20 American Actors Who Totally Nailed British Accents
Nobody thinks they’ve got an accent, which means they really notice when someone is imitating their accent so badly that it borders on mockery. For instance, most Americans would describe their own speech as “normal,” but have you ever heard a foreign actor just completely bomb it? If not, go watch Iwan Rheon pretend to be an American rock star in The Dirt, Just his scenes, though. That movie is a lot.
That’s why it’s all the more impressive when they get it right, even if, by the nature of getting it right, you never even notice. “In high school, I remember people being shocked to learn Hugh Laurie was English when House was huge,” Redditor homeMalone89 told r/Movies. “I think Daniel Kaluuya’s American accent work is the best there currently is.”
However, “while watching Bullet Train, it occurred to me that I’m unaware of performances that work the other way around, ones that are generally accepted as great examples of U.K. accents by American actors,” they continued. “Braveheart is great, but surely Mel Gibson doesn’t cut the mustard as a Scotsman.”
They then asked for the “Best examples of American actors doing U.K. accents?” and Reddit answered back in its own native tongue of strident opinions.
Renee Zellweger
Meryl Streep
John Malkovich
Julianna Margulies
John Lithgow
Gillian Anderson
Jennifer Ehle
Robin Wright
Lake Bell
Forest Whitaker
Peter Dinklage
Brad Dourif
Alan Tudyk
Timothy Omundson
Rami Malek
Emma Stone
Sean Astin
Robin Williams
John Hillerman
Brad Pitt
