Asking actors to switch accents for a role is always a risk, and some great movies were nearly ruined by terrible British accents. Great Britain has a remarkable number of different accents. People from neighboring towns can sound extremely different, like in the cases of Liverpool and Manchester. In some cases, people from the same city can still have different accents based on their class, race and upbringing. This makes some British accents extremely esoteric and hard to pick up for outsiders.
Britain’s range of accents is so extreme that even British actors can struggle to adapt. Actors from London might have a tough time sounding like they’re from Glasgow, for example. Any British person will immediately be able to tell if an accent is authentic or not, and a phony accent can ruin an entire movie. Fortunately, these movies have enough good qualities to ensure that one notoriously bad accent doesn’t spoil them.
Related 10 Unconvincing American Accents In Otherwise Great Movies
Actors are often judged by how well they can adapt to the accents of their characters, but this one detail won’t necessarily make or break a movie.
10 Keanu Reeves
Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992)
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Bram Stoker’s Dracula
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*Availability in US Director Francis Ford Coppola Release Date November 13, 1992 Cast Gary Oldman , Winona Ryder , Anthony Hopkins , Keanu Reeves , Sadie Frost , Cary Elwes , Richard E. Grant , Billy Campbell , Tom Waits , Monica Bellucci , Florina Kendrick , Michaela Bercu , Jay Robinson , I.M. Hobson , Laurie Franks , Maud Winchester , Octavian Cadia , Robert Getz , Dagmar Stansova , Eniko Öss , Nancy Linehan Charles , Tatiana von Furstenberg , Jules Sylvester , Hubert Wells , Daniel Newman , Honey Lauren , Judi Diamond Expand
Keanu Reeves has an immediately recognizable voice, and he rarely plays roles which ask him to switch accents. In 1991, he starred as a lovable knucklehead in Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey and a former college football star-turned-FBI agent in Point Break. Both of these roles suited his accent perfectly, so switching to Received Pronunciation for 1992’s Bram Stoker’s Dracula turned out to be an abrupt gear shift which didn’t work out.
Keanu Reeves makes a noble attempt, but his accent in
Bram Stoker’s Dracula
comes across as stilted and unnatural.
If American actors only have one British accent in their repertoire, it tends to be Received Pronunciation, also referred to as Queen’s English. This is one of the most common British accents in Hollywood movies, and it’s what many Americans think of when they think of a generic English accent. Keanu Reeves makes a noble attempt, but his accent in Bram Stoker’s Dracula comes across as stilted and unnatural. It affects his entire performance, but Bram Stoker’s Dracula is a worthy adaptation of the gothic horror classic nonetheless.
9 Don Cheadle
Ocean’s Eleven (2001)
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8/10 7.8/10 Ocean’s Eleven
Director Steven Soderbergh Release Date December 7, 2001 Cast Brad Pitt , Don Cheadle , Julia Roberts , George Clooney , Matt Damon , Andy Garcia
Ocean’s Eleven is a crowdpleasing heist comedy that remakes a Rat Pack movie from 1960. Like many heist movies, it’s highly stylistic, presenting a fantasy version of crime in which a charming team of lovable misfits manage to outsmart their mark. In this context, it’s permissible for Don Cheadle to deliver a pitiful attempt at a cockney accent. There are other members of Danny Ocean’s crew who are just as hard to believe in their own way.
A cockney accent is a great fit for the character of Bash. It’s just Cheadle’s execution which is off.
A cockney accent is a great fit for the character of Bash. Cockneys are associated with the lower income areas of London, and an industrious, inventive spirit that suits crimes and cons. Dating back to classic British crime capers like The Lavender Hill Mob and The Ladykillers, cockneys have been a perfect fit for the heist genre. Bash also has the get-rich-quick attitude of Only Fools and Horses, and the quiet danger of Snatch. It’s just Cheadle’s execution which is off. Fresh reports about Ocean’s 14 suggest he will be reviving his cockney rogue for another job.
