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50 Non-American Actors Who Mastered The Accent So Well, People Had No Doubts They’re American
Interview With Expert
For language geeks like me, accent reduction is a term used to describe losing a foreign or regional accent to adopt a more popular one (e.g., American). It’s an important part of a person’s identity, but sometimes pronunciation that’s hard to understand can lead to miscommunication in professional settings such as business and academia.
In fact, many well-known actors use accent reduction to cast more movie roles. And sometimes even the most attentive film-watchers take them as born and bred United States citizens.
So when redditor Jma7400 asked fellow users who were some actors they couldn’t believe weren’t from the US, over 4000 people shared their eye-opening discoveries. Some of them channel their inner American so well, they deserve all the spotlight.
Without further ado, we invite you to scroll down and see these brilliant shapeshifters for yourself. While you’re at it, make sure to check out the conversations we had with voice and accent coaches Ashley Howard, Holly Renaut, and Sarah Valentine, who kindly agreed to let us in on the secret of how accent masking works.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
Gary Oldman
In fact, he had to relearn his natural accent with a voice coach.
I'd award him extra points for being such a great chameleon overall. There have been times that I had no idea it was him in a particular role.
The other-other David Wong 1 year ago
He is one of the UK’s most impressive modern actors. And this is a surprise for everyone? I don’t want to come off as a know it all but really?
Bell-icose 1 year ago
I think it’s because he looks SOOOO different from role to role that people don’t know who he is. He’s too good an actor to be recognized.
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Fynne 1 year ago
He looks like he’s playing Ned Flanders in the live action reboot in that picture
Marlowe Fitzpatrik 1 year ago
He does. Except it's for Batman - Commissioner Gordon
Load More Replies... The Original Bruno 1 year ago (edited)
Funniest News Radio ever was when recurring guest Jon Lovitz was helping people connect with their inner child, and one of the on-air personalities (Maura Tierney, also from ER and Liar Liar) reverted to a thick Southie (Boston) accent.
Raymond Core 1 year ago
His Churchill in "The Darkest Hour' is amazing and I'm a big Churchill fan.
RELATED:
#2
Hugh Laurie as House
LauraDragonWench 1 year ago (edited)
A Little Bit of Fry and Laurie (1987), Blackadder (1986-1989, 1999), Peter's Friends (1982 - a total knockout of a film), Jeeves and Wooster (1990-1993)... I could go on. This man is a powerhouse of British comedy and acting.
unfilteredCigarette73 1 year ago
American here, he's one fine musician too
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TrippyBanana 1 year ago
This shouldn't be that surprising. He played Jasper in 101 Dalmatians.
LokisLilButterknife 1 year ago (edited)
I love how so many people outside of the UK don’t believe me when I tell them he played the wonderfully idiotic and foppish Prince George in Blackadder. Heck, I have Hugh Laurie’s Prince George as my profile picture. He’s actually a brilliant comedic actor.
SoapMonkey76 1 year ago
Someone downvoted you for stating he is British? Have an upvote my friend
Load More Replies... ReallyIDidThat 1 year ago
IIRC after his interview one interviewer turned to another and said something like "it's so refreshing to see a homegrown American actor come in and nail an audition"
unfilteredCigarette73 1 year ago
Ooh my brother has every season on DVD for some reason, ill have to borrow them sounds like fun
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#3
Gillian Anderson is a dual citizen and can do both American AND British accents!
LauraDragonWench 1 year ago
I was just going to comment about that! It's an amazing miniseries adaptation and Gillian - as usual - is brilliant. Also 2000's House of Mirth is another Gillian Anderson adaptation I recommend.
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Hannah Hudson-Lee 1 year ago
A friend of mine was an extra in one of the episodes with Gillian Anderson. They hated Maggie T (from a Yorkshire mining family), but had a huge teenage crush on Ms Anderson. They said it was the most confusing day of their life. Especially when the cameras weren't rolling, and Ms Anderson was being herself, but in Maggie costume. Especially when she winked at him after cracking a joke.
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Mark Fergel 1 year ago
Same. I didn't realize it was her for the first few episodes.
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JB 1 year ago
Who is to say what’s real? I spent 7 years living in Scotland as an English person. I suspect out of sheer self-defense I acquired a solid Edinburgh accent. When it was time to go home, most of my friends and colleagues were appalled I was “defecting”. I simply flipped from the one accent to the other and said, “I’ve always been me. You just weren’t willing to accept me unless I sounded right.”
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I_imagine_even_worse_w***s 1 year ago
Yep she's biadielectical so she doesn't put on either accept theybjust naturally occur depending on whom she is speaking with.
Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa) 1 year ago
I didn't even know she was a natural blonde until like 2006. She was always Dana Scully until I saw that interview.
Bored Panda reached out to voice coach Ashley Howard to learn more about what accent reduction is.
