Foreign accents by non natives in movies and TV

[HudsonHawk]

Renee: I'm glad to hear a favorable opinion on her English accent from an Englishman because it always sounded great to me and I've previously heard British people put it down. As for her American southern accent (I haven't seen this movie), I find it surprising that she was so bad at it because she's actually a native Texan (though Texas twang and Southern drawl do differ).

Zellweger herself is from Texas, but her mother is from Norway and her father is from Switzerland. She doesn't have a typical Texas accent, probably influenced by her family. In fact, her German accent (she speaks it fluently) is better than her American Southern.

 

[Foxer55]

Just watched a rerun of 'The Young Lions" last night with Marlon Brando, Dean Martin, and Montgomery Clift. Brando, as the young German lieutenant, has this kind of hissing German accent in his English but it does work well for the movie.

[video=youtube;G4Lo_LyusG8]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4Lo_LyusG8[/video]

 

[Hercule]

I caught a bit of Young Lions last night as well. To me Brando always sounded, regardless the accent he tried to affect, like he had peanut butter stuck to the roof of his mouth.

 

[Smithy]

What immediately came to my mind was "Higgins" in Magnum PI who did a very convincing job of upper crust RP, even to the point where apparently some Member of the House of Lords wrote to him saying he was a credit to the Empire. There's the odd time where he slips up but overall very convincing.

 

[Monsoon]

I just read that in the movie, "Valkyrie" they tried German accents but figure it would detract from the movie so they didn't use them.

And when it comes to crappy accents, how can anyone forget Dick Van Dyke's English accent in "Mary Poppins"?

 

[Benny Holiday]

Still no excuse for dear Nicole's Oirish in Far and Away....

Haha! That's a very fair call Edward!

 

[Stearmen]

Considered one of the best fake accents, Jonathan Quayle Higgins III. He was so good, British veterans would ask him, what unit he served with! The funny part was, John Benedict Hillerman was born in Denison, Texas, December 20, 1932, he is just a good actor. [video=youtube;lDv5kizY8oE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDv5kizY8oE[/video]

 

[Two Types]

The worst of the worst? Any American in a Hollywood film trying to do an Irish accent. Especially the onez supposed to be Belfast but which are actually a poor imitation of Dublin.

It can be do e well... Sam Neill is flawless in Peaky Blinders. Ditto the English David Thewlis in Divorcing Jack

Mickey Rourke in 'A prayer for the Dying' immediately springs to mind.

 

[Two Types]

Try listening to Laurence Olivier (the most awful actor to ever come out of the UK) attempting to do a French Canadian accent in 'The 49th Parallel':

He starts at about 16:40:

[video=youtube;AtEtMUXjuKw]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtEtMUXjuKw[/video]

Hilarious.

 

[Edward]

I just read that in the movie, "Valkyrie" they tried German accents but figure it would detract from the movie so they didn't use them.

Same thing was done in The boy in the striped pyjamas.

 

[vintage.vendeuse]

Same thing was done in The boy in the striped pyjamas.

Famously (and thankfully), Clark Gable and Leslie Howard didn't even attempt Southern American accents in Gone With the Wind. Vivien Leigh's attempt at it... meh.

 

[Hercule]

I just read that in the movie, "Valkyrie" they tried German accents but figure it would detract from the movie so they didn't use them.

Tom Cruise doing a German accent??!!!! Be still my heart!

 

[Doctor Strange]

I was going to mention Olivier myself. A classic example of a classically trained actor doing a terrible (as John Cleese would say) OUT-RAGE-OUS ACCENT!

Runner up in this category: the usually excellent Basil Rathbone as French pirate Levasseur in Captain Blood: "Mon cap-I-tan... vhy vill you not zign zee art-I-cles?!?"

Try listening to Laurence Olivier (the most awful actor to ever come out of the UK) attempting to do a French Canadian accent in 'The 49th Parallel':

He starts at about 16:40:

[video=youtube;AtEtMUXjuKw]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtEtMUXjuKw[/video]

Hilarious.

 

[Stearmen]

[video=youtube;XkFx3TaOunA]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XkFx3TaOunA[/video]

 

[Stormy]

I dunno about the worst accents, but one of my favorites is British actor Stephen Graham's Brooklyn twang in "Boardwalk Empire."

 

[vintageTink]

I think Andrew Lincoln on The Walking Dead does passably as an American.

Bad ones? Dick Van Dyke, of course, but I still love Mary Poppins.
Most Americans who try to sound British and Brits to try to sound American. Without dialectic training it's hard.

I met a Brit who tried to pass himself off as a Southerner. I had to tell him: the word idea is not pronounced "eyedeeyurrr ". There's no R at the end.:rofl:

 

[Greyryder]

I met a Brit who tried to pass himself off as a Southerner. I had to tell him: the word idea is not pronounced "eyedeeyurrr ". There's no R at the end.:rofl:

That's more of a new England accent.

 

[vintageTink]

That's more of a new England accent.

Glad I don't live there. Everyone would sound like Brits trying to pass as Southerners.

 

[GHT]

A lot of Americans previously unfamiliar with him were well fooled. Tbh I think Brits sometimes find it false only becsuse thdy know. Rene was indeed superb at the accent.

Laurie got some basic rules right. Americans put more emphasis on the letter 'R' than Brits, they also pronounce certain sounds differently.
For example: Gregory House will diagnose a toomer, whereas the Brit would say t(y)umour. There's also that suffix that Brits regularly get wrong: "ile," in America it is pronounced without any emphasis on the letter 'I.' The Brit would say fragile as frag-aisle, whereas Americans always pronounce it fragle. Small details, but getting them right detracts you away from other imperfections. But I still think Laurie sounds more like a growly bear.

 

[HudsonHawk]

Laurie got some basic rules right. Americans put more emphasis on the letter 'R' than Brits, they also pronounce certain sounds differently.

It depends on where you are in the US too. That's the different rhotic (pronouncing the hard "R" sound) and non-rhotic accents. In places like New England and Virginia, the accents tend to be non-rhotic, more English influenced. Most of the American South, and the generic American accents are more Scottish and Scots-Irish influenced and are heavily rhotic, so you almost always hear the "R" when it's there, and sometimes even when it's not.