8 Charlie Hunnam
Green Street (2005)
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Green Street
Director Lexi Alexander Release Date September 9, 2005 Cast Elijah Wood , Charlie Hunnam , Claire Forlani , Ross McCall , Leo Gregory , Marc Warren , Rafe Spall , Kieran Bew
Charlie Hunnam’s performance in Green Street, also known as Green Street Hooligans, proves that a cockney accent can even cause trouble for some British actors. It isn’t just Americans like Don Cheadle who can struggle to nail the intricacies of the accent. Hunnam was born in Newcastle, and he spent parts of his childhood in other areas of north-east England. He’s proven that he has an impeccable American accent in his repertoire, but his cockney accent in Green Street is a misfire.
Charlie Hunnam’s performance in
Green Street
proves that a cockney accent can even cause trouble for some British actors.
Hunnam’s accent in Green Street seems to wander all over the map. There are some hints of Queen’s English, which suits the region but not the class of his character, and there are also notes of Irish and Australian thrown in. Since Green Street is about an American, played by Elijah Wood, who gets to grips with British football hooligan culture, Hunnam really should sound more like a local.
7 Natalie Portman
V For Vendetta (2005)
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7/10 V For Vendetta
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*Availability in US Director James McTeigue Release Date March 17, 2006 Cast John Hurt , Hugo Weaving , Stephen Fry , Stephen Rea , Natalie Portman
Alan Moore has been vocal in his criticisms of the movie adaptations of his comic books, but V for Vendetta was a critical and commercial success. The Wachowskis crafted an absorbing vision of a dystopia that feels distinctly British in many ways. V for Vendetta wouldn’t have worked as well if it had been moved to an American setting, so Natalie Portman’s casting as Evey Hammond seems rather strange in retrospect.
To British people, these subtle differences in pronunciation represent a huge gulf in class and background.
Portman’s accent in V for Vendetta is mostly a Hollywood approximation of Received Pronunciation, the typical southern English, upper-class, Hugh Grant-type accent, but it slips into Estuary English in certain words. To British people, these subtle differences in pronunciation represent a huge gulf in class and background. Just imagine if Colin Firth suddenly started talking like Ray Winstone. It’s not a terrible accent, but it sounds unnatural to the British ear.
6 Matt Damon
The Last Duel (2021)
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7/10 9/10 The Last Duel
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*Availability in US Director Ridley Scott Release Date October 15, 2021 Cast Adam Driver , Michael McElhatton , Harriet Walter , Ben Affleck , Matt Damon , Sam Hazeldine , Nathaniel Parker , Jodie Comer
Ridley Scott’s The Last Duel is based on a true story that took place in France, but the mostly-American cast speak with English accents. This isn’t historically accurate, but it seems like the least distracting compromise possible that still allows the movie to use the English language. Using English accents is certainly more sensible than allowing each actor to use their natural American accents, as it allows the movie to inhabit the same space as other English medieval historical epics.
Using English accents is certainly more sensible than allowing each actor to use their natural American accents.
Jodie Comer proved that she can master pretty much any accent in Killing Eve. Ben Affleck also has a surprisingly strong English accent, which he exercised in the Oscar-winning Shakespeare in Love. The only weak spot in the cast is Matt Damon, who hasn’t been asked to do an English accent in any of his other big movies. His lack of finesse is telling in The Last Duel, as his Boston accent can still be detected.
5 Marlon Brando
Mutiny On The Bounty (1962)
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There have been several movies and TV shows about the famous mutiny on the HMS Bounty in 1789, but the 1962 version starring Marlon Brando is usually considered the best. It’s one of Marlon Brando’s best movies, despite his insincere British accent. Mutiny on the Bounty shows that even the greatest actors can find switching accents difficult. Brando tried out several different accents in his career, but his English one wasn’t his strongest.
Brando’s English accent in
Mutiny on the Bounty
has been criticized for its flamboyance.
Brando’s English accent in Mutiny on the Bounty has been criticized for its flamboyance. It’s a sort of over-the-top Received Pronunciation that gives the movie a pantomime quality at times. If not pantomime specifically, the accent certainly seems better suited to the stage than to the screen. Despite this, Mutiny on the Bounty is an entertaining naval adventure that revolves around an intriguing battle of egos, and it’s great to see Brando in full flow.
4 Tom Hardy
Locke (2013)
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Locke
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*Availability in US Director Steven Knight Release Date April 25, 2014 Cast Tom Hardy , Ruth Wilson , Andrew Scott
Tom Hardy was born and raised in London, and he has developed a reputation for his mastery of accents. Some of Tom Hardy’s best movies show that he can adapt to different dialects, like his cockney accent in Legend and his southern drawl in Lawless. However, he falters a little when he attempts a Welsh accent in Locke. Since the entire movie focuses on Hardy alone, his performance comes under extra levels of scrutiny.
