For anyone in the UK who doesn't know, most people in the US watched House for YEARS without realizing Hugh Laurie was British. His American accent is absolutely spot on.
True. I certainly had no idea back then (although I'm not American); his accent was just spot on. Imagine my surprise when I found out he was British. Phenomenal actor.
I always thought his American accent sounded too nasal. I didn’t really watch House so I didn’t know he was British at first but I always thought his voice was kind of weird.
I saw him on House first and knew he was not American pretty early on. He pronounced Sebastian in a way that no American ever does. Other than that, and maybe the way he said "of" very early in the series, his accent is almost perfect. As far as non regional accents go.
Hugh Laurie being unconvinced of the calibre of his own American accent when the director thought he was American in his audition is a testament to the quality of work Hugh Laurie expects of himself.
Most Americans don't sound as American as he does, to be honest. That is to say, most Americans have regional accents that probably only a local would catch on to (y'all ain't from around here, are ya?) or maybe just a very enthusiastic linguist who will catch the way that, say, my personal region beats vowels into submission until they become more of an inflected schwa... but his voice acting is to the point where one doesn't really "sense" that - you know they aren't from where YOU are but at the same time, you could just chalk that up to mannerisms and dialect over accent.
The first time I saw him on that show where he was a MD, I had no clue he was British, and then when I saw him on Graham Norton I thought, wow he does a good British accent. Turns out his American accent is good.
His American accent was FLAWLESS. I'm still baffled that he's not American. You can hear it with most other actors, but I was floored when I found out he was a Brit. He did an amazing job!
Actually, to my ear, his accent was always a bit flat. Never entirely dead on for one region being part, but inflection slightly off on occasion to have had me wondering since the first episode and it was between second and third episode that I did learn he was British. Largely, because I honestly don't go running to see where some actor or actress came from as a matter of course. Once I learned, I had to admit that he did an exceptionally fine job of it and well, one does have to work with what speech impediments one is stuck with.* *The fun part of that statement, it being pronounced with a southwest Philly accent. Excuse me while I take my breakfast of pills, lemme grab my worder boddle, gonna haveta fill this at the zink laedder on... Suffice it to say, I've quite a number of friends from the UK, most being from London and my accent actually is rather variable, as I tend to pick up idioms and accents rapidly during conversations. The result being sounding at times like I'm northern midlands in part fairly frequently, although missing the mark on idioms often enough due to lack of practice. That said, I sincerely doubt that I'll ever come close to speaking whatever language it is that spoken in Liverpool. ;) The US and UK, two people separated by a common language. It's their own fault though, they never bothered documenting the language until after that little tiff we had in 1776 and they ended up losing the war. We further diverged after much exposure after we rescued them from two world wars, the wars going quite terribly for the war... Actually, the original UK accent in received English was closer to the US mid-Atlantic accent, which oddly has decreased to near-extinction in the US since the 1950's. Makes sense, as the mid-Atlantic had the last great wave of immigration from the UK before that bit of unpleasantness in the late 1700's and that general trade disagreement in 1812. You should hear me go on about US tourism of Canada during said conflicts and their rather humorous conclusion of an honor guard escort to our borders, when their arms were finally returned... A spoiler, Benedict Arnold was seriously wounded during that brief vacation abroad, resulting in disability and inability to work his farm, resulting in his contracting to earn a living in the UK... As a result, we created the precursor to the VA. Yeah, history actually is pretty cool. Right until one survives having actually made some of it, then it's damned tedious and unpleasant.
I am an American and I recall being very surprised to learn that Laurie was British. His accent was impeccable. I’m equally surprised it didn’t come naturally or easily as time went on. Flawless.
Same. For a long time the only roles I knew him from were “House” and “Stewart Little”, and he uses an American accent in both. His remarkable American accent is so unremarkable I never suspected for a moment he wasn’t actually American. Wasn’t til I saw a TH-cam clip from Fry and Laurie that I realized he’s British.
I first realized he was British after I saw him on a late night talk show - my jaw dropped when I heard him speak. For the first few years of "House", I had no idea he was British.
I was so shocked to watch him sing and dance after knowing him only as House. I didn't recognize him in the "Walking On Broken Glass" video until after I learnt he's not actually American.
