10 Unconvincing British Accents in Otherwise Great Movies

Asking actors to switch accents for a role is always a risk, and some great movies have been nearly ruined by terrible British accents. Great Britain has a remarkable number of different accents. People from neighboring cities can sound very different, as in the cases of Liverpool and Manchester. In some cases, people from the same city can still have different accents based on their class, race, and upbringing. This makes some British accents extremely esoteric and difficult for outsiders to pick up.

Britain’s range of accents is so extreme that even British actors can struggle to adapt. Actors from London can have a difficult time, for example, as they are from Glasgow. Any British person will immediately be able to tell if an accent is genuine or not, and a wrong accent can ruin an entire movie. Fortunately, these movies have enough good qualities to ensure that one notoriously bad accent doesn’t spoil them.

10

Keanu Reeves

Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992)

Keanu Reeves has an instantly recognizable voice, and he rarely plays roles that ask him to switch accents. In 1991, he starred as a loving knucklehead in Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey and a former college football star-turned-FBI agent in Point break. Both of these roles fit his accent perfectly, so switching to get pronunciation for 1992s Bram Stoker’s Dracula was a sudden gear shift that didn’t work out.

If American actors have only one British accent in their repertoire, it tends to be Received PronunciationAlso referred to as Queen’s English. This is one of the most common British accents in Hollywood movies, and it’s what many Americans think of when they think of a generic English accent. Keanu Reeves makes a noble attempt, but his accent in Bram Stoker’s Dracula Comes off as stilted and unnatural. It affects his entire performance, however Bram Stoker’s Dracula is nevertheless a worthy adaptation of the gothic horror classic.

9

Don Cheadle

Ocean’s Eleven (2001)

Ocean’s Eleven is a heist comedy that remakes a Rat Pack movie from 1960. Like many heist movies, it is highly stylistic, presenting a fantasy version of​​​​ crime in which a charming team of lovable misfits manage to elude their target. In this context, it is permissible for Don Cheadle to give a pathetic attempt at a cockney accent. There are other members of Danny Ocean’s crew who are just as hard to believe in their own way.

A cockney accent is a great fit for Bash’s character. Cockneys are associated with the lower income areas of London, and an industrious, inventive spirit that suits crimes and cons. Dating back to classic British crime capers like The Lavender Hill crowd And The LadykillersCockneys were a perfect fit for the heist genre. Bash also has the get-rich-quick attitude of only fools and horses, And the silent danger of Snatch. It’s just Cheadle’s execution that’s off. Recent reports about Ocean 14 Suggest that he will be reviving his cockney rogue for another job.

8

Charlie Hunnam

Green Street (2005)

Charlie Hunnam’s performance in Green Street, Also known as Green Street HooligansProves that a Cockney accent can even cause trouble for some British actors. It’s not just Americans like Don Cheadle who can struggle to nail the intricacies of the accent. Hunnam was born in Newcastle, and he spent part of his childhood in other areas of North-East England. He has proven to have an impeccable American accent in his repertoire, but his cockney accent in Green Street is a misfire.

Hunnam accent in Green Street Seems to wander over the map. There are some hints of Queen’s English, which suits the region but not the class of his character, and there are also notes of Irish and Australian thrown in. Green Street Is about an American, played by Elijah Wood, who deals with the British football hooligan culture, Hunnam should really sound more like a local.

7

Natalie Portman

V For Vendetta (2005)

Alan Moore has been vocal in his criticisms of the movie adaptations of his comic books, however V for Vendetta was a critical and commercial success. The Wachowskis have crafted an absorbing vision of a dystopia that feels distinctly British in many ways. V for Vendetta Wouldn’t have worked as well if it had been moved to an American setting, so Natalie Portman’s casting as Evey Hammond seems quite odd in retrospect.

Portman’s accent in V for Vendetta is mostly a Hollywood approximation of Received PronunciationThe typical southern English, upper class, Hugh Grant-type accent, but it slips into Estuary English in certain words. For British people, these subtle differences in pronunciation represent a huge gulf in class and background. Just imagine if Colin Firth suddenly started talking like Ray Winstone. It’s not a terrible accent, but it sounds unnatural to the British ear.

6

Matt Damon

The Last Duel (2021)

Ridley Scott The Last Duel is based on a true story that took place in France, but the mostly-American cast speak with English accents. It’s not historically accurate, but it seems like the least distracting compromise that still allows the movie to use the English language. Using English accents is certainly more sensible than allowing each actor to use their natural American accents, as it allows the movie to inhabit the same space as other English medieval historical epics.