Tom Hardy leans a little too hard into the sing-song quality of many Welsh accents.
Tom Hardy leans a little too hard into the sing-song quality of many Welsh accents. It’s not an awful attempt by any means, but the deficiencies are highlighted when Hardy’s performance is compared to a natural Welsh accent, like that of Anthony Hopkins. The problem is that he’s making a big swing that doesn’t quite connect, but Hardy is known for his bold acting choices. His performance as Bane in The Dark Knight Rises shows what can happen when these choices work well, so he shouldn’t be criticized too harshly for overcooking Locke a little bit.
3 Bill Nighy
Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows – Part 1 (2010)
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7/10 8/10 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1
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*Availability in US Director David Yates Release Date October 17, 2010 Cast Bill Nighy , Emma Watson , Richard Griffiths , Harry Melling , Daniel Radcliffe , Julie Walters
Tom Hardy isn’t the only British actor who has struggled to create a natural-sounding Welsh accent. Welsh accents are extremely difficult to replicate, which is probably why so few foreign actors even try. Usually, foreign actors try to use southern Welsh accents, based around the big cities of Cardiff and Swansea. This is what Bill Nighy is going for in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1.
Welsh accents are extremely difficult to replicate, which is probably why so few foreign actors even try.
Bill Nighy plays Rufus Scrimgeour, the new Minister for Magic. It’s a minor role, so it’s easy to ignore his spotty accent work. The problem is that the movie gives a lot of attention to Scrimgeour in the short time he’s on screen, and his monologue sets the tone for the last two movies in the Harry Potter franchise. Nighy showed off a much improved Welsh accent in 2014’s Pride, which is especially important considering he has a more important role.
2 Forest Whitaker
The Crying Game (1992)
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The Crying Game
Director Neil Jordan Release Date November 27, 1992 Cast Stephen Rea , Miranda Richardson , Jaye Davidson , Forest Whitaker , Adrian Dunbar , Breffni McKenna , Joe Savino , Birdy Sweeney
In 1999, The Crying Game was ranked as the 26th-greatest British movie of all time by the British Film Institute. Its immense popularity has all been achieved despite the fact that Forest Whitaker’s English accent has been roundly criticized ever since the film’s release. The Oscar-winning actor was born in Texas before spending most of his childhood in California. Making the switch to an English accent doesn’t come naturally to him.
Whitaker makes a few noticeable errors, such as being inconsistent with dropping “H” sounds.
Forest Whitaker’s character in The Crying Game isn’t exactly a cockney, but he’s certainly working-class, and he comes from the south of England. His accent is supposed to be a form of Estuary English, but Whitaker makes a few noticeable errors, such as being inconsistent with dropping “H” sounds. He conceals his American accent well, but he also drifts into something which sounds vaguely South African at times.
1 Dick Van Dyke
Mary Poppins (1964)
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10/10 Mary Poppins
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*Availability in US Director Robert Stevenson Release Date June 18, 1965 Cast Karen Dotrice , Glynis Johns , Dick Van Dyke , David Tomlinson , Julie Andrews , Matthew Garber
Dick Van Dyke’s cockney accent in Mary Poppins is the most notoriously bad British accent in the history of film, and it’s often cited when a new contender pops up. Van Dyke was born and raised in Missouri. He has British ancestry, but his family can trace their American roots back to the Mayflower. This reflects how his British accent in Mary Poppins is nothing more than an American approximation. It’s an outlandish impression of Ealing comedies and other British classics like Oliver Twist.
Dick Van Dyke’s cockney accent in
Mary Poppins
is the most notoriously bad British accent in the history of film.
Despite Van Dyke’s famously shoddy accent work, Mary Poppins is saturated with intangible Disney magic. The bad accent ends up suiting the film’s sense of wide-eyed whimsy, complete with the animated segments and the uplifting music. Lin-Manuel Miranda takes over from Van Dyke in Mary Poppins Returns, and his accent is just as unconvincing. This might be intentional, because Mary Poppins wouldn’t be such a charming fabrication if it were realistic.