Howard defined it as the process through which a person changes their accent towards another accent. It is also known as accent softening, accent modification, and accent neutralization.
“In reality, accent reduction is more so a process of accent acquisition: you never lose the ability to speak the way you speak but instead learn another way of speaking, substituting the sounds and intonation patterns you use for other sounds and intonation patterns.”
“If you only wanted to use the new sounds and intonation patterns, then after some time, the old neural pathways may become less familiar and easier to use, so the new sounds and intonation patterns would become the more dominant instinct. At this point, perhaps you could then say that you have reduced or even gotten rid of your old accent.”
#4
I’m always surprised. Idris Elba and Tom Holland come to mind.
Hearing Christian Bale in Ford vs Ferrari and me wondering what the f**k is this man doing with a cartoon Brit accent. Then looking it up and many people insisting that’s close to his real accent.
James016 1 year ago
I didn’t know Idris Elba was British when watching The Wire. Found out afterwards
Tim Crowhurst 1 year ago
The first thing I saw him in was Ultraviolet, a six part British TV series, alongside Jack Davenport. Highly recommended, especially if you want to see Stephen Moyer's first stint as a vampire.
Load More Replies... The Original Bruno 1 year ago
I loved his performance in the MCU, and he's just brilliant even on the press junkets (come on MCU, you SURE you're not letting him spill the beans?) but seriously: there's no way this kid was raised by Mona Lisa Vito in Brooklyn. He has that generic media-class American accent down pretty well, but it's kinda like hearing the Received Pronunciation of the BBC coming from cockney punks.
Guess Undheit 1 year ago
What, you've never heard his "let's talk some more!" rant on the set of "Terminator"? It's hilarious to hear his native Welsh accent.
#5
I grew up with Hugh Jackman as Wolverine. I'd never heard him be anything else.
Imagine my reaction when I first heard his native Australian accent lol
Libstak 1 year ago (edited)
I saw him on stage in Melbourne in Beauty and the Beast at least 35 years ago. He played Gaston, he was mesmerising, knew he'd break into the world stage.
Chrissie Anit 1 year ago
This might be something for you - it is so much fun to see him as Gaston: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJHCEX4FKrs
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Hannah Hudson-Lee 1 year ago
Yes! I was coming here to say this. To my ears Hugh sounded Canadian in the role.
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Laura Williams 1 year ago
Saw him in a Peter pan variation. A rom-com my sister wanted to see can't remember the name. Not a huge fan of rom-coms
#6
Charlize Theron - a South African girl who deliberately developed an American accent and now can't even pronounce her own surname properly anymore.
T'Mar of Vulcan 1 year ago
Her surname is pronounced "Tuh-rohnnn", but everyone says it like it's spelled. I think if anyone uses the correct pronunciation with her, she'll know they're from Mzansi. Here she's known as "the bombshell from Benoni". (Paul Verhoeven, the director, is Dutch, so Mzansi peeps would say "Vuh-rrr-hoof-uhn".)
T'Mar of Vulcan 1 year ago
Even though she made rude comments about the language.
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Kirsten Holmes 1 year ago
Not entirely true. She can pronounce her name just fine. She still speaks perfect Afrikaans.
Guess Undheit 1 year ago
Look up who her great great uncle was, a terrorist who assassinated the English military during the Boer War.
We also got in contact with a professional actor and dialect coach, Holly Renaut, who prefers not to use this term at all, as it implies that it’s possible to get to a point where one has no accent, and this is simply not attainable.
“We all, regardless of language, have an accent. An accent is simply a particular way of pronouncing a language. You can have an accent that is, for example, more Spanish in its pronunciation, and you’d like to shift it towards sounding more American. This notion that some people have an accent while others do not is simply false.”
“So, let’s tweak slightly and talk about accent shifting. Moving along the line from one accent to another. You could land anywhere on that line, with some features of one accent, some of another. We all have our own particular, unique, and beautiful way of speaking.”
“Accent shifting is a complex but achievable process involving training your articulation muscles, reprogramming your brain to activate them in a different way than you may do habitually, working on your listening skills to distinguish between similar sounds, perhaps unfamiliar to you, noticing the rhythm, melody (intonation), and word stress patterns, and turning that all into something that, in an ideal world, happens without you thinking about it.”
#7
Margot Robbie
No Clue 1 year ago
I wish these posts would have listed what their non-American accents are. Margot Robbie is Australian. I had no idea!
T'Mar of Vulcan 1 year ago
On Graham Norton she did this whole thing about Aussie sayings. Imagine Margot going, "We're not here to f**k spiders." (Check YouTube.)
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Puppy Dancing! 1 year ago
I was shocked when I watched Whiskey Tango Foxtrot at Margo Robbie's accent,it is apparently her real voice.
