Why American Actors Suck At British Accents

CELEBRITIES ATTEMPTING BRITISH ACCENTS on The Graham Norton Show

Michael C Hall in whatever that miniseries he did last year was called. Painful, despite some DL fans posting "I come from Hertfordshire and he sounded like a native". No, he didn't, and it was obvious listening to recite dialog with the rest of the cast.

They don't all suck at English accents. What sucks is when the accent comes and goes...that looks stupid.

Winslet's accent in Titanic wasn't great it was ok

If you watch British tv, all the American accents are terrible.

American Actors Suck At Acting

Because the British accent is completely fake and manufactured. They used to sound like Americans until wealthy people wanted to distinguish themselves from commoners. It's the more natural way to speak English.

Don't you need a forked tongue to speak with a proper English accent? Most Americans have regular one-prong tongues. It's a real disadvantage for them.

r7 British people used to sound like Americans? And here I thought England/Britain was first in the timeline. I have been lied to by every history book, every monument and every person that ever told me otherwise.

Why Britons would go through the trouble to manufacture an entire history complete with a "fake" and "manufactured" accent is beyond me.

Britons must be a deeply insecure people, who despite having all the wealth and power in the world, are still miserable, ignorant, violent and unhappy....although I could be confusing my countries/peoples.

I think I might learn to speak English properly one day, I think I shall start with the Noah Webster kid's dictionary.

For the love of god please don’t drag Dick Van Dyke into this debate yet again. He was playing a chimney sweep in a Disney children’s musical where he sang with a nanny who flies and danced with animated penguins! Those who were expecting documentary-like Cockney authenticity are just impossibly ludicrous.

Aussies nail the American accent better than any.

R9 the brits moved to non-rhotic speak st the end of the 1700’s as it became fashionable in the upper class and nouveau riche

R12 That's just revisionism and misinformation. The Southwest of England still speak with rhoticism. Before there was ever an "America".

Paul Dano's British accent kicked ass in BBC's recent "War and Peace". The Brits thought he was a new local boy.

r13, I think you misunderstood r12. He seemed to be saying that all British people were rhotic at one time. Then in the 17th century it became unfashionable (maybe with German people on the throne), so at least the upper classes, and probably a lot of wannabees among the common people lost their final "r"s. But there were pockets of Britain that retained those final "r"s, such as Cornwall (if that is the part of Southwest Britain to which you're referring).

I watch quite a few British comedies and cop shows, and the American accents are uniformly terrible. The Australian ones, too. I think there are only a few British actors who are really good at it, and they probably work really hard at it because it opens up more opportunities for them to work in America and maybe other countries as well.

That's not to say Americans are good at British accents, because every once in awhile they do okay, usually by adopting more of a Mid-Atlantic accent, but most of the time Americans are pretty dire about foreign accents.

Since OP neglected to reveal the youtube clip's contents, forcing us all to watch a seperate video to know what OP is talking about, can someone please summarize what the expert said? Thanks.

Well, I sez to Mable, I sez "Rhotic." And she says "Rhoda?" And I sez "Rhotic! Rhotic!" and Mabel sez, "I don't know anybody named "Rhotic."

I work with a lot of Brits who agree René Z. pulled of an almost perfect accent in Bridget Jones. Likewise with James Marsters (Spike) on Buffy.

Hugh Laurie and Rachel Griffiths (Brit and Aussie) are really good with their America accents on House and Six Feet Under.

[quote]Hugh Laurie and Rachel Griffiths (Brit and Aussie) are really good with their America accents on House and Six Feet Under.

Rachel's was fantastic - one time though they had an Aussie guy on SFU and she started talking like him.

^^ oops, Ruth Wilson's American accent is excellent. I did not know whether she was American or English, in fact.

And Dominic West's American accent is pretty good.

J.J. Field and Alessiandro Nivola are good. Renee Zellweger was too posh by half but was fine.

I think most British actors aren’t that good at American. Kate Winslet did an almost successful Australian in HOKY SMOKE! but her American accent keeps dropping out.

And Benedict Cumberbatch in Doctor Strange was terrible to make matters worse he had the vocal fry of a valley girl. Male speakers of RP have vocal fry, it it doesn’t translate well to American men.

Dominic West's accent was notably bad. The actor who played Carcetti had a perfect accent. I didn't know he wasn't American. I think he's Irish.

There's only one thing worse than an American with a bad British accent: A Briton with a bad British accent.

The Irish accent is very close to the American accent.

Ellen Burstyn in Providence and Pack of Lies has an English accent so bad I kept waiting for the usual "Mother sent me to America for schooling" saving-face explanation, but it never came.

I just wish American actors put more of a premium on speech and vocal training, let alone accents and dialogues. And I say that as an American who wants to see more American actors employed in our productions.

There are so many young people in TV, film, and even theatre whose voices make my ears bleed (assuming they're even audible).

I find the British dialects so e-rhotic. I drop my shorts and my Rs.

He's not a great actor overall but KJ Apa does a great American accent on Riverdale (he's from New Zealand)

[quote]Aussies nail the American accent better than any.

They do seem to be. I just found out recently Eric Bana is Australian. And, as someone upthread pointed out, Rachel Griffiths' accent in "Six Feet Under" was unclockable.

British accents are much more lively and expressive. American accents are monotone and boring so it makes sense that it's easier to replicate.

Judy Davis nails it. Rachel Ward, not so much.

The Brits still want us to apologize constantly for Dick van Dyke's accent in "Mary Poppins."

I'm willing to, but only if they are willing to apologize constantly for Kenneth Branagh's accent in "Dead Again."

Winona Ryder and Keanu Reeves in Bram Stoker's Dracula were the worst

I used to teach Americans the (standard) English accent when I was at acting school there...we'd swap skills.

What they found hard was learning to not sound so enthusiastic about everything. I used to say "sound bored", (it's the key) even if you're excited.

Americans seem to think English people speak all "jolly" - all that pip-pip nonsense.

R2, the dialect coach in OP’s video cites Hall’s as one of the very best British accents. So perhaps the natives you mock are better judges than you.

R17, the video points out that British actors playing American parts are more likely to live in America and are more likely to have been trained in elocution at drama school. OP mischaracterizes the video. It doesn’t say Americans all suck at British accents.

It couldn't have anything to do with the enormity of Americans leading the movie/tv industry since the beginning of time, could it?

Another OP dolt needing a good cunt punt.

R9's comment reveals the ignorance. R9 is most likely a disenfranchised, lower class fringe member of American society. Always throwing the US and fellow citizens under the bus out of frustration for their marginal surroundings and low end station in life. It's always someone else's fault.

R9 writes:

"Britons must be a deeply insecure people, who despite having all the wealth and power in the world, are still miserable, ignorant, violent and unhappy....although I could be confusing my countries/peoples."

Yeah, that would be it. Confused. And the ignorant, violent character trait you inscribe to the Britons belongs to their immigrant population of ME's and specifically Africans NOT indigenous Brits.

The truth hurts, we know. The USA would be the one having all of the wealth and power in the world, you envious, uneducated traitor.

^ Out of her chill pills.

Michael C Hall's accent in Safe was very good. It was a general 'Estuary English' accent but you could still tell there was something 'off' with it. It was impressive from an acting point of view but it wasn't completely convincing.

I just listened to it in the trailer. He sounds like a Jewish guy from North London to me.

Eric Bana's Australian accent kept coming through in the Other Boleyn Girl, it was most distracting.

At least Bana sounded more convincing in that movie than Natalie and Scarlett did....