[Closed] Worst non-American accents

Brad Pitt in snatch
Sean Connery in the hunt for red October
Dick van dyke in Mary poppins
Alan Rickman and Jeremy irons in 2 die hards

Dick Van Dyke in Mary Poppins
John Wayne as Genghis Khan. Yes, really

I 'ate you 'Enry 'Iggins!

Russel Crowe in Robin Hood.

Richard Gere in Jackal was awesome.

Kevin costner in Robin Hood price of thieves.. He didn't even try!

mattbee - Member
Russel Crowe in Robin Hood.

This.

Jason Statham with that odd Americanish accent he seems to have now.

John Terry.

Re Kevin Costner in Prince of Thieves - I seem to remember reading at the time that he had an accent coach who was sacked halfway through filming which was supplied to be noticeable when watching. But his accent was awful all the way through!

Jeremy Irons again, but as Claus von Bülow in Reversal of Fortune.
"That was the year Sunny drank too much egg nog"

Michael Fassbender in X-Men First Class, where he keeps randomly going Irish. I think it was claimed that he did it deliberately, in tribute to Sean Connery. I don't know what accent he was actually going for, I wish he would have just picked one though.

Kevin Bacon's German accent when speaking German, also in XM: FC. Now, I only have GCSE German, but it sounded pretty bad!

Julia Landau in Buffy/Angel.

Keanu Reeves and Winona Ryder in Bram Stoker's Dracula. DUUUDE, IT'S TOTALLY A VAMPIRE!

Peter Dinklage in Game of Thrones, but he gets a pass for being awesome, and because he's depicting a character from a fictional land, so therefore can't actually get the accent wrong.

Natalie Portman in V For Vendetta, must have been terrible because it's pretty much the only thing I can remember from the whole film.

Anything mildly historic is not really judgeable by us. Robin Hood would not sound anything like today's accents, so Costner's Hood, if authentic, would probably be impenetrable by our ears. Big names sell movies though, why else would we have inappropriate accents when there are plenty of talented actors with location specific dialects. What I can't get my head around though is using actors with rubbish accents in small roles in TV dramas, when the profession is awash with underemployed thespians. I'm looking at you csi and your ilk.

The double act of Connery and Lambert in Highlander.

"I am Ramiresh, aye'm fae egypt, though I schpent many yearsh in Japan an currently reshide in Schpain. I have never bin to Sssshcotland befoar mind, but I still sound well sssscottish fir some reason."

"I am Connor Macleod, I have never left scotland but I sound like a swiss-american GPS. Believe it or not I actually got voice coaching for this role"

Colin Farrell in Alexander.

Don Cheadle in oceans eleven.

He's one of my favourite actors too but wtf was he thinking.

Don Cheadle in oceans eleven

Whereas he was perfect in twelve and thirteen 😉 😆

I'll second Sean Connery - for his Egyptian accent in Highlander 🙂

There can be only one!

Sean Connery playing an Irishman in 'the longest day'

In Sons of Anarchy when the IRA get involved, there's no end of terrible Oirish accents. There was one particular line delivered by a character that went from passable Belfast, via Cork, Dick-van-Dyke-cockernee, and I think German. In one sentence.

Anthony Hopkins in the fastest Indian.

Thread closed.

Nah, Quentin Tarantino in Django Unchained.

Terence Stamp, a born and bred cockney, mangling a cockney accent:

The Limey

There is a belief that the American accent is closer to Olde English than our own modern accents much the same way that South American Spanish is to the accents in Spain.

Lyse Doucet

In Sons of Anarchy when the IRA get involved, there's no end of terrible Oirish accents. There was one particular line delivered by a character that went from passable Belfast, via Cork, Dick-van-Dyke-cockernee, and I think German. In one sentence.

We have a winner. Those were astonishing.

There is a belief that the American accent is closer to Olde English than our own modern accents much the same way that South American Spanish is to the accents in Spain.

It sounds more like Irish/Scottish influenced English to my totally inexpert ear.

And, of course, Natascha McElhone in Ronin. The only blot in an otherwise amazing film:

Tom Cruise in Far and away, And Nicole Kidman in the same.

Cameron Diaz Gangs of New York.

Any of the Englist accents in The Last Ship.

Nope, Crowe Hood is by the worst I have ever heard. Not for the fact he has a bad accent but for the fact he nails about forty of them throughout the whole film. Seriously, pick a spot and stick to it, I swear he was even Brummie at one point.

Another vote for Ronin, but this time Jonathan Pryce. Terrible.

Russel Crowe in Robin Hood was mentioned up there ^^^^^

😀

I say again, Colin Farrell in Alexander, unless he was actually irish (Alexander the great not Colin Farrell)

Lyse Doucet

Good shout. I've often wondered wtf her accent is. I assumed it's 'noofie' Canadian.

Most of the cast of "The Piano"

Robbie ( the russian ) coltrane in Goldeneye

Another vote for the Irish accents in Ronin.

Robbie ( the russian ) coltrane in Goldeneye

Plus whatever accent goldie was supposed to have.

Brad Pitt in snatch

Remembering back to the run ins we had with local "travellers" kids when we were younger, I thought Pitt got the accent spot on in Snatch

Pitt did a good job in Snatch. Given that even most Irish people can't get the travellers' accent properly, his was a bloody good effort. Not quite "spot-on" though - "dag" for "dog" is just wrong and always jarred with me when I heard it. And even occasionally now, I have to endure someone doing it for my benefit. 🙂 I could add any effort at an Irish accent by a non-Irish actor (most accept that Pitt's was possibly the best effort ever at one; and one of the most difficult ones at that). They are always awful. I can't understand why - is it really that difficult an accent to do?

Is it that non Irishists can't settle on the same Irish accent through one sentence. Eg starting in the north and finishing in the south? The equivalent of moving from Geordie to Somerset, via scouse?

That's how my Irish mate explained it anyway.

Aw come on, Mel Gibson in Braveheart wins hands down.

Pitt did a good job in Snatch. Given that even most Irish people can't get the travellers' accent properly, his was a bloody good effort. Not quite "spot-on" though - "dag" for "dog" is just wrong and always jarred with me when I heard it. And even occasionally now, I have to endure someone doing it for my benefit. I could add any effort at an Irish accent by a non-Irish actor (most accept that Pitt's was possibly the best effort ever at one; and one of the most difficult ones at that). They are always awful. I can't understand why - is it really that difficult an accent to do?

Yeah I've worked with travellers a fair bit and I thought his accent was pretty damn good. Have you seen the Irish accents in Sons of Anarchy as mentioned above? They're astonishing even to me.

No, haven't watched it but I'll check it out. 🙂 Whereabouts in seasons/episodes do they start?

I particularly enjoyed the "Irish" SoA scenes, where clearly anything where you could see the actors was done in the USA, and all the scenes of rolling countryside were shot at a distance using obvious doubles.

(Season Three episode 8+)

It's not olden its...

Police officer near the end of Point Break, on the beach where Patrick Swayze's character is out surfing the big wave.
The police officer is clearly an American trying to do an Australian accent and failing.

I'd like to propose Ray Winston's attempt at Boston Irish in The Departed. Absolute cack.

Stick to the In-Play Ray.

All of the Welsh accents in Fireman Sam. Just terrible.