents. His last series with Paul Whitehouse was alternately brilliant (his accent) and hideous (Whitehouse’s). Bad accents: Tracey Ullman can definitely go overboard. Most of the time she’s good, but other times not so much. Her _Three Of A Kind_ costar, Lenny Henry, does a funny (but pretty bad) American accent. Daphne from _Frasier_ is horrible. I really hated her guest spot on _Seinfeld_. I was gobsmacked to learn she was a Brit. I’ve already mentioned Whitehouse. Americans won’t know him (he was a major player on _The Fast Show/Brilliant!_). Americans have totally tin ears for non-American accents, which I find annoying. I have no problem understanding most Commonwealthers - Jamaicans, Aussies, and so on - but I remember being amused when Oasis were big in America, they had Noel Gallagher’s interviews with subtitles. Liam’s a bit mushmouthed but Noel is quite understandable. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2008, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-english-accents-on-us-tv-and-vice-versa/446607/86 "2008-04-25T02:21:48Z")
Hippy Hollow writes: \> Her Three Of A Kind costar, Lenny Henry, does a funny (but pretty bad) \> American accent. He did a pretty good American accent in _True Identity_. ---
**Author:** ![percypercy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8baadc/32.png) [@percypercy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/percypercy)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2008, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-english-accents-on-us-tv-and-vice-versa/446607/87 "2008-04-25T02:36:14Z")
[QUOTE=Wendell Wagner] percypercy writes: \> Jesse Spencer, also from House, also has an accent that slips at times, but he’s \> Australian. Say what? Spencer is an Australian actor playing an Australian character. In fact, some people have noted that, although there are a number of Australian actors who are currently regulars in American TV shows, Spencer is the _only_ one who plays an Australian character. [/QUOTE] That was a complete brain fart on my part. Please ignore me. You are, of course, right. -Lil ---
**Author:** ![amarone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@amarone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarone)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2008, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-english-accents-on-us-tv-and-vice-versa/446607/88 "2008-04-25T02:54:05Z")
[QUOTE=Capt. Ridley’s Shooting Party] Same. Only ever heard it pronounced “nugget” in the north. [/QUOTE] I’m a northener and pronounce it noo-gah. Mind you, you and **chowder** are both from 't wrong side uh 't Pennines, so what can you expect? ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2008, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-english-accents-on-us-tv-and-vice-versa/446607/89 "2008-04-25T02:58:18Z")
Wow. I’ve never heard anyone, anywhere pronounce it anything other than “new-g’t” Then again, it’s not exactly an everyday conversation kind of word. Chances are, I have never heard most of the people I know ever say that word. ---
**Author:** ![amarone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@amarone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarone)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2008, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-english-accents-on-us-tv-and-vice-versa/446607/90 "2008-04-25T03:03:26Z")
[QUOTE=GorillaMan] No cite, but I’m pretty sure I’ve read in an interview that there was a concious decision among the production team that no single actual accent would work, and that the best option was to create the holy grail, the generic ‘British’ accent. [/QUOTE] According to the interview at the bottom of [this page](http://www.tv.com/jane-leeves/person/1207/trivia.html), it is supposed to be Mancunian. I think it is an interesting accent in that to me it is obviously Mancunian yet does not sound like any Mancunian I have ever met. It is some sort of caricature accent. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2008, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-english-accents-on-us-tv-and-vice-versa/446607/91 "2008-04-25T03:18:05Z")
[QUOTE=Loach] [Here](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKstOzP0yt0&feature=related) is Barrowman speaking in his real accent. And then singing in his real accent. [/QUOTE] Dude’s got a set of pipes! Who knew? (probably everybody, but I didn’t!) ---