#8
Melanie Lynskey. I seriously couldn't believe she was from New Zealand and went straight to YouTube to hear her original accent. She embodies her American characters so well, especially in I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore
LauraDragonWench 1 year ago (edited)
Heavenly Creatures, Melanie's film debut at age 15. Not only is it an amazing movie, you get to see Melanie's talent and hear her native accent. Highly recommended!
Hannah Hudson-Lee 1 year ago
Yes, and she does a very convincing British RP accent for it.
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Joshua David 1 year ago
I loved her as the "nice" step sister in the Drew Barrymore helmed Cinderella movie called Ever After. LOVE THAT.
No Clue 1 year ago
Downvotes, really? It's a video of her speaking with her natural accent. 🙄
Load More Replies... You stole that from Robocop 1 year ago
Melanie's a babe, I've been in love with her since I was a teen, I'm glad that she's married comedy acting royalty.
We were fortunate enough to receive another opinion from actors’ accent coach Sarah Valentine, who has worked with all kinds of people and thinks people shouldn’t hide this part of their identity in the first place.
“I work with people from all over the world who want to sound more ‘American’ or more ‘British’ or just be understood, so they can be doctors, lawyers, dentists, telephone operators, anyone in business, professionals from all walks of life, basically anyone at all who just wants to ‘sound more professional’. But I do need to reiterate that because I have such a passion for accents and I love listening to them, I don’t feel the need for accent reduction. But I understand the need to teach people how to do it, and so that's what I do. It’s simply a service I provide, although I personally don’t see it as necessary.”
#10
Damian Lewis’s American accent is flawless
LauraDragonWench 1 year ago
Watch him as Henry VIII in 'Wolf Hall' - he'll knock your socks off! But if you really want to see something, watch the full-length episode of Agatha Christie's Poirot, 'Hickory Dickory Dock' - it's Damian's first television appearance.
Charley128 1 year ago
He was brilliant in "Life". Shame it was cancelled after one and a half seasons.
Bartlet for World Domination 1 year ago
If you have 2.5 minutes, watch him do Shakespeare here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q89MLuLSJgk - Brutus was an honourable man.
Eastendbird 1 year ago
Oh I love that clip! I've watched it so many times and he's brilliant. And gorgeous.
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Sven Grammersdorf 1 year ago
I only know him from Band of Brothers and I had no idea he wasn't American
#11
Christian Bale
Mariele Scherzinger 1 year ago
He has lived in the US since he was a teen. So he had a long time to practice.
Pittsburgh rare 1 year ago
TIL he's not American 🤦🏻♀️ and I think he's a superb actor. Which kinda proves my point.
Astro 1 year ago
Oh wow apparently he has an English accent. His American accent is perfect, I wouldn’t have known!
Elwood Schwartz (it/that) 1 year ago
It's about accents, not the language itself.
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#12
All the Brits in 'Band of Brothers'
Marlowe Fitzpatrik 1 year ago (edited)
I just re-watched it recently and was surprised how many non-Americans they had in the movie.... Two Scotsmen (Both named Ewan, both had been in Trainspotting), at least one from England and one very obvious Australian, and probably even more that I didn't recognize.
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The challenges these experts face vary from person to person. Howard finds that the most common ones are learning new sounds and intonations that a person has never made before. Or knowing when to apply the newly learned characteristics to the desired accent.
What he also finds challenging is consciously applying the learning to spontaneous speech. “The way we approach this is to think about introducing the new features into low-stress and low-stakes conversations first. The other way we approach this is to consider their most common phrases in both personal and professional contexts, as well as names and technical terminology used at work that they can practice, so that when these come up, they are more likely to use the new pronunciation.”
#13
I knew she wasn't American, but Kate Winslet's Bucks county accent in the Mare of Eastttown was on point.
Eastendbird 1 year ago
I love that everyone local to an area always knows such specific differences between local accents.
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#14
Karen Gillan
She's does a really good American accent. Even more impressive since she is Scottish
Caroline Nagel 1 year ago
Amy Pond - one of my favorite Doctor side kicks. Together with Donna - Catherine Tate
PFD 1 year ago
Curious belief that being Scottish would make it harder to learn an American accent!
Huddo's sister 1 year ago
They probably think that because they find it harder to understand the Scottish one!
Load More Replies... Daya Meyer 1 year ago
I only knew her as a scottish actors and yes, I knew her from Dr. Who. I was surprised to see her in an american movie.
#15
Charlie Hunnam (Jax Teller) from Sons of Anarchy
Full of Giggles 1 year ago
He actually had to redevelop his English accent for King Arthur because his American accent was becoming predominant.
Tarsier 1 year ago
Great fun fact, thank you! I can’t really remember him before SOA. He finally gets british parts again: The Gentlemen and other Guy Ritchie movies.
Load More Replies... T'Mar of Vulcan 1 year ago
As a teen he was in the British version of "Queer as Folk" (naked, too!).
