tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7319951361865255810.post198427243011283656..comments2024-02-22T15:57:45.391-07:00Comments on Lost In British TV: The Joy of Hearing an American Accent Butchered by British Actors.Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05257485838861137689noreply@blogger.comBlogger86125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7319951361865255810.post-4890377636164183612024-02-22T15:13:10.540-07:002024-02-22T15:13:10.540-07:00I don't understand why other countries, especi...I don't understand why other countries, especially the UK and Australia always portray Americans as a$$h*les. I have met more jerky British people in my life than American. In the USA, there isn't a snobbish class line that devides everyone by the way they speak or even dress. (for the most part on the latter) Generally, intelligence, or class, is not known by how you say something, but by what you say and the manner in which you say it. That said, this person's accent was passable, especially in the UK, but I take issue with them portraying all Americans as uncouth jerks. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7319951361865255810.post-89895419181151830552023-10-02T08:15:02.159-07:002023-10-02T08:15:02.159-07:00I'm just watching MI 5 for the first time and ...I'm just watching MI 5 for the first time and her accent is so bad! I couldn't believe it when Ros said she was from Boston. I'm from NYC with extensive family in Boston and no one sounds like that. Now Walker sounded American and I was surprised he was played by a British actor. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7319951361865255810.post-47312429651163862302023-09-19T21:24:23.770-07:002023-09-19T21:24:23.770-07:00Just found this because I came across Elizabeth Mc...Just found this because I came across Elizabeth McGovern affecting an English accent in an episode of Poirot and had to see if anyone else could commiserate with how off it sounds. She’s a funny one caught between two accents and not sounding quite right in either. Perfect for Downton though as she plays an American who has been in the UK for so long. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7319951361865255810.post-56079179713159351592022-09-19T03:48:32.958-07:002022-09-19T03:48:32.958-07:00I agree that her "accent" was utterly di...I agree that her "accent" was utterly distracting and off-putting. My questions are: why didn't they hire an American actor to play the part, and why does the show lack a dialogue coach? She's not the only character with a muddy accent.Lisa Jadwinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02237725121665100601noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7319951361865255810.post-83880383943174707662022-07-25T19:54:53.472-07:002022-07-25T19:54:53.472-07:00Totally agree about the British phrasing. When Sam...Totally agree about the British phrasing. When Samuel Walker is talking with Sarah about what their "remit" is I thought they really needed an American to review the American characters dialog. I had never heard "remit" used in that context before. Same with Ruth being "seconded" from GCHQ. That was a word I'd never even heard before and had to look up. I have since heard it on other British shows.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7319951361865255810.post-50674175975541307132022-02-11T03:08:29.643-07:002022-02-11T03:08:29.643-07:00The Irish are not British. It's basic educatio...The Irish are not British. It's basic education. There is a whole world out there beyond your borders, ya know.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7319951361865255810.post-33595372459090357142021-10-27T12:29:36.926-07:002021-10-27T12:29:36.926-07:00Well, Lucas North himself is an intersting case wh...Well, Lucas North himself is an intersting case when it comes to accents. Richard Armitage, of course, is famous for his Leicestershire accent. Lecestershire is in teh Midlands, literally the middle of England, so its neither far North nor far South, and he clearly does sound different to the rest of the Spooks cast. <br /><br />Most of them speek with a Standard English accent, which is what you're probably used to hearing. Its basically normal accent in the South and Southeast of England and some better off parts of London. <br />Many British actors used to be trained, or at least strongly encouraged to "drop" any regional accents they had and speak that way. <br /><br />I agree that Genevieve O'Reilly butchered whatever the accent she was meant to have was. I apologize for that. The BBC had little excuse not to hire actual Americans. <br /><br />English Ladyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17806974885775295349noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7319951361865255810.post-38025104486667433182019-08-26T23:06:54.569-07:002019-08-26T23:06:54.569-07:00I am SO glad I found this thread, and it was right...I am SO glad I found this thread, and it was right at the top of my search results! I've been cringing watching season 8.. I can't wait until she gets killed...I'm assuming she'll be gone soon, but that may be wishful thinking. In the last couple of episodes,I'm on ep5, she's gotten so much worse. She sounds so incredibly low class. She's all over this episode, and I really want to turn off the sound, but the closed captions are way off. Ugh!! <br />So glad I found you all!<br /><br />And yes, Hugh Laurie is amazing. I don't think i found out he wasn't American until House was over. He sounds funny to me with a British accent..Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7319951361865255810.post-64458660075290911792019-06-04T18:56:31.653-07:002019-06-04T18:56:31.653-07:00I love this post and all the replies! I did the sa...I love this post and all the replies! I did the same as a prior poster and started checking IMDB to look up all the “American” actors on the show because not one had a fully believable American accent. (I’m sure that’s exactly how American actors sound trying to do British accents, too.) as for non-Spooks/MI-5 roles: Emma Thompson’s Hillary Clinton was another of the oddly clenched-jaw, overly nasal attempts, though I adore her and will forgive her anything. I thought Cate Blanchett did a pretty good job in Pushing Tin, and as all have agreed, Hugh Laurie was absolutely perfect as House. Gold-standard American accent!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7319951361865255810.post-72660865558376324662018-12-21T08:11:15.709-07:002018-12-21T08:11:15.709-07:00Oh, I agree that it was the absolute worst accent!...Oh, I agree that it was the absolute worst accent! Appalling and completely distracting. I was furious as she ruined every scene she was in for me. I lived in NYC most of my life and spent a few years in Boston. It sounds like some botched Brooklyn- Bronx- NJ travesty with a whiff of failed Dixie. There is nothing true or believable about her accent. A total hack job. I was shocked that they left her scenes like that. It also always made her sounded immensely crude and tough in a way that seemed inappropriatefarther roomshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09821211182158059102noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7319951361865255810.post-84944582829981228742018-08-18T12:21:30.274-07:002018-08-18T12:21:30.274-07:00I enjoyed reading this thread, thanks for starting...I enjoyed reading this thread, thanks for starting it. I also found myself distracted by various un-American American accents and wanted to look up this actress in particular, although several other 'Texan-European-New Yorker-Russian' accents also stood out to me in several male US-based characters. I guess I defaulted my guess to Texan because they didn't sound like anyone I knew from the southeast. Basically it seemed they were trying too hard which made me wonder if they were triple or quadruple agents - ha! I thought her character sounded like a 'fake' Texan accent (long drawls with the wrong lengths) with random Brooklyn-ese. It stood out the most on one country name, a word like Kazakstan where the accent changed halfway through the word -- the first 2 'a' sounds sounded British 'a' with the 'stan' part being almost 2 syllables itself as a southern drawl american 'A' sound! It was so unusual it knocked me out of the plot and storyline, and made me start to wonder where these people 'learned' english! :)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7319951361865255810.post-3302310387517715962018-04-12T03:24:25.675-07:002018-04-12T03:24:25.675-07:00This is so fun. Accents intrigue me. English as a ...This is so fun. Accents intrigue me. English as a second language is a real challenge. I've never had much of a problem understanding even thickest accents when the language spoken is English. Caulfield's accents, however, absolutely slayed me. Fascinating to the extreme. I googled Caulfield to find out her true nationality and here I am now, laughing at how much we all enjoyed listening to her accent(s) go all over the place. What a comedy. Just for the record, by far the most "typical" American accent heard in movies is the West Coast/California accent. Think Hollywood. Listening to Caulfield go from Boston to NYC to Atlanta, Georgia to some sort of Euro accent (Balkan? Hungarian?) and then top it off with a bit of Irish accent was fascinating to me. Completely enthralling to watch this woman and wonder which accent she would produce next. Don't you wonder how she latched on to the idea that she'd just sort of smoosh together a smattering of American accents (her idea of them) and Euro accents into one sentence, thinking no one would notice? Honestly, sometimes I felt like she was making up her own language. As one previous commenter noted: she often sounded a lot like some 1940s noir detective's moll at times. What a trip. Many thanks to all previous commenters for giving me so many laughs.MiTmite999https://www.blogger.com/profile/05453771516278225220noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7319951361865255810.post-89127602599743766192017-09-13T19:40:53.375-07:002017-09-13T19:40:53.375-07:00The Caufield character was supposed to be from Bos...The Caufield character was supposed to be from Boston. She mixed Boston and NY/northern NJ accents mostly, with a little southern drawl thrown in once in a while. I'm from metro NY and lived in Boston--utterly distracting in an otherwise great show.