Actors who sound odd using their native accents

[Soubriquet]

Watching supernatural and James Marsters is in an episode. He is speaking with his native American accent and it just sounds so odd. He just sounds better with the British accent instead

Another one is Margot Robbie who is actually Australian. She pulls off the American accent so well as Harley Quinn, that I just couldn’t process hearing her speak with the Australian accent

Having fist encountered both Dominic West and Idris Elba in The Wire, their own British accents always surprise me.

The actress who played Martha in The Americans is from Sunderland and her very regional accent surprised me when I heard her interviewed.

Jodie Cromer from Killing Eve is the master of the accent on that programme, from plummy posh English to Russian and beyond, but her own broad Scouse accent is always surprising.

Having first seen him as "English" in Shameless, i can't get used to James McEvoy speaking with quite a strong Scottish accent

I was taken aback the first time I heard David Tennant speak a Scottish accent but I really like it. It's a shame he didn't use his own accent for Dr Who. The same goes for Martin Compston (Line of Duty).

Lennie James, I first saw him in Jericho with an American accent.

I agree that Jodie Cromer’s accents are outstanding - I couldn’t believe it when I first heard her real life accent! She is so talented.

I cringe a bit when I hear Martin Compston - I don’t know why as he is fairly (within 50 miles!) local to me! I am Scottish so it’s not like I’m not used to hearing very similar accents. It’s almost like I think he’s putting on his real accent because I’ve spent years watching him play someone with an English accent 😂

I wonder what any Americans who only know Hugh Laurie from House would make of an old episode of Jeeves and Wooster or a Bit of Fry and Laurie.

@cariadlet

I wonder what any Americans who only know Hugh Laurie from House would make of an old episode of Jeeves and Wooster or a Bit of Fry and Laurie.

I absolutely hate Hugh Lawrie's "American" accent on House.
It is really terrible to me.
I tried to watch the show but I just couldn't because of his voice.

His real accent is fine.

I'm American, btw.

Damian Lewis. I watched many many seasons of Homeland with no idea he was actually English and sounds proper posh as well IRL.

Andrew Lincoln after watching the walking dead

Shows how talented these people are really in that they fool us with a fake accent so well, we are shocked when we hear them talk

I'm American, and this is an old one, but Olivia d'Abo who was in Wonder Years with an American accent. I did not even realize back then she was British. When I heard her talk with her British accent it was so strange to me. Oh and I was a HUGE Hugh Laurie fan long before House and I prefer his natural accent :)

Ah y’see Andrew Lincoln I found the other way around, more like “why is Egg from This Life pretending to be American?”

Matthew Rhys from The Americans and Brothers and Sisters. His native Welsh accent fascinates me

The scenes between Phillip and Martha must’ve been funny to watch being filmed- both speaking with American accents then the cameras stop rolling and they revert back to their Welsh and Sunderland accents

@sashh

Lennie James, I first saw him in Jericho with an American accent.

I had no idea Lennie James was British!

Pretty much all of the GoT cast always sounded odd to me when they gave interviews.

I had no idea Lennie James was British!

@FoxVillage You must watch Line of Duty

Sam Neill -- who really is both Northern Irish & Kiwi (but mostly talks in movies in American accents).

Gillian Anderson -- who really is both English & American.

Hearing Anthony Hopkins speak in natural accent is freaky too. I'm convinced he purposefully lays it on heavy, now.
Ewan McGregor.
Millie Bobby Brown.

I did once have a conversation with someone about accents, he remarked that Tim Roth does a really good English accent, and I said, "that might be because he is English".

I was a few years older so had seen Roth in things like 'King of the Ghetto'.

I think if you only see actors in certain roles, particularly if you have only seen them in US shows then you assume they are American.

Then there is Kristian Nairn, I'd only ever seen him play Hodor so I was surprised by his accent, but I think I would be surprised at any accent from him.

Aysha Dee from the Bold Type! She’s Australian but from what I can tell as a Brit, her American accent is really convincing!

Renee Zelwegger - after Bridget Jones, find it odd when I hear her natural voice

Bernadette - Big Bang theory - doesn’t speak like she does in Big Bang

Laurie Brett who was Jane Beale in Eastenders is Scottish and played with her own accent in Deadwater Fell.

The two English actors from The Affair, I can't think of their names. Ruth someone? I've only seen them in that show playing Americans but in interviews they sound strange!

Matthew Rhys is the best. He was so wonderful in The Americans. He played a Russian pretending to be an American in the Washington D.C. suburbs in the mid-80s. I went to university in the mid-80s with a lot of people from the D.C. suburbs and I swear he sounded just like them. I saw a few interviews he did when he was promoting A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood and it was so wild hearing his Welsh accent.

But I also thought Hugh Laurie did a very plausible American accent on House. There was one episode that had a scene where he was trying to fake an English accent and it was hilariously botched.

Renee as Bridget was just perfect, so many American actors are utter crap at doing English accents (looking at you Troian Bellasario as the evil twin in pretty little liars)

Jodie Comer is just amazing and the interview with Ellen is cringe-inducingly embarassing