Jodie Comer proved that she can master almost any accent Murder IV. Ben Affleck also has a surprisingly strong English accent, which he exercised in the Oscar-winning Shakespeare in love. The only weak spot in the cast is Matt Damon, who hasn’t been asked to do an English accent in any of his other big movies. His lack of finesse is telling the last duel As his Boston accent can still be detected.

5

Marlon Brando

Mutiny on the Bounty (1962)

There have been several movies and TV shows about the famous mutiny on the HMS Bounty in 1789, but the 1962 version starring Marlon Brando is usually considered the best. This is one of Marlon Brando’s best movies, despite his overbearing British accent. Courage on the generosity Shows that even the greatest actors can find switching accents difficult. Brando tried several different accents in his career, but his English one was not his strongest.

Brando’s English accent in Courage on the generosity was criticized for its flamboyance. There’s a sort of over-the-top received pronunciation that gives the movie a pantomime quality at times. If not pantomime specifically, the accent certainly seems better suited for the stage than the screen. despite this, Courage on the generosity is an entertaining naval adventure that revolves around an intriguing battle of egos, and it’s great to see Brando in full flow.

4

Tom Hardy

Lock (2013)

Born and raised in London, Tom Hardy has developed a reputation for his mastery of accents. Some of Tom Hardy’s best movies show that he can adapt to different dialects, like his cockney accent in Legend And his south is in Lawless. However, he falters a bit when he tries a Welsh accent in Lac. Since the entire movie focuses on Hardy alone, his performance comes under extra levels of scrutiny.

Tom Hardy leans a little too heavily into the sing-song quality of many Welsh accents. It’s not a terrible attempt, but its deficiencies are highlighted when Hardy’s performance is compared to a natural Welsh accent, such as that of Anthony Hopkins. The problem is that he makes a big move that doesn’t quite connect, though Hardy is known for his bold acting choices. His performance as Bane in The Dark Knight Rises Shows what can happen when the choices work well, so he shouldn’t be criticized too harshly for overcooking Lac A little.

3

Bill Nighy

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 (2010)

Tom Hardy is not the only British actor who has struggled to create a natural-sounding Welsh accent. Welsh accents are extremely difficult to replicate, which is probably why so few foreign actors even try. Usually, foreign actors try to use southern Welsh accents, based around the big cities of Cardiff and Swansea. This is what Bill Nighy is going for Harry Potter and the Deadly Hallows – Part 1.

Bill Nighy plays Rufus Scrimgeour, the new Minister for Magic. It’s a minor role, so it’s easy to ignore his spotty accent work. The problem is that the movie gives a lot of attention to Scrimgeour in the short time he’s on screen, and his monologue sets the tone for the last two movies in the Harry Potter Franchise. Nighy showed a much improved Welsh accent in 2014s Pride, Which is especially important because he has a more important role.

2

Forest Whitaker

The Crying Game (1992)

in 1999, The calling game Is ranked as the 26th-greatest British film of all time by the British Film Institute. His immense popularity has all been achieved despite the fact that Forest Whitaker’s English accent has been quite criticized since the film’s release. The Oscar-winning actor was born in Texas before spending most of his childhood in California. Making the switch to an English accent doesn’t come naturally to him.

Forest Whitaker’s character in The calling game Not exactly a cockney, but he’s certainly working class, and he comes from the south of England. His accent is supposed to be a form of Estuary English, but Whitaker makes a few notable errors, such as inconsistently dropping “t” sounds. He hides his American accent well, but he also drifts into something that sounds vaguely South African at times.

1

Dick Van Dyke

Mary Poppins (1964)

Dick Van Dyke’s cockney accent in Mary Poppins is the most notoriously bad British accent in the history of film, and it’s often quoted whenever a new contender pops up. Van Dyke was born and raised in Missouri. He is of British descent, but his family can trace their American roots back to the Mayflower. This reflects how his British accent in Mary Poppins is nothing more than an American approach. It is an extraordinary impression of Ealing comedies and other British classics like Oliver Twist.

Despite Van Dyke’s famously bad accent work, Mary Poppins is saturated with unnecessary Disney magic. The bad accent finally fits the film’s sense of wide-eyed whimsy, complete with the animated segments and the uplifting music. Lin-Manuel Miranda takes over from Van Dyke in Mary Poppins ReturnsAnd his accent is just as unconvincing. This may be intentional, because Mary Poppins Would not be such a charming plant if it was realistic.