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03263441987373026711noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7319951361865255810.post-21366350182666553222016-08-24T12:50:04.617-07:002016-08-24T12:50:04.617-07:00So glad i found this forum by googling Sarah Caulf...So glad i found this forum by googling Sarah Caulfield and Spooks. I watched the series on DVD when it first came out (about 10 years ago in the US?) and now am enjoying it on television in the afternoons. Since the very first episode it has been my fave program ever. <br /><br />So now, the television broadcasts in my area have gotten to season 8 and with it the infamous Sarah Caulfield. I am an ESL (English as a Second Language) teacher at a local college, so I am used to hearing accents from all over the world. I love accents and I speak 5 languages. <br /><br />From the program's inception I would cringe at every "American" character who ever appeared on the series. The actors were just "trying too hard" -- everything was over-pronounced -- especially the R's. Everyone talked 2 octaves lower than their real voice. And the male "Americans" always talked between clenched teeth! <br /><br />But Sarah Caulfield really took the cake. It seems others here have also noticed that she would use 3 distinct American accents in a single sentence. It was obvious that Spooks employed no American proof-reader or dialect coach. I don't think there was one real American on the show. <br /><br />I agree that Elizabeth McGovern was the worst part of DA. I looked her up to see if she was a Brit trying to do an American accent. She too "over-pronounced" everything. I would listen to myself speak to make sure i don't sound like she does!<br /><br />Must admit i never watched the last season of Spooks. The writing and story-lines were failing by Season 8 and it was painful to see my favorite program go downhill. I used to wait ONE YEAR for the new dvd to be released in the US season by season.(We were always a year or two behind anyway). <br /><br />Looking forward to reading the rest of this blog!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7319951361865255810.post-74881288093744758522016-04-30T19:01:36.732-07:002016-04-30T19:01:36.732-07:00"And that is that American voices really do j..."And that is that American voices really do just sound ugly and wrong next to English ones. . . the American voice just sounds out of place when everyone else is speaking British English."<br /><br />The funny thing is that American English is closer to earlier British English than is present British English. In past centuries, the British in England and in the colonies spoke rhotic, which is to say they pronounced the 'r' in words. The British became non-rhotic, but most Americans remained rhotic.Marmaladehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02701062765483715442noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7319951361865255810.post-65466373258875960442016-04-27T15:12:15.056-07:002016-04-27T15:12:15.056-07:00Thank you Amy for creating this forum, addressing ...Thank you Amy for creating this forum, addressing the incredibly distracting issue of botched accents by non native speakers. Watching MI5 reruns for the past few months, I've been truly annoyed by both the portrayal of American officials, as arrogant, self-serving, egomaniacal operatives and the brash, awful accents they employ to speak. It is truly too bad the show didn't work more closely with the actors to finesse a more convincing American accent. Certainly within the U.S. there are many regional dialects, making it challenging for an American actor to take on another U.S. dialect. I've always marveled at the oddities of British English, ie. incorrect conjugation of verbs (in certain dialects), failure to enunciate (a real pet-peeve of my 8th grade English teacher, a black, southern woman, who insisted upon the phonetically correct enunciation of every vowel and syllable in accordance with AmE standards (as opposed to BrE). As compared to subpar American accents, I am in awe of those actors, like Hugh Laurie, Damian Lewis, Dominic West, Sam Palladio . . .) who do an amazing job, Thanks so much for posting and continuing this thread. It is such a relief to know that I'm not the only one who has been totally distracted by the accent issue. Keep it up Amy!!<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7319951361865255810.post-66865651439946399462016-04-26T16:13:03.151-07:002016-04-26T16:13:03.151-07:00Thank you so much for your kind comments! I apprec...Thank you so much for your kind comments! I appreciate it :) You raise an interesting point about it being a deliberate choice. I find it continually amazing how this irritating accent thing unites us all. Haha.Amyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05257485838861137689noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7319951361865255810.post-8883265281559090892016-04-22T18:17:05.729-07:002016-04-22T18:17:05.729-07:00As I am probably a little late posting on here, I ...As I am probably a little late posting on here, I just started watching Spooks and Ma. "American" Sarah Caulingfield (I think) came into the series. I spent some time trying to find out who the actress was that was playing this role because her accent was SO seriously botched as an American English one, I had to dig deeper. I think you your blog here is outstanding! I came directly to right page. <br />It's as though she is switching her dialect every time she speaks.. It's rather annoying to listen to, and I suppose the harder to you try to fake an accent the more botched and wrong it sounds which appears to be what is happening here.<br />I will say this, it's as if they're playing at a twist here for an American viewer.. It's THAT deliberate, so I do agree this must have been done purposely for whatever reason. Any actor that needs to try so hard needs to stick to their natural origin/dialect, or get some real lessons.. <br />This show is Fantastic beyond belief.<br />Also, I am British born, dual citizen, now living in the states. <br />My British English has faded, but the second I travel back to Peckham or London it's right back.<br />I'm neutral opinionated although may sound blunt!Lexiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17502195434366706630noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7319951361865255810.post-58645767142322289182016-02-20T00:34:37.236-07:002016-02-20T00:34:37.236-07:00I have sympathy for the Americans having to tolera...I have sympathy for the Americans having to tolerate the mutilation of their mother tongue whilst watching an otherwise great show.