In being annoyed by AMERICAN actors and actresses playing BRITISH literary icons?

[purplemonkeydishwasher]

Barrie - Johnny Depp
Potter - Renee Zellwger
now Austen - Ann Big teeth watsername!

just really really gets on my tits!!

Yes I was thinking of Braveheart on both counts (unsuitable actor/fictionalised history), but also that one about American independence, although I didn't see it.

Um, shouldn't Braveheart have been French? Or is that that other big Scottish hero whose name escapes me?

Message withdrawn

nationlity of the actor shouldn't really come into it should it?

if the actor's shite, or has a shite english accent, then by all means be annoyed by that particular actor, but think it's unfair to expect only brits to play brits, yanks to play yanks etc etc

'Having said that I thought the bloke paying Susan's British boyfriend in Desperate Housewives was putting his British accent on but my friend told me he is English... '

Shiny, he sounds terrible because he is actually a Scotsman putting on an English accent.

ok. ok. fair play.
Renee Zellweger in ANY form annoys the shit out of me.

I guess my point was just that there are a lot of really good british actors and actresses out there so why do they need to go abroad for a lead? Especially when everyone else in the movie is british?
and it's not an accent thing. cause generally even if it;s a british actor playing a role he/she will no doubt have to put on a different British accent anyway.

expat - god yes, that is a terrible accent. Wish they'd just let him ponce up his Scottish accent.

Sarah,
DH saw him and said, 'He's a Scotsman! I've seen him in some films.' I said, 'No way!' So he IMDB'd him and yep, he's a Scotsman. He's doing a dreadful English accent.

Ah that explains that then Expat (Susan's boyfriend).

Yes I agree that any actor should be able to play any part.. but he/she should be able to do it well, accent and all, or it should go to someone else who can, an unknown if necessary, surely!

Yeah why couldn't he have been "Susan's Scottish boyfriend"? Same difference, in these circs, surely!

I'm not sure why they made him put on that horrid English accent. It sounds so phoney on him.

Maybe that says something about his acting ability?

Dunno.

I mean, James McAvoy put on a terrific Irish accent - even fooled two of my work colleagues from Dublin - and another accent for Shameless, yet he's a Scotsman as well.

James McAvoy played a Dubliner in 'Inside I'm Dancing', which is a terrific film, btw.

It is extremely annoying hearing even a good actor put on a strange accent, whatever their nationality. Very few get accents right.

They put actors/actresses into films these days because they are on the Hollywood A list, not because they can act or do good foreign accents. Most end up sounding like Hugh Grant trying to do a NY mafia accent in that awful film, Something Blue Eyes ? It always sounds fake.

Actually, Brad Pitt was pretty good in that awful film by Madonna's husband (Snatched? about a diamond or something). I was expecting Brad to be terrible and film to be exciting, I was very wrong.

I think the movie that was most spoiled by a bad accent was Star Wars ep. 1. I spent most of the film distracted by Ewan McGregor's accent until I realised he trying, and failing, to sound like Alec Guinness. Obviously they should have cast a real 'Galaxy far, far away' actor for that.

British actors do get North American accents wrong, too. Helena Bonham Carter did some film set in Nova Scotia, where her accent was so bad I didn't know whether to laugh or cry ... and I just saw the preview!

Hugh Grant trying to sound like a Brooklynite in Mickey Blue Eyes is a very very funny few seconds in an otherwise dreadful movie. Just thinking about him saying 'Fugeddaboutit!' makes me crack up ...

My all time fave crap accent is Meryl Streep in Out of Africa (was she trying to be Norwegian or something ?) Good film, but the accent was unbearable. She sounded like she was constipated throughout !

Ah, it must be because I really, really can't stand Hugh Grant. I have just seen bits of that film on Freeview, found it impossible to watch.

Hugh Grant is horrible. I don't think I can stand him, ever. Except for those few moments.

Yes, someone PLEASE get Hugh Grant off the movies for good !

Hugh Grant is IMO fantastic. Ok, his thing is romcoms but I happen to like romcoms a lot of the time - there is many an occasion when I want to watch something light and Hugh and co fit the bill.

Micky Blue Eyes to which you are all referring is the only Hugh Grant film I can remember finding to be total crap.

Music and Lyrics is fantastic.. I am obsessed.. have the sound track and everything. And I am not generally considered to have cotton wool behind my year I don't think..

yes, you are being unreasonable.

where DOES it end? Only actors from a particular demographic can play certain parts?? Nothing to do with talent??

besides which, if hetro-sexual leads in Hollywood post-war films had to be hetro-sexual, there wouldn't have been that many films made.

....Pitt, Hanks, Cruise also come on my don't bother watching list...

bran, when we came out of the cinema after seeing The Phantom Menace I said to dh "oh, it's so annoying that they made Ewan McGregor speak in that stupid accent - it's probably because an American audience can't understand a Scottish accent..." and he just looked at me isndisbelief and said "er...he was trying to sound like Alec Guinness."

Oh. Yeah.

ah...but homosexual actors do a grand job at playing playboys (most don't publicly disclose homosexuality any way)...it's not the same as not being able to pull off an accent.