As a general rule, British actors are better at sounding American than American actors are at sounding British. Compare, for example, Anthony Hopkins in Silence of the Lambs and Bob Hoskins in Who Framed Roger Rabbit? with Kevin Costner in Robin Hood or Dick van Dyke in Mary Poppins. There’s simply no contest.
On the other hand, the Brits have an advantage in that the sheer size of the US means that no one resident will be familiar with every accent, so that when we hear an American twang that doesn’t sound exactly right, we’re likely to take it on faith. Watch Brian Cox as Robert McKee Adaptation, or Albert Finney as Julia Robert’s boss in Erin Brokovich, and you will conclude that the two men must both come from the same part of the US, little suspecting that it is the part that contains Buckingham Palace and the Tower of London.
Although they are good at imitating how we pronounce our words, the Brits don’t always know which words we pronounce. This is particularly noticable when a British reporter transcribes an interview with an American subject, and inadvertently inserts their own vocabulary. For example, according to Time Out London magazine, here’s what Ana Matronic, the Portland, Oregon-born lead singer of the Scissor Sisters, had to say in advance of their Halloween-eve show:
We’re all sorted for our costumes, but I can’t give anything away. Are we expecting the crowd to dress up too? They better. If they don’t, I’m gonna personally kick them out. No fancy dress, no entry.
Something tells me that no woman of Oregon born has ever said “We’re all sorted for our costumes,” or referred to said costumes as “fancy dress.”
More jarring still is a moment in David Hare’s new play Stuff Happens. The play is Hare’s reconstruction of the events leading up to the Iraq war. It is, no doubt, based on a meticulous and exhaustive review of all the publically available facts… but to an American, it loses all credibility the moment that the actor playing George W. Bush leans forward and, in an authentic Texas twang, says, “Yes, I’ve taken that decision.”
There’s always exceptions, of course. I still can’t believe that James Marsters, who played “Spike” on Buffy and Angel, is an American. It’s creepy to hear him talk regular.
That’s true. And for an exception on the flip side, there’s also the actress we saw trying to do a US Southern accent in a play here called “Hitchcock Blonde”–it was painfully bad. So, basically, my opening generalization was entirely false. But other than that, it was true.
The problem is that when it comes to Brits that are not actors, their American accents are hilarious. They usually do them by lowering their voice, making it a little more gruff and yelling. Maybe that’s a dead-on impression of the other Americans they know, but then again, who in England ever speaks the Queen’s English that we like to imitate so much?
Ever heard Christian Bale speak with an American accent? Well, I always thought he was American until I heard him in an interview…. I was surprised. He does a very monotone, exacting sort of “American.” Minnie Driver’s American accent sucks in Grosse Pointe Blank.
There’s always Gwyneth Paltrow in Sliding Doors, and Renee Zellweger in Bridget Jones to fall back on in terms of great British accents.
What about Americans who lose their accent after a few years in the UK? My wife hails from Detroit, but is now generally assumed to be Scottish or Irish – that’s after nine years over here.