Oct 1, 2009
Being a list of British actors depicting Americans in popular TV programmes, arranged by how convincing their accent is
(In this scale good = “Blimey, I didn’t know they were British” and bad = “A British equivalent of Dick Van Dyke”)
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John Mahoney (Frasier)
Marianne Jean-Baptiste (Without a Trace) Ed Westwick (Gossip Girl) Idris Elba (The Wire) Damien Lewis (Life) Joely Richardson (Nip/Tuck) Jamie Bamber (Battlestar Galactica) Hugh Laurie (House, MD) Robert Pattinson (Twilight) Gabrielle Anwar (Burn Notice) Joseph Fiennes (Flash Forward) Ian McShane (Deadwood) Anna Friel (Pushing Daisies) Louise Lombard (CSI) Minnie Driver (The Riches) Dominic West (The Wire) Kevin McKidd (Grey’s Anatomy) Michelle Ryan (Bionic Woman) Kevin McKidd (Journeyman) Eddie Izzard (The Riches) Mark Addy (Still Standing) |
Of course, it’s not for a British person to say whether a fake American accent is convincing or not, because we don’t have the natural ear, so this is more of a list of British actors playing Americans on TV ranked in order of whether their accent is convincing enough to the non-native ear to suspend belief or confound expectations of an audience who have previously heard them speaking in a different way during a performance. See: Lovejoy, a bit of Fry & Laurie, Eastenders.
Although not technically relevant to the article, it’s worth highlighting Australian Anthony LaPaglia’s dreadful performance as Daphne’s “British” brother in Frasier.
Dominic West so low? Really?
I had no idea Jamie Bamber was even British, until I saw the DVD extras. I think both he and Greg House have impeccable accents, though I suppose I’d have to ask a genuine American to be sure!
Do we really get to claim John Maloney? He’s been there since his teens and for more than fifty years.
Omission: my house (there’s one of each accent in it) was gobsmacked when a SciFi trailer revealed that Eli Stone wasn’t American.
Can we do this in reverse next? Perhaps with attempts at Scots?
Alright, maybe John Maloney’s a bit of a stretch. He’s had a lot of practice, you’re right.
We should definitely do it in reverse next, though we’ll have to include films, too (because there are less yanks in British TV, unsurprisingly)
Any nominations?
May I start off the reverse list?
American actors playing English characters:
Good: David Anders (Heroes)
Just about passable: James Marsters (Buffy/Angel)
Bloody Awful: Sendhil Ramamurthy (Heroes)
Yes, I know they’re not British productions, but all of them made it to UK broadcasts, so they sort of count, right?
I’d throw in Natascha McElhone (Californication) somewhere around Joely and Jamie. Comparing most of the names makes me aware of the fundamental elements of voice coaching to produce that slightly neutral but apparently convincing accent.
On the other hand, Gabrielle Anwar’s brief foray into an “Irish” accent was as ta-ree-ta-ray awful as the Oirish minor characters in Heroes.
David Anders is astonishingly good (going back to Alias) and he’s probably a bit stuck with English-accented roles for television now. And the obvious sidebar is Aussies-as-Seppos, though they seem to have a leg up.
The only one I’ve really watched is Frasier, and I was astonished to realise John Mahoney wasn’t American! So as far as I’m concerned your list passes the Ronseal test.
surprised dominic west is so low – thought his accent was as good as idris elba’s!
G – only because in The Wire West’s accent slipped a few times (like here) while Elba’s didn’t waver once. In fact, lots of people were surprised to discover that Stringer Bell was a Brit – hence the high placement for him.
Americans playing Brits – Alexis Denisof who played Wesley in Angel.
His accent when he first started was insane charicature, but as the character metured around him, he grew in to it and he was a real asset to the show by the end.
Meanwhile, anyone who managed to hear Holly Hunter’s accent when she played an Irish woman in the play “In the Bog of Cats” – well… well. Put it this way. You still kindo f guessed she was from Georgia.
In reverse I’m quite taken/impressed with Renee Zellweger in Bridget Jones diaries. Not that i’ve watched them all the way through of course :).
And this is a stretch but a vote for the third of the “brits” trinity in the Wire; Aidan Gillen’s (even though he’s Irish) Tommy Carcetti.
As a genuine American, I can say I had no idea that Bamber was a brit. Some of the others on the list: Richardson, McShane always sounded a bit stilted to me, like their accent was from another planet.
I had no idea Jamie Bamber was a brit either until the last season. Though as his character is from another planet, i wonder why he needs to be? Baltar stayed in his native british accent.
As a dork who watches Burn Notice, technically Gabrielle Anwar plays an Irish women on the show. I am not sure if that makes her accent better or worse.
We have some new ones now in Flash Forward which are pretty good to my ears.
Sonya Walger and Joseph Fiennes.
Jack Davenport is also in it, but unless I’m mistaken, he must be playing an English person.
Another vote for Aiden Gillen in The Wire, he was very good.
Robert – Joseph Fiennes is already in the list above.
For some reason I always thought that Gabrielle Anwar was playing a Irish woman pretending to be American. That makes her accent much more understandable.
I personally think Joseph Fiennes should be nearer the bottom of the list. But maybe I’m finding it hard not to be influenced by how generally bland he is in FlashForward.
It’s an oldie, but Keanu Reeves deserves a mention *somewhere* for his accent in Dracula!