All-time best/worst accents from TV or film

[Dawsonforehead]

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

Worst: Daphne from Frasier

Simon Pegg’s Scottish accent in the Star Trek reboot films sounds pretty terrible to me and I’m not even Scottish

Ooh another good one, Simon Pegg in Ready Player One. Excellent American, I didn't even realise it was him until I was looking up someone else I spotted!

All of broadchurch! The first 5 minutes everyone started with broad Dorset accents, then they all just used their normal London ones for the rest of the series, with the odd "arrr". I noticed it and I'm northern!

Claire bowen in Nashville.
I disagree about Hugh Lawrie in House.

Mark Darcy, not ‘Mark Dark’. Mark Dark sounds like a minor Death Eater.

I was beaten to it by several other people but yes, Hugh Laurie in House surely has to win best.

And because I now have medical dramas on the brain, what I've seen of Freddie Highmore in the Good Doctor is very good too. Seems to fit right in with the american accents as well as adjusting his speech patterns well too (his character is an autistic surgeon)

Benedict Cumberbatch did a good American accent in dr strange.

I listened to a (oldish) radio series recently and the housekeeper dreadful Scottish accent got my blood up. Roseberry Avenue or something like that.

It only perked up when a old lady murdered the crooked ladies man and fed him to her cats. That and the oldadies who ran a brothel. Quite a dark side to it...

Benedict Cumberbatch did not do a good accent in Doctor Strange. Watch the Honest Trailer for it and you’ll realise exactly who it sounds like.

God yes BC accent in dr strange was bloody awful

In what way? He sounds exactly like an American friend of mine!

Ben Schnetzer as Mark in Pride is excellent (to my untutored ear at least) - I've seen footage of Mark Ashton IRL and Schnetzer (who I think is American) really captured him.

Much as I totally adore Lin Manuel Miranda, I anticipate that his accent in the new Mary Poppins may be a little too close to Dick Van Dyke levels of awfulness. I really hope I'm wrong.

I thought Spike from Buffy's accent was cringing awful! Looks like I'm in the minority. He was very good, though: I loved that character.

I thought the guy who played Will Byers' brother in Stranger Things (Charlie someone?) was very convincing as an American.

I'd also like to mention Mr Krabs from Spongebob. Does anyone know what accent that is supposed to be? Sometimes it's Cornish, sometimes Irish but he calls people 'boyo' which is Welsh.

Agree with so many of the above, but one I was especially impressed by was Martin Compston as Steve Arnott in Line of Duty, was so shocked to hear his real accent - Scottish. I thought he had the estuary twang spot on.

Jason Isaccs in pretty much anything in which he's not using his own natural accent. His American accent is amazing.

Scarlet Johansson playing an English girl, trying to do a posh accent : "Did you hart har?" for "Did you hurt her?"

I thought Spike from Buffy's accent was cringing awful!

I agree! Very early on he gives himself away with mispronunciations like “ass” instead of “arse”. Wesley’s accent wasn’t much better

I love Antonia Thomas’ accent in Misfits (Alisha). She has a very RP accent in real life-she’s the opening narrator in Tellytubbies!!!

Can't remember the actress' name but Jane Beale in Eastenders was amazing. I genuinely thought she was from the East End. It blew my mind when I heard her speaking in her natural Scottish accent.

Maggie gyllenhall in the honourable woman was incredible-I wasn't even sure it was her! Also David tennant (especially in Casanova), thought he was English, he's equally hot as a Scot or English

Best - Renee Zellweger in BJ
Worst - Emma Thompson's Glaswegian accent in The Legend of Barney Thomson. She needs some lessons from Michelle Gomez

Josh O'Connor's yorkshire accent in God's Own Country was incredible. He said when he was filming there one of the locals said to him 'You're not from round here are you, you are from X village 10 minutes away'.

He's actually from Cheltenham and sounds so different in real life- in fact his whole performance, mannerisms, voice makes him unrecognisable.

Oh I'd love to see him speak as himself.
I so adore that film, it's gorgeous.

I've just remembered Amber Heard in The Danish Girl! That was an alarming performance all round but her accent in particular really grated.

Pam St Clement aka Pat Butcher! Could t believe my ears when I heard her out of character

I love it too IHaveBrilloHair. He's now been cast as Prince Charles in The Crown, I imagine he'll be excellent in that too.