I was a teenager when House was airing, and I remember going on Fox's website looking for the latest episode (streaming was not common/easy to find at the time) and their player automatically played interviews with the cast, and I was floored when I heard Laurie talking in the "real" accent the first time. Like, the ground was falling out from beneath my feet lol.
@@timgimmy609 Problem is, there's a LOT of different accents across the US, as opposed to a single "American" accent (this is true in most countries, but the size of the US increases the problem). People notice if the accent they're familiar with is being done poorly, but not as much accents from other regions. Even American actors often struggle to nail accents from different regions of the country. As long as they don't fall back into caricature, I'm pretty forgiving of people attempting accents that aren't their own. It just makes me more appreciative of the ones who can truly pull it off.
@@timgimmy609 the worst American accent I've heard was Michael Caine, who of course is a good actor, in a movie set in Texas. He doesn't do a Southern accent there at all, it's like his accent mixed with a 1930s New York accent. I don't agree with the consensus that British actors are so much better at doing American accents than American actors are at British accents. There are plenty of American actors that can do spot-on British accents and plenty of actors in both countries are either bad at accents in general or they didn't have a good accent coach. Also, Americans might be a little more forgiving and less pretentious about our accents.
Love how Norton just lets the guests chat and ask genuine questions to each other. Creates such a good vibe and allows a more natural side of people to shine through, Graham just steps back and only is there more as a guide. Best host there is!
He is a very good interviewer and a master at getting his guests to genuinely engage in conversation. He has the ability to make them feel comfortable.
The beauty of American English is even if something doesn't come out right when trying to imitate, there's always probably at least a couple people that actually talk like that.
Anyone trying an American accent but getting things wrong here and there can always cover themselves by saying they're from somewhere between Baltimore and Philadelphia.
His American accent was so good that whenever I hear him speak naturally in my head he still sounds like an American doing a British accent. I assumed for several years he was American and my brain subconsciously still seems to believe that lol
There's a great bit in House where he puts on a bad British accent when trying to fool someone over the phone. So it's a Brit doing an American doing a Brit.
Hugh Laurie's American accent was so perfect, as an American myself, I had no earthly idea he was British until Dr. House Season 7 during an interview of him! You did fantastic, Hugh!!! I ❤❤❤❤❤ Dr. House!!!!
@@lieslceleste3395 That seems strange you would feel that way. I first saw him in his supporting roles in the Black Adder series. Then I watched Jeeves and Wooster religiously. And finally, when he started doing House, it really took some getting used to. His American accent sounded fake to me until after a half dozen episodes or so.
I didn't know for a really long time that he is British. I never once questioned his accent. Amazes me how he could do that, especially with such complex dialog.
Not only did he nail an American accent, he nailed a New Jersey accent. I live in the NY/NJ/CT tri-state area, and he sounded like a native of the Garden State throughout the run of the show.
Actually, House's father was in the military and the family moved around a lot, so he doesn't have a really distinct regional accent, then again, he could have been living in New Jersey for many years, even before joining Princeton Plainsboro Teaching Hospital, some time after getting a blood clot on his leg.
@@tracymurray6840 I was going off of the locale of the show, as well as my own lifelong experience with native regional speakers. Certain vowels are distinctive, and Laurie captures that.
@@davidwalter2002 you're the first person I've seen online who doesn't think of the Sopranos as the only possible NJ accent and i appreciate it. Speaking of NJ i happen to be reading this comment on my way to get a cup of cawfee and a Taylor Ham, egg and cheese on an everything bagel
Not to mention being a considerable athlete. He was on course to be an Olympic class rower until forced to give up by contracting glandular fever. His father actually was an Olympic gold medallist in the coxless pairs.
As most perfectionist Hugh Laurie will most likely never be fully pleased with his own work. There will almost always be something he feels that he could've done better, which I'm sure has helped him become such a great actor. A good man, and a great actor.
Not only did he have to switch his accent but house has a very witty specific sense of humor and he delivered his jokes perfectly, also he had to pronounce all those big medical terms. ...I miss that show, it was my favorite
Hugh Laurie and Matthew Rhys are the two who will forever blow me away with how perfect their American accents are. Just unbelievably good. They never slip!
This is like, the third time Hugh Laurie & Olivia Colman have been booked on the couch on the same episode. I really hope they keep this going because they play off each other really well!