**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:** [April 25, 2008, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-english-accents-on-us-tv-and-vice-versa/446607/92 "2008-04-25T03:27:56Z")
[QUOTE=OpalCat] Dude’s got a set of pipes! Who knew? (probably everybody, but I didn’t!) [/QUOTE] Pretty much everyone. He is most well known for musical theater. [Here](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5KM2HosqOo) he is in the movie version of The Producers (musical). [Here](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=if1kUoDWt9w) he is in the movie Delovely with Kevin Kline. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2008, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-english-accents-on-us-tv-and-vice-versa/446607/93 "2008-04-25T03:48:27Z")
Yeah, I don’t follow musical theatre so I was pretty sure it was just me. Heh. ---
**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2008, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-english-accents-on-us-tv-and-vice-versa/446607/94 "2008-04-25T04:03:00Z")
Speaking of unexpected great singers and a good American accent to boot. [Hugh Jackman](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KyaAZKwYXxg) ---
**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:** [April 25, 2008, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-english-accents-on-us-tv-and-vice-versa/446607/95 "2008-04-25T04:16:51Z")
[QUOTE=OpalCat] Yeah, I don’t follow musical theatre so I was pretty sure it was just me. Heh. [/QUOTE] I would love to say that it is because of my vast knowledge in multiple subjects. In fact I never heard of him until Doctor Who. Then I saw him in The Producers. Then I started to look into more clips of him. ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2008, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-english-accents-on-us-tv-and-vice-versa/446607/96 "2008-04-25T07:10:14Z")
[QUOTE=amarone] I’m a northener and pronounce it noo-gah. Mind you, you and **chowder** are both from 't wrong side uh 't Pennines, so what can you expect? [/QUOTE] You can take your white rose and shove it where the sun don’t shine, innit? 😃 You pronounce it noo-gah? I suspect you’re really a suvvern poof at heart 😛 ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2008, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-english-accents-on-us-tv-and-vice-versa/446607/97 "2008-04-25T07:24:50Z")
[QUOTE=Smeghead] I’ve heard a lot of ear-splittingly bad American accents on the BBC Radio dramas I listen to at work. I just heard one today - Of Rats and Men - that I almost had to stop listening to because the accents were so bad. There are a few actors they hire regularly that they seem to think do really good American accents. They don’t. [/QUOTE] When I was an actor I, and all my actor friends, had “American accent” down in our skillset. I thought I had an advantage, having had a Texan accent between the ages of 5 and 10, and having spent a lot of time in Texas, Tennessee and Connecticut. But in about 2000, when the company I was working for needed an American accent for a voiceover and I volunteered, I could hardly listen to the playback of my own voice. I sounded like I should have been working for the BBC drama department: I had produced a lot of stereotypical American consonants, but filled them in with very clipped RP vowels. A ghastly sound. ---
**Author:** ![Indistinguishable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/90ced4/32.png) [@Indistinguishable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indistinguishable)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2008, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-english-accents-on-us-tv-and-vice-versa/446607/98 "2008-04-25T07:47:02Z")
[QUOTE=OpalCat] Wow. I’ve never heard anyone, anywhere pronounce it anything other than “new-g’t” [/QUOTE] Ah, the ambiguity of writing pronunciations in plain English. To me (and, I suspect, most Brits), “new” brings to mind the sound “nyoo”, entirely different from the “noo” in “nougat”. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2008, 7:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-english-accents-on-us-tv-and-vice-versa/446607/99 "2008-04-25T07:49:25Z")
Eh, I wouldn’t flinch at either noo-gat or nyoo-gat. It’s the noo-gah that freaks me out. ---
**Author:** ![Indistinguishable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/90ced4/32.png) [@Indistinguishable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indistinguishable)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2008, 7:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-english-accents-on-us-tv-and-vice-versa/446607/100 "2008-04-25T07:52:50Z")
[QUOTE=OpalCat] Eh, I wouldn’t flinch at either noo-gat or nyoo-gat. It’s the noo-gah that freaks me out. [/QUOTE] Yeah, I’ll agree with you there. If anyone ever said it that way to me, I wouldn’t know what was going on… even after reading this thread! Luckily, as you say, nougat is very rarely a topic of conversation. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-english-accents-on-us-tv-and-vice-versa/446607.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-english-accents-on-us-tv-and-vice-versa/446607.md?page=6)