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Underground > Film, TV & Theatre >

Worst accent?

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21:47 / 08.12.01

(unashamed fluff, though if someone might be able to drag something of worth out of it)

the worst accent in film or TV? It has to be something that is so knawingly bad it prevents you from taking any scene with that character in it seriously, and thus, if a main character, the entire thing.

after watching some of The Jackal last night, I have to say that Richard Gere's "irish" accent was so astoundingly poor that I really couldn't take it and had to leave the room.

(Having said that, him being richard gere doesn't add to the tolerability.

friend: Isn't that richard gere?
me: yeah...
me & friend (simultaneously): ...wanker)

anyway, the classic example given is Dick Van Dyke in Mary Poppins but I don't think that counts. It may be bad, but it's a kids film, and kids just think he's putting on a funny voice.

if you've ever had the misfortune of seeing Brigadoon, the horrific experience of technicolor american actors putting on what they think are scottish accents must surely come close second.

10:14 / 09.12.01

I thought Val Kilmer's bizarre German-sounding 'Scottish' effort in 'The Ghost and the Darkness' was pretty atrocious...

12:17 / 09.12.01

Spike's continually terrible accent in Buffy?

12:41 / 09.12.01

quote:Spike's continually terrible accent in Buffy?

ooh yeah, I was forgetting that. Dick Fang Dyke?

coat, i'll get my

13:00 / 09.12.01

There was an old episode of Frasier on last night in which Daphne's ex-fiancee comes to America to find her, and the actor was putting on a hideous Cockney accent, even though it's repeatedly stated the character was from Manchester.

Wouldn't/shouldn't Jane Leeves have pointed this out to the guy in rehearsal?

[ 09-12-2001: Message edited by: CameronStewart ]

14:26 / 09.12.01

Actually, I don't like James Marsters' (spike) real accent. My wife thought he was quite lovely until she heard his actual accent. He's a little annoying.

Zoom (feeling bad for having dissed the man.)

16:15 / 09.12.01

Kevin Costner in 'Robin, Prince of Thieves'. I particularly like the bit where, having languished abroad for years in the Crusades, Robin splashes ashore, goes down on his knees in the sand and exclaims, "Oh Gaaahd, it's good to be back in Eng-laaaahnd!"

Warrington Minge

18:14 / 09.12.01

Ok Richard Attenborough in Jurassic Park. He's supposed to be Scottish. He tries in a few scenes but mostly forgets.

Doctor Who I seem to recall had a fair few bad accents. English actors trying to be American professors with geordie accents. Curious?

Mister Remington Finn

18:18 / 09.12.01

being from The Nether Nether Lands myself, its a bit sad to see alot of Dutch actors typecasted as Russians in American movies (like Jeroen Krabbe in James Bond: The living Daylights)....we know who they are...sometimes they´re really good actors...but they are getting fokked up over there in Hollywood.....

The Return Of Rothkoid

20:26 / 09.12.01

Air Force One. Gary Oldman. You're Russian? Heh. About as much as I am.

Add pretty much any attempt at the Australian accent. Especially if it appears in The Simpsons.

20:56 / 09.12.01

sean connary - take your pick but most obviously when he is supposed to be russian in red october

09:15 / 10.12.01

Mike Myers' famous English and Scottish accents are piss-poor, if you ask me, and I wish he'd stop trying to make a career out of them.

pointless and uncalled for

11:20 / 10.12.01

I'll hand my award to Keanu Reeves in Much Ado about nothing.

THe award is of course waiting for the moment that Ewan MacGregor tries to do anything other than Scottish though.

11:25 / 10.12.01

Yeah Gere in the Jackal was terrible.. I think Mike Myers is "part" Scottish to I think he's trying to prove something by doing the accents, just not sure what

You may well slag off the Simpsons for their Australian accents but Grounds Keeper Willy is pretty good, I know people who sound like that...

How about good accents?

pointless and uncalled for

12:51 / 10.12.01

Myers is straight up Canadian.

12:55 / 10.12.01

quote:Originally posted by KaosBeaR:
Grounds Keeper Willy is pretty good, I know people who sound like that...

They're probably not actually from Scotland, though...

13:01 / 10.12.01

Oh they were, usually drunk old guys in the corners of pubs

14:00 / 10.12.01

I agree with Cameron on Mike Myers’ insistence on the Scottish accent : So I Married an Axe Murderer, Austin Powers 2, Shrek… someone ought to tell him.