<br />Spare a thought for us Brits who had several episodes of the otherwise peerless Frasier ruined by Daphne's brother ear-bleedingly tortured accent.<br />Toe curling....rover_returninghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17622683820115530575noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7319951361865255810.post-74356728174473427782016-01-25T19:01:27.034-07:002016-01-25T19:01:27.034-07:00I feel bad for McGovern. She really is the only b...I feel bad for McGovern. She really is the only bad part of Downton Abbey. I hate to say that.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7319951361865255810.post-15617457482821043442016-01-25T18:55:42.952-07:002016-01-25T18:55:42.952-07:00Yes...you said everything exactly the way I would ...Yes...you said everything exactly the way I would have said it. I really have great trouble listening to Elizabeth McGovern. Part of the problem lies in the wrong inflection with her strange mix of American and Brit. Absolutely couldn't tolerate Sarah Caulfield either or the other pro life actress from Spooks who was given the southern accent to portray. I suppose the Brits have had to tolerate many American actresses attempting Brit English more so than we have had to tolerate the reverse.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7319951361865255810.post-72295271366931208072016-01-11T11:18:08.765-07:002016-01-11T11:18:08.765-07:00That is crazy how you got led here with that searc...That is crazy how you got led here with that search! I am pretty interested in lookalikes myself and speak about it elsewhere on the blog, so maybe that had something to do with it. I have not heard of the actress you were searching for (though for a second her name had me confusing it with Kate Beckinsale - who would not be described as wooden anyway.) ... I'll have to check that out.<br /><br />Anyway, ...no one could find it more interesting than me how much this little post has taken off. I have a fairly small blog/readership and mostly gab about my own random thoughts on things. When I posted this, I had no idea of its general interest, as it is (though not my most seen post) by far my most commented on post!<br /><br />Thanks for your comments. Ha ha, I think it was me who suggested that Gwyneth Paltrow must have been irritating. So glad that wasn't the case. It is very hard to gauge when you hear an accent that is not your own, but I always felt Renee Zellweger sounded great too.<br /><br />Anyway, I really do love to get the input and agree with you TOTALLY (below) on how casting real looking people is so much better; it is one of the things that I love about British television. Amyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05257485838861137689noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7319951361865255810.post-42936529355176261052016-01-11T10:22:04.664-07:002016-01-11T10:22:04.664-07:00Something I forgot to add.....we all have our good...Something I forgot to add.....we all have our good and bad shows but where British TV scores over American TV (a lot of which is brilliant, don't get me wrong) is that we cast actors who look like normal people. If you play the part of a forensic expert, or a doctor, or a lawyer, or even just the young jogger who discovers the body at the beginning of every cop show on earth, you don't have to look like something off the front cover of Vogue magazine.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7319951361865255810.post-20698667506544891352016-01-11T10:07:12.680-07:002016-01-11T10:07:12.680-07:00Speaking as a Brit, whoever suggested that Gwyneth...Speaking as a Brit, whoever suggested that Gwyneth Paltrow's British accent must have been annoying to Brits was quite wrong. She was really good in both of the films I've seen where she was doing a British accent. Ditto for Renee Zellwegger in the Bridget Jones films (crappy films but not her fault!). I, too, was irritated by O'Reilly's American accent in Spooks. I have some sympathy with the person who suggested that American and British actors should just stick to their own accents but then I can't imagine anyone but Hugh Laurie being Gregory House. Or Damien Lewis in Band of Brothers or Homeland. Or anyone but lovely Renee as Bridget Jones.<br /><br />Weird how this site pops up for people looking for different things. My initial search was for a British actor called Helen Baxendale who appeared for a series or two in Friends and was embarrassingly wooden. I was convinced I saw her last night in a TV show and I thought her acting had improved considerably since her Friends days. Turns out it was Genevieve O'Reilly. They look so alike.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7319951361865255810.post-88917076301979040772015-09-08T17:19:14.567-07:002015-09-08T17:19:14.567-07:00After reading that Elizabeth McGovern does an Engl...After reading that Elizabeth McGovern does an English accent in The Scarlet Pimpernell I had to go back and hear for myself. To an American she may sound natural, but as a Brit I only had to hear her say one sentence to hear that she's not English. She has that unmistakable sound of an American putting on an English accent. I admit she does sound better than most, especially in the shorter sentences but when she talks for a longer period I can hear that she hasn't quite nailed it.Robhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14039987354623519205noreply@blogger.com