Pol Sigerson 1 year ago
Hear him in Green Street with Elijah Woods. it hilarious. He makes a pig's ear of the cockney accent. Not that good at Geordie either, which is weird as he's from there.
Featherytoad 1 year ago
I watched SOA and it floored me when I saw him on some talk show with his full on British accent. I was like, whaaaat?
You stole that from Robocop 1 year ago
Shame he can't act, you can take the boy out of Byker Grove but....
Ross “Sarcastic Dad” 1 year ago
I was watching "The Gentlemen" and thought, "Ugh, why did they cast him in this? He does a horrible British accent." Later learned I was an idiot. (well, re-learned).
Sammie 19 1 year ago
He is a Geordie. I grew up in the same area but I lost my Geordie accent after a year in a British military school in Germany. No trace of Geordie accent at all
Danielle 1 year ago (edited)
That's such a shame! My mum (a Geordie) has lived in the South for 50 years and still has a very noticeable accent (particularly when she's been visiting up north!)
Load More Replies...Renaut finds difficulties with mindsets that some individuals have adopted. “Some people feel that accents are a skill you either have or don’t. But they’re more like music. Some people have a different level of talent naturally than others, but anyone can learn with some time and effort.”
“Other people hugely underestimate how much effort and practice can go into learning to shift to another accent. They tend to think it’s a matter of ‘listen and repeat’, but there’s much more to it. I work according to how the client responds best. Some are visual learners; some respond to audio and are great at imitating; and some need physical instructions and work with images… It’s about getting to know the individual and catering the training to them.”
She also notices that “there are a lot of people who teach ‘accent reduction’ who charge a fortune and only approach things using phonetics. But learning the symbols for the sounds doesn’t always translate into your mouth being able to correctly make them. This leads to a lot of frustration, and people enter training with me already feeling like their goals are achievable.”
#16
Heath Ledger in Lords of Dogtown had such an authentic Southern California surfer accent, like so specific and niche, that to this day I’m still surprised he was Australian. Rip.
JoyfulZebra 1 year ago
He was unrecognizable in The Dark Knight (and not just because of the makeup) - his mannerisms were completely different and he had no Australian accent whatsoever
Huddo's sister 1 year ago
Even though I'm an Aussie, first thing I saw him in was 10 things I hate about you, but then I saw the show Sweat on repeats after kids shows on saturday mornings. He was great in that too and I'd love to rewatch it, but like so many Aussie shows, I can't find it on any streaming sites and it doesn't seem to ever have been released on dvd.
#17
Henry Cavil
T'Mar of Vulcan 1 year ago
His real accent (which he used in "The Tudors") sounded slightly 'off' to me - must be a regional thing. (I'm British, but not from the UK.)
StrangeOne 1 year ago
He was born in St. Helier, Jersey. A self-governing island in the British isles, but not part of the UK. They have their own accent that is comparable to South African, as some say. To me it's like a mix of Australian/Scottish/Mancunian.
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Upstaged75 1 year ago
I'll always think of him as the Duke of Suffolk, as The Tudors is the first place I saw him.
Hannah Hudson-Lee 1 year ago
I always think of him as Humphrey in Stardust. Getting winked at by Captain Shakespeare.
Load More Replies... Jeffrey Diehl 1 year ago
I first saw him in "The Count of Montecristo". I think he had a British accent there.
#18
Anna Torv
You stole that from Robocop 1 year ago
You mean Rupert Murdoch's niece? Weird that she got her big break on Fox.
Huddo's sister 1 year ago
I knew him from All Saints (my favourite medical drama)
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Ken Beattie 1 year ago
She's in a new thriller called "Force of Nature: The Dry 2". Don't let the title put you off, "The Dry" was a great Aussie thriller starring Eric Bana (Incredible Hulk) and this is the sequel.
DeoManus Argentem 1 year ago
Beautiful woman, and I love Fringe, but she never sounded Bostonian, let alone "American"!
The other-other David Wong 1 year ago
Except for all the times on Fringe when her accent was anything but American.
Valentine shares that the challenging part of her job is that everyone hears differently, and being able to get sounds right is difficult. But, fortunately, she has found a way to work around it.
“I make the learning fun, and whether you want to sound American or British, I am able to connect to my client and imagine how the interior of their mouth currently works, and I get them to switch it to their desired accent.”
Her method of teaching isn’t really conventional, as she has created her own “Valentine method,” which still works on the basis of phonetics but is adjusted to the person she’s working with. “I am more visceral in the respect that I work with the person and understand them so that we together can create the exact perfect sound and accent that the person wants.”
#19
Ryan Kwanten in True Blood
Justme 1 year ago
Everyone in True Blood could be on this list. Anna Paquin, born in Canada, raised in New Zealand + Stephen Moyer, a brit all with Louisiana accents.
