All-time best/worst accents from TV or film

[Dawsonforehead]

Best: Harry (Billy Crystal) in when Harry met Sally

Worst: Daphne from Frasier

How did I forget? Kathy Bates in AHS Freak Show and Roanoake.

Jonathan Rhys Myers in The Tudors.
So bad it was hilarious.
That whole series was a total hoot though.

willywillywillywilly how did I forget Don Cheadle's not so cockney accent! I do wonder when the production team realise their accents are awful but it's just too late....

Worst: Definitely Don Cheadle in Ocean's Eleven, it's AWFUL (even though he's a good actor and was wonderful in Boogie Nights)

Best: Dominic West and Idris Elba in The Wire. I couldn't believe that they were both British and that Dominic West was super posh

I think we’re naturally more affronted by bad attempts at our own regional accent - I notice a bad NI or Belfast accent a mile off, but I wouldn’t pick up on a bad northern English accent so much because I’m just not as familiar with it.

With respect to Seán Connery, Liam Neeson is guilty of the same thing- in every film all I can hear is his Ballymena twang regardless of what nationality his character is supposed to be!

I thought Renee Thingy's English accent was good in Bridget Jones. Still don't understand why they couldn't have got an English actress for it but she did a good job.

And Sacha Baron Cohen in Les Mis. It's not a bad French accent, it's actually quite good, but it makes no sense that he's the only one playing it French when everyone else went British...

Kind of on topic but just want to show this really, has everyone seen Peter Serafinowicz's Terry Wogan impression? It's spot on, I couldn't quite believe it!

Someone whose name I blocked out in PS I Love You. Terrible film. Even worse accent.

Big fan of Elizabeth Moss but her accent in Top of the Lake is so distracting that I couldn't hack a second season

Jamie Dornan in 50 Shades of Grey... although I liked the films... quickly scarpers away to avoid the MN bashing ...

Daphne from frasier is a Londoner I think

No, she was from Manchester and I thought her accent was OK - I don't think it was her real one.

But when I saw the thread title, I immediately thought about when they brought Daphne's brother into Frasier and he did have a cockney accent.

Like brother and sister, who were brought up together, would have completely different accents . Did they ever try and explain that one?

Best - Brad Pitt in Snatch

Worst - Kathy Bates in Roanoke.It totally distracted from her usually brilliant acting.

Saw Michael Caine in a film the other day, he couldn't do an American accent.

Cate Blanchett always carries accents and characters off great.

Worst Sean Connery in Untouchables.
Best Martin Compston in Line of duty

Barbara so true about Daphne's brothers, cringe. Their accents were never explained. Interestingly the character who played Martin Crane (RIP) was from Manchester.

Jim Sturgess does an amazing accent in 21, I had no idea he was from England!

I always find Michael Caine's posh accent in Zulu unconvincing. But that's possibly because I'm just not accustomed to hearing him speak anything other than Sarf London, and it just seems wrong to have that accent coming out of his mouth.

Daphne's ex boyfriend Clive from Manchester had the WORST accent on Frasier. He was like a bad Dick Van Duke tribute act.

*Dick Van Dyke

Jodie Comer in Killing Eve has a fab accent, I'd never seen her in anything else and couldn't believe she's actually from Liverpool. Also Hugh Laurie in House.

Twisted I can't actually watch the Clive episode, it hurts. His accent is like an audio tour of most UK regions.

Charlie Hunnam in Green Street - awful but hilarious.

Aidan Gillen in GOT as Littlefinger - what is his accent supposed to be? I know he's Irish in real life but his accent is just so off on the program 🤷🏻‍♀️

I think Margot Robbie had a great accent in Wolf of Wall Street considering she's Australian and also Domhnall Gleeson did a good English accent in About Time (Margot had a small part in that film too and also did a good English accent)

The lassie in my mad fat diary. I had no idea she was a weegie

I think another one of Daphne’s brothers also had a terrible northern accent. Yes it was weird she had a cockney brother and mum.

Mel Gibson is awful in Braveheart. Such a bad movie anyway. The accent is probably the least of its problems. I’d say Mrs Doubtfire too. But perhaps the bad accent is deliberate on that one? She’s supposed to be English yet has a sort of Scottish accent.

Best would be Hugh Laurie in House. People who don’t know his previous works have been surprised that he’s English. Many actors overdo the American accent but his is very subtle.

Bernard Cribbins' accent in the original Railway Children film was truly dire. Don't know what region it was meant to represent but it wasn't anywhere on this planet.

Aiden Gillen's accent in The Wire isn't great either. He just sounds like an Irish man trying to do an American accent. Linus Roache's American accent in Law and Order is excellent though.

I think we’re naturally more affronted by bad attempts at our own regional accent

Yes, this, so for me it has to be Kiera Knightley in Everest.

To be fair, it was a pretty good Australian accent, though.