Dodgy British accents in American programmes

[rugbychick1]

I'm currently recovering from surgery and binge watching "Bones" for the first time. Why do the accents for any British characters all sound the same? Now I've noticed it, why can't I un notice it?

Boston is a weird one. It's full of Irish yet they don't say their Rs? And boy do Irish ppl love to roll their Rrrrs lads.
Same applies to Scouse.

What about Jonny Depp in Pirates of the Caribbean though? Just weird!

Loved Alison Wright's Cumbrian accent in Snowpiercer. She was technically born there, but grew up in Newcastle from a very young age.

Would be curious to know how Daniel Lewis' accent in Billions is critiqued by actual Americans? Although I obviously don't have the ear for accents as I was totally taken in by Spike!

You can hear the similarity to Keith Richards' accent, I think it was meant to be a larger than life thing rather than a specific accent.

Exactly. I mean, she did a decent job, absolutely, but accent didn’t match her character’s social class. The way she said ‘Mark Darcy’ in particular was ultra-posh.

(Mind you, apparently I passed her on reception in Random House several times when she was working ‘undercover’ for the BJ role, without noticing this tiny, ultra-groomed faintly familiar person, so ignore me…)

I came on to about Troian Bellisaro in PLL @eyesfullofstars It was truly awful! But apparently it was sprung on her last minute.

Billy Butcher in The Boys, when character says ‘I think he had a British accent.’ Nope! No-one is going to hear that and think he’s British! 😂

Minnie Driver nails accents. She was great in Circle of friends. Chris O’Donnel, not so much.

Jodie Comer is awesome, never heard her act with her own accent!

Anyone watched Orphan Black? Tatiana Masley is Canadian but she plays multiple roles within the show, all with different accents. Phenomenal!

Yes, I remember that! It was truly bizarre and made worse by the scriptwriters making him sound as though he’d wandered in from the 19th century.

When I read Harry Potter to the children I did it in a Lancashire accent as per the text?

Is there something in the text that sets it in Lancashire? That passed me by, where does it say that? (Long time since I read them).

What annoys me as well is the lack of research. You'll have British characters born in the 1980s called Beryl and Derek with a child born in 2015 called Michelle - not impossible but not very likely either. Beryl will be from Surrey but will say 'path' instead of 'parth', or worse, 'sidewalk'.

(also applies to any other nationalities)

Adore Daniel Craig but have to give his Benoit Blanc a serious swerve.

But that's an intentionally over-the-top fake "stage" version of a Southern accent. I thought it was really funny. Speaking of which, don't get me started on actors, British and American, trying to do realistic US Southern accents. For one thing, there are many regional variations and seldom do actors get it right.

I read somewhere that Daniel Craig based his accent on this guy, Shelby Foote who was a novelist and historian.

Or you’ll get a titled young lady called Peyton or Paige.

If you’ve read Bridget Jones’ Diary, what social class did you think Bridget was from? I imagined her family as being upper-middle-class or middle-middle-class.

All of Stephen King's later books have this - people have the wrong name for their age. Once you see it it is really annoying. I've considered writing to his publisher/editor about it. :)

The worst for me was the film of Dancing at Lughnasa where yes all the siblings had Irish accents - each from a different part of Ireland.

Gracewithoutend· Yesterday 20:19

Oh, the Geordie accents on Vera!

And the location continuity, on the cliff top in Seaton Sluice, walk down and appear on Blast Beach, in Seaham!

And what about Michael Caine, in Get Carter? From Elswick, with a geet Cockney accent...

Greenfinch7 · Today 06:01

Hugh Laurie as House was wonderful.

So I'm led to believe by American friends. I read an interview and he mentioned his interview for House. The director, or whoever, admired his ability to do such a great Limey accent...

I think it helped that he mispronounced words like Americans (sorry, American posters!).

Cappy-lairy for capillary etc.

The worst for me was the film of Dancing at Lughnasa where yes all the siblings had Irish accents - each from a different part of Ireland.

Similar for Steel Magnolias. All from the same town in Louisiana (except for Annelle) but each with a different accent and none from that part of Louisiana.

We've been watching and loving 1923 on Paramount, but our enjoyment is spoiled every time by Jerome Flynn doing a non-specific Scottish/Irish/possibly Indian accent. We made it to episode 8 before DH worked out he was supposed to be a Scot.

He's actually British! Couldn't they find an actual Scottish person, or even an American who could do a convincing accent? Several of the accents in the show were unconvincing, but at least you could work out where they were supposed to be.

I have only fairly vague memories of it, but definitely lower-middle class. It doesn’t show so much in the London sections, more when she’s visiting her parents. Bridget says ‘lounge’, her parents’ friends have a carillon doorbell that plays the same tune as the town hall clock, the turkey curry buffet is pretty much Abigail’s Party with cream sherry and gherkins.

They shouldn't try imo! I thought Renee Zellweger did a good job in BJ but like another poster said, it was a bit self-consciously cutt Glass. Also Gwyneth paltrow in Sense and Sensibility, very good.

But otherwise, just don't try, pleeeeeeease, and I'm Irish! But I can tell a bad English accent. I can also tell a bad Irish accent and very few people manage that because unlike the UK we do not have one correct / standard accent. special mention to Geraldine James though. Wow.

He was an awful choice. FFS surely someone Scottish was available?!

Interesting about how the reverse is received, I always wondered if Hugh Laurie was as good as Gregory House as I thought he was. It wouldn't surprise me that the only mistakes he made where when the emphasis was on a different syllable.

Minnie Driver nails accents. She was great in Circle of friends.

She was not! True, better than Chris O'Donnell & the assorted Oirishness that even the Irish actors were required to do but there were lots of lapses.

(Incidentally I quite enjoy the film & Alan Cumming is great (including accent) as the odious Seán, so much so I struggled to recognise him in a completely different persona for The Good Wife but if you haven't, please read the book - it's great, one of my favourites of Maeve Binchy's & an infinitely superior & believable ending).

I agree re Geraldine James! She acted in a TV version of Maeve Binchy's Echoes, years and years ago - she was super.