Huddo's sister 1 year ago
Because of his American accent in True Blood it took me forever to work out he was Vinnie from Home and Away!
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The other-other David Wong 1 year ago
Australia’s Ryan Kwanton? Some of these are a bit pedestrian.
#20
Daniel Craig. I could have sworn he was a giant rooster from the South.
Amused panda 1 year ago
Maybe OP meant just from hearing the voice - they might have heard the trailer or film playing in the background, so not seen the actor speaking. Just because they are on the list doesn't mean they didn't recognise the actor.
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LauraDragonWench 1 year ago
If you really want to get a picture of Craig's acting chops, watch "The Power of One." He plays a South African bastard - the first role I saw him in and, as it so happens, Craig's feature film debut.
DeoManus Argentem 1 year ago
No. Awesome actor, but his southern accent is really bad - even though I love "Knives Out" and "Glass Onion" was meh - but it was meant as a caricature. I think.
CanadianDimes 1 year ago
This has nothing to do with accents, but a British friend of mine watched the second Knives Out and thought Hugh Grant’s character was Benoit Blanc’s *butler*. Her mind was blown when I said something about them being partners and it still makes me laugh that she defaulted to butler!
#21
The character Carla Jean Moss in No Country For Old Men is played by Scottish actress Kelly MacDonald.
Xitxarel•lo Panda 1 year ago
Trainspotting.......one of my list of best movies.....I lived the 80's . The heroin and HIV in my neighborhood was a problem . Saw my first dead person when I was 15 or so for overdose
Load More Replies... Bartlet for World Domination 1 year ago
If you haven't seen Trainspotting (1996), go do that now. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MGtU8OX_3c
Xitxarel•lo Panda 1 year ago
If you haven't seen Trainspotting, you have work to do 😏
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JayWantsACat 1 year ago
I thought her accent was just okay. It felt like someone doing a parody of that accent but it could just be that I knew her actual accent.
Renaut was also kind enough to provide some advice for people who would like to reduce their accent. “Firstly, observe your own speech. Talk to yourself in the mirror and notice what moves, what shapes your lips make, how open your mouth is, and how tense or relaxed your muscles are, etc. Record yourself and listen (I know we all hate the sound of our own voice, but this is crucial!). Notice the ups and downs, how fast you are, and whether you pronounce things clearly or rush through them.”
“Watch others speak without the sound on. When babies learn to talk, they look at people's mouths; that's why the first sounds they make are ones we can see (M, B, D). Start to imitate the movements you see rather than simply trying to make the sounds.
“Listen to speakers that have this accent. BUT don’t listen to the words. The first thing to listen for are the sounds they make when they are thinking (called the hesitance sound). These “ums and ahs” will show you what the “home position” of the mouth is. If you learn to relax your mouth into that position, it’ll help a lot. Listen to the intonation. Do they go up at the end of the line? Do you hear a large or small range in the voice and its ups and downs?”
“While you’re at it, write down a few words you connect with the accent or find particularly fun to say. For example, if you want to sound British, maybe ‘darling’ is one of your words.”
#22
Joseph Quinn (kid who played Eddie in Stranger Things)
Crazy Person 1 year ago
Wait what? My crush on him just got even bigger bro I can't with British men ❤️
You stole that from Robocop 1 year ago
I have my reservations about him playing Johnny Storm but I'm more worried about Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm, he's skinny as a rake.
#23
Antony Starr
Ken Beattie 1 year ago
I didn't realise he was a Kiwi. So both leads are from New Zealand.
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Robin Childers 1 year ago
Y'all, back in the day he guest starred on Xena:Warrior Princess, with Karl Urban to boot.
#24
Matthew Rhys
Full of Giggles 1 year ago
He’s from Wales. Starred in Brothers and Sisters, The Americans, and Perry Mason reboot.
Sugar Shack 1 year ago
Actually, I always found his American Accent in The Americans a bit off... just something about it.
Alexandra Hughes 1 year ago
Probably because he was a Welshman playing a Russian playing an American. I thought he was brilliant.
Load More Replies... Laura Williams 1 year ago
I don't know some of these because I haven't seen what they have been in.
Full of Giggles 1 year ago
(Wales) Brother and Sisters, The Americans, Perry Mason
Load More Replies...In addition, Valentine recommends watching television shows you want to learn the accent from, getting a VPN, listening to local radio, going online, and searching for specific things on YouTube that allow you to listen to people from the local area.
“Something that I do when I'm researching roles is that if a character comes from a specific place in the world, I will call the local library and tune in to their local radio. I also created a website called Accent Bank, which allows people from around the world to send me their real accents, which I then upload onto it.”
If you’re interested in accents, it’s an excellent opportunity to listen to some of them and perhaps contribute one of your own! All you need to do is download a little three-minute script and read it.