On the Frasier point, the episode featuring Daphne’s wedding to Donny featured her brother (Anthony LaPaglia, I believe) doing an accent which vaguely cockney, her mother (Millicent Martin, who used to live and work in the UK in the 1960s on TV shows such as ‘That Was The Week That Was’) with a… god knows, maybe Liverpudlian accent, and Daphne herself, whose Manchester accent is questionable. It was like a scene at an elocution school, I swear…

Alan Rickman’s accent was a bit odd in Dogma. But I think that he was meant to be from the land of FrankieHowerds, so maybe I shouldn’t complain.

DBC

14:23 / 10.12.01

Heh, sean Connery. Was he even trying to be Irish in the untouchables? Or spanish in Highlander?

Big Furry Bear

14:24 / 10.12.01

Yeah, Gere in the Jackal last night was truly awful.

How about Keanu in Bram Stoker's Dracula and all of the 'Allo 'Allo cast?

14:39 / 10.12.01

Brando in Mutiny on the bounty.

pointless and uncalled for

15:09 / 10.12.01

On the opposite end of this topic, was anyone else impressed by Brad Pitt's almost but not quite there Pike accent in Snatch. It's admittedly difficult and I think he did a fairly decent attempt for an American.

Knodge - YOUR nemesis!

15:53 / 10.12.01

It will be very interesting to see how Judi Dench and Julianne Moore handle the Newfoundland accent in 'The Shipping News'.

pointless and uncalled for

16:03 / 10.12.01

True, putting on an accent and acting as stupid as a newfie will be a difficult job.

16:05 / 10.12.01

quote:Originally posted by potus:
I'll hand my award to Keanu Reeves in Much Ado about nothing.

And Dracula. Scariest thing in it.

16:40 / 10.12.01

He was trying to do an accent? Shit, I though he was just trying to ennunciate.

Knodge - YOUR nemesis!

16:41 / 10.12.01

Potus, pure ignorance.

pointless and uncalled for

16:59 / 10.12.01

What, I'm not allowed one Newfie joke.

Dammit, I live with a Newfie and he makes British jokes all of the time.

17:00 / 10.12.01

Then it's okay to do it in a more public setting, innit?

Warrington Minge

18:34 / 10.12.01

This might sound odd but I really hated Terrance Stamps cockney accent in The Limey. This just proves even english actors can do bad english accents.

And Robert Downey jr's austrailian accent in Natural Born Killers. I only found out it was austrailian after watching the commentary on the DVD.

18:47 / 10.12.01

wrt Keanu: The Reduced Shakespeare Company's Radio Show hit the nail on the head:

quote:"Man, your accent sucked."
"How much?"
"Keanu Reeves, man."
"Keanu Reeves? Shit. Hang on - Keanu Reeves in Dangerous Liasons, or Keanu Reeves in Much Ado About Nothing?"
"Keanu Reeves in Dracula, man."
"Ouch."

13:03 / 11.12.01

Keanu in the Devil's Advocate. Worst Southern American accent I've ever heard in my damned life.

15:37 / 11.12.01

Nastassia Kinski as Tess of the D'Urbervilles...the more agitated she gets the more germanic the cun'ry lassie becomes...

but Spike however has me on the floor everytime he says 'sod'

Haus about we all give each other a big lovely huggle?

15:48 / 11.12.01

quote:Originally posted by Ganesh v4.2:
Then it's okay to do it in a more public setting, innit?

Stop whinging, Ganesh. What are you, black or something?

While in Boston last week, I had the good fortune to happen across a program called Andromeda, which as far as I could tell was Blakes 7 done in the style of Farscape with Hercules as Captain. And James Marsters was in it. And they made him do the shit English accent all the time!

To be fair, he has got better over time, although I did think the retcon where it is shown that

S
P
O
I
L
E
R

he is putting on the cockney accent is just inspired.

16:00 / 11.12.01

quote:Originally posted by potus:
I'll hand my award to Keanu Reeves in Much Ado about nothing.

Nah. It was baddish, but he didn't say much.

Vastly, vastly worse in 'Bram Stoker's Dracula' - to the point where he and Ryder on their own merits render the film unwatchable. Especially opposite Gary Oldman.

On television, the award would go to Dr. Who's Teegan. Was she supposed to be Australian? American? What??

On the other hand, Pierce Brosnan's accent in "Remington Steele" used to really bug me until I heard him in an interview and realized, "Oh. He really talks that way."

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