#25
Will Poulter
Emma S 1 year ago
He was fairly well known as a child actor in the UK after Son of Rambow and School of Comedy.
DennyS (denzoren) 1 year ago
I think the first time I saw him was in Wild Bill.
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Anita 1 year ago
Apparently not! I kept looking for that mention, as well. He was so good as Eustace.
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#26
Andrew Lincoln (TWD)/ Lauren Cohan (TWD)/Hugh Laurie (House)/Rose McIver (Ghosts US)/Melanie Lynskey (Yellowjackets)
KDS 1 year ago
I knew Lauren Cohan was British from Supernatural she played Bela Talbot. I have to admit when her character died I was glad but Lauren did a great job.
Vicki Doggurl 1 year ago
She was great as Bela, but, I agree! I hated the character, but loved the actor!
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Caroline Nagel 1 year ago
Andrew Lincoln was in Love Actually before TWD. I can't remember if he had any lines though.
Danielle 1 year ago
Yeah he was the one who held up the signs and was super creepy with Kiera Knightly. Before that he was in a sitcom called Teachers.
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The other-other David Wong 1 year ago
Many of these actors are mentioned multiple times. I’m not sure what the vetting process is this time around.
#27
I would have said Gary Oldman, but then nothing about Gary Oldman surprises me anymore. Idris Elba in the Wire had an extremely good accent
Lunaofthenest (She/they) 1 year ago
Same. I'm deeply in love with that particular character.
Load More Replies... Fynne 1 year ago
If anyone is craving some Idris Elba action, I highly recommend the show Hijack on Apple TV. It’s extremely underrated
the sixthgirl 1 year ago
Dominic West too! There was an episode of The Wire where he put on a really bad/fake British accent, and it was pretty damn funny.
Renaut concludes by saying, “I believe all accents are beautiful. The goal for me, particularly for people looking for “accent reduction,” is to first re-frame the goal. Most people are happy to retain some of their “original” accents. It’s part of who they are. Their identity.”
“Shifting 100% into another accent can feel like a loss or a rejection of part of what makes us who we are. If we can be easily understood and feel confident, that is good enough. I don’t want to live in a world in which everyone wants to sound the same. We all love listening to accents. We should approach them playfully. Won’t it be a shame to lose them?”
She also has a very successful program online called The Accent Challenge. An affordable, extremely effective program for actors of all language backgrounds. It’s a lot of fun!
#28
Andrew Garfield
Daniel Illingworth 1 year ago
I actually went to the same school as him, he was in the year above me
#29
Aleksander Skaarsgard
The other-other David Wong 1 year ago
Seriously. His whole Flippin’ family. Grrr. Now I know this list is just meant to aggravate us.
Tarsier 1 year ago
Thank you, I agree 100%! Good wake up material though, my blood pressure is enough to finally get up 😂
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Mariele Scherzinger 1 year ago
Sweden is one of those countries that doen'T bother using dubbing studios, and instead uses subtitles for everything. Unlike France, Germany, Italy, Spain, .... countries with a much higher population number, where all the English-speaking film / TV productions are autumatically dubbed. The situation has changed since the 2000s - the advent of the internet, DVDs, then later streaming platforms, but it makes a difference if you are used to seeing film / TV content in a foreign language from an early age onwards.
#30
Florence Pugh
Lunaofthenest (She/they) 1 year ago
She and Timotheé Chalet were brilliant in the remake of "Little Women"
#31
Rosamund Pike. Millie Bobby Brown.
You stole that from Robocop 1 year ago
If you watch Rosamund Pike "acting" she either moves or talks, never both at the same time.
Lunaofthenest (She/they) 1 year ago
I love Rosamund Pike in the 2000s Pride & Prejudice! Also, I remember seeing a very young MBB on Grey's Anatomy back in the day and being blown away she could master another accent so young!
#32
Jodie Comer
#33
The guy from Roger Rabbit
Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa) 1 year ago
Bob Hoskins, and he also played Mario in the Mario Bros. Movie (the bad one from the 90s) where he does a sort of Italian/Brooklyn accent that is as much of a train wreck as the rest of the movie.
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The Other Guest 1 year ago
He was so good in "The Favor, the Watch, and the Very Big Fish." (Also starred Jeff Goldblum and the late Natasha Richardson.) It's hard to find, but if you ever get the chance to watch it I highly recommend you do so.
Dread Pirate Roberts 1 year ago
First thing I ever saw him in, and for the longest time thought he was an American big city guy 😆
#34
Freddie Highmore from the good doctor
Full of Giggles 1 year ago (edited)
I’m guessing this person never saw any of Freddie’s work as a child.
#35
Juno Temple from the new season of Fargo (who I believe is English with a cockney/estuary accent). Insanely good Midwestern accent without overdoing it.
Zaphod 1 year ago
I liked the new season of Fargo. Juno Temple, Jon Hamm and Jennifer Jason Leigh. The cinematograpy was stunning.
Karen Kryzsko 1 year ago
sound was terrible - hard to understand dialogue
Load More Replies... Sugar Shack 1 year ago
She is amazing in the latest season of Fargo. Her accent seems amazing to me but I'm from Boston so who knows how good it is but she sure doesn;t ever sound like a Brit.
Caroline Nagel 1 year ago
Her dad is Julian Temple, a director. He has directed a lot of videos for well known musicians/bands.
#36
I'm sure many will disagree but I think Nicole Kidman has a very good American accent.
Mariele Scherzinger 1 year ago
She has lived in the US for a long time. In her early films, her accent wasn't very convincing. The Portrait of a Lady comes to mind.
XenoMurph 1 year ago
Try "Far and Away" for the two worst Irish accents in history.
Load More Replies... Caroline Nagel 1 year ago
The first thing I ever saw with Nicole Kidman was BMX Bandit (1983). She was sixteen. MV5BY2MzNm...500faa.jpg 
Ariom Dahl 1 year ago
I remember that one. My kids loved it (and so did I!).
Load More Replies... DeoManus Argentem 1 year ago
Love her, and was about to say the same thing! She's slow and her cadence is off.
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#37
Cillian Murphy
Tarsier 1 year ago (edited)
Yeah… and american Late-Show hosts pronounced him “Ssssilian”…. ^cringe^
Sugar Shack 1 year ago
It isn't a common name here in the states, but... cringe? As a Greek American, I can tell you that people throughout the world don't pronounce many Greek foods and names properly but I don't get all high and mighty about it. It's a different culture so the mispronunciation is understandable.
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Dread Pirate Roberts 1 year ago
YES. First thing I saw him in was Batman Begins. Thought for sure he was American. Phenomenal actor. Glad he finally got more of the recognition he deserves with his recent award.
#39
Kelly Reilly (Beth from Yellowstone)
You stole that from Robocop 1 year ago
She's does so much American TV work, it's jarring when she does her normal accent, it sounds fake in SoA.
Lunaofthenest (She/they) 1 year ago
She was briefly in a show called "Black Box" and played a neurologist, I believe? I was in love with her then. Phenomenal actress.
#40
Linus Roache from Law & Order, although I feel like I should have known he was English just from his name.
Limey 1 year ago
His father (William Roache) starred in one of the longest running soaps in any country (UK show) . Coronation street. Still on, started 1960. Will Roache (now 91) did 4819 episodes. Considered a bit of a one dimensional actor… I am always surprised at how extremely good Linus is.
Chewie Baron 1 year ago
Linus Roache is the son of William Roache who’s also an actor. He plays Ken Barlow in the British soap Coronation Street. He was also in the very first episode (1960) and is still on the Street to this day!
T'Mar of Vulcan 1 year ago
I first saw him in "Priest" (not the vampire movie), which was set in England.
Eunice Probert 1 year ago
His father is one of the longest running actors in "Coronation Street".
#41
Andrew Lincoln. Except it was the other way. Knew him from Love Actually. So seeing him in The Walking Dead was shocking. Same with having grown up with Boondock Saints. My dumb self still somehow believed Darryl actor was actually Irish .... sigh
Limey 1 year ago
Also, trivia fact, Andrew Lincoln is Ian Anderson’s son in law (if you aren’t a flute player or 103… Jethro Tull).
Nikki Sevven 1 year ago
Those of us who grew up with Jethro Tull on the radio are in our 50s and 60s. People who are 103 grew up listening to Benny Goodman and Glenn Miller.
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Rebecca McManus 1 year ago
If he'd kept his original surname, Clutterbuck, it would have given him away as British
#42
John Mahoney
#43
Luther from Umbrella Academy
#44
I will give you two. Rose McIver from US Ghosts. Jacob Anderson - Louis de Pointe du Lac in Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire. Formerly Grey Worm in Game of Thrones. I lost my s**t the first time I heard them in an interview. Shocked. No clue.
#45
I just found out Delroy Lindo is British
Detroit Citizen 1 year ago
Gonna date myself here, wasnt he the senior cop in Gone in 60 Seconds? If its who im thinking he is i know hes been in tons, but Gone is the only one I know the title.
#46
Stringer Bell
James Frail 1 year ago
Why bother using the actor's name, when you can just drop a character name?
#47
The guy that played Apollo in the Battlestar Galactica reboot - Jamie something I think - I don’t feel like googling his last name but the first time I watched an interview with him I didn’t hear a single word he said I was so flabbergasted at his accent and how well he hid it in the show. I’m surprised I’m haven’t seen him in more stuff, he was pretty good. Maybe he just doesn’t do the type of stuff I watch.
Head Mills 1 year ago
Yeah he's in quite a bit of British TV, I saw him in Marcella
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Eunice Probert 1 year ago
After BG he was in the UK version of "Law & Order", and has most recently been in "Beyond Paradise", a spin-off series from "Death in Paradise".
#48
Mathew Rhys, The Americans.
#50
Tommy Wiseau.
The other-other David Wong 1 year ago
What is this list. Tommy never did an American accent. When interviewed he can’t even say where he’s from. Because then he would have to account for his money from that country.
LokisLilButterknife 1 year ago (edited)
He didn’t even attempt an American accent. He is renown for making one of the worst movies known to humanity. You’re tearing meeee apaaaat Leeezaaaa.
What do you think ?
Pittsburgh rare 1 year ago
Now a list of people who nailed British accents. It's gonna be way shorter, l think.
Ace 1 year ago (edited)
Once D**k van Dyke had mastered cockney in Mary Poppins they gave up trying. Oh, did I say mastered? I meant bastard(ised).
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DB 1 year ago
Tracey Ullman. She does a great American accident against Kevin Kline's awful Italian one in "I Love You To Death".
Oskar vanZandt 1 year ago (edited)
I have lived in The UK twenty two years... British people often mistake me for being American. I am actually a Dutch national who learnt English in Canada forty-plus years ago. I lived there 20 years and people thought I was from elsewhere (Quebec, Ireland, New Zealand etc). People who are familiar with Dutch accents can identify it in mine and some clever clogs guess South African which is, to be fair a much better guess than American. When I spend time in Canada, the Canadian accent surfaces and likewise my Dutch accent is amplified when I spend time in my homeland, The Netherlands.
pep Ito 1 year ago
Ahh! but there is only one American accent? When I was studying English I had two native American teachers, one from Boston and one from California and they had different accents. Like the Scottish accent is from English or South African. It's as if someone were to say that a South American actor has acquired a Spanish accent when you would really have to ask if he has an Andalusian, Galician, Castilian or Basque accent, for example.
Emie N. 1 year ago
Yep, people forget there are many different American accents.
Load More Replies... Evelien Stijger Martens 1 year ago
They are almost all english speaking actors, i want more peole who arn't english speaking from orrigin. That is mutch harder, like the Skarsgards, they are realy good at Amerikan as Swedisch actors.
Steven Gardener 1 year ago
Tom Wilkinson in Michael Clayton. My dad couldn't belive he was British when I told him--I had to find some interviews on YouTube to convince him.
badger 1 year ago
Dominic West (Brit) playing an American doing a terrible accent pretending to be a Brit in The Wire was hilarious.
Upstaged75 1 year ago (edited)
I'm surprised no one mentioned Poppy Montgomery. She played American characters on TV for decades. (Without A Trace, Unforgettable)
Pittsburgh rare 1 year ago
Now a list of people who nailed British accents. It's gonna be way shorter, l think.
Ace 1 year ago (edited)
Once D**k van Dyke had mastered cockney in Mary Poppins they gave up trying. Oh, did I say mastered? I meant bastard(ised).
Load More Replies... DB 1 year ago
Tracey Ullman. She does a great American accident against Kevin Kline's awful Italian one in "I Love You To Death".
Oskar vanZandt 1 year ago (edited)
I have lived in The UK twenty two years... British people often mistake me for being American. I am actually a Dutch national who learnt English in Canada forty-plus years ago. I lived there 20 years and people thought I was from elsewhere (Quebec, Ireland, New Zealand etc). People who are familiar with Dutch accents can identify it in mine and some clever clogs guess South African which is, to be fair a much better guess than American. When I spend time in Canada, the Canadian accent surfaces and likewise my Dutch accent is amplified when I spend time in my homeland, The Netherlands.
pep Ito 1 year ago
Ahh! but there is only one American accent? When I was studying English I had two native American teachers, one from Boston and one from California and they had different accents. Like the Scottish accent is from English or South African. It's as if someone were to say that a South American actor has acquired a Spanish accent when you would really have to ask if he has an Andalusian, Galician, Castilian or Basque accent, for example.
Emie N. 1 year ago
Yep, people forget there are many different American accents.
Load More Replies... Evelien Stijger Martens 1 year ago
They are almost all english speaking actors, i want more peole who arn't english speaking from orrigin. That is mutch harder, like the Skarsgards, they are realy good at Amerikan as Swedisch actors.
Steven Gardener 1 year ago
Tom Wilkinson in Michael Clayton. My dad couldn't belive he was British when I told him--I had to find some interviews on YouTube to convince him.
badger 1 year ago
Dominic West (Brit) playing an American doing a terrible accent pretending to be a Brit in The Wire was hilarious.
Upstaged75 1 year ago (edited)
I'm surprised no one mentioned Poppy Montgomery. She played American characters on TV for decades. (Without A Trace, Unforgettable)
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