He is one of the vanishingly few English actors who can do an American accent perfectly. He absolutely nailed it. I've watched House MD several times through, and never noticed one moment where he wasn't perfectly convincing, and not just his accent, but everything about the character. Brilliant actor.
The real situation is the exact opposite. There are hundreds of young British actors who can perform with a flawless American accent. You've probably watched films with many of them and just assumed they were Americans.
I noticed a couple of times but it wasn’t horrible. Look at the season 1 episode 2 when he says “The kid will be graduating in a wheelchair and diapers” the diapers had a British accent. Overall though yes he did a phenomenal job of making the American accent.
@@allendracabal0819 I almost always know when someone is putting on an American accent. With the exception of Freddy Highmore (if I hadn't seen the awful remake of Willy Wonka).
I first saw Hugh Laurie in shows like A Bit of Fry and Laurie and Black Adder, so I knew full well he was British. Seeing him in anything where he performs with an American accent is a revelation. His American accent is amazingly good!
I'm not sure what you mean. He's got an accent with very clear annunciation and isn't too dissimilar to American already. If he had a more impenetrable accent like scouse, brummie or cockney I'd understand that "so British" comment, but no. He's just what people who've never been to Britain, barring uptown London, mean when they say British accents are sexy. We really aren't.
As an Australian who didn't originally recognise him, I just thought it was an American actor. And then when I eventually did recognise him from Black Adder, I thought: "My god, he does such a great British accent for an American".
What's really fun is that there's an episode of House where he briefly pretends to be British, and he somehow manages to sound like a American trying to fake a British accent.
I think I do a good British accent (I know, there's more than one "British accent") but I've noticed most people are just bad at accents. There are a good number of American actors who can do a proper British accent.
@@sarahberkner Chris Pratt can do a British accent flawlessly. He does an Essex accent on the Graham Norton show and all I could think was _"Hang on, he does that accent better than me and I AM British!"_
Hugh's American pronunciation was PERFECT. Faultless. He only gave himself away twice that I can recall, and those were turns of phrase, not accent. Once was when he said "round" where an American would've said "around" and once he said "pay a call", whereas an American would have said "pay a visit". Most of my friends who watched House had NO IDEA Hugh is British. (I knew cuz I had seen Jeeves & Wooster, BlackAdder, and A Bit of Fry & Laurie)
I always thought it would have been so fabulous to have Stephen Fry do a guest appearance on House as a professor from Princeton with some fabulously exotic illness and have his posh English imperiousness get right up House’s nose. Imelda Staunton or Emma Thompson could have had a cameo as Fry’s wife or secretary or something.
One of the most delightful things to do - for avid fans of House who've not seen Laurie's prior characters, - is to play them a little bit of Bertie Wooster (especially when he's at the piano). Their reactions are priceless.
Apart from Americans not realising Laurie was British, you also have Kevin McKidd in Greys Anatomy (Dr Hunt) who they did not remember seeing speaking his natural accent in 'Trainspotting' and Damien Lewis who they watched in 'Band Of Brothers' playing Major Winters and the lead role of Nicholas Brodie in 'Homecoming'. To be fair, a lot of British did not realise Gwyneth Paltrow was American when she starred in 'Sliding Doors' and Rene Zellwegger did a good job in the Bridget Jones films. It may not have been an accent very many British people use but it does exist and she nailed it. I will skip over Gillian Andersons fantastic British accent as she grew up here.
I'm reminded of a great story by Bernard Hill and his time working with Brad Dourif on the Lord of the Rings films. Brad stayed in character his entire time on set, and it was only at the premier that Bernard heard Brad speaking in his normal West Virginia accent. Bernard was confused as to why Brad was speaking in that "funny American accent", he had just assumed Brad was English and was shocked to discover he was actually American.
@@guyincognito8440 yeah it was pretty forced/strained; it was the only way Andrew Lincoln could sound kinda american--he said as much himself in an interview, i think.
Dominic West for me... I knew him from The Wire with a Baltimore accent and then I spun out when I saw him on The Crown. Did a quick Google from there.
Sorry to say this but they know about Rene, there was a whole thing about the fact that a American woman was playing Bridget Jones...Same with Angelina was playing Lara Croft..
@@guyincognito8440don't forget the great Carrie Fisher, because she studie in England she had a British accent in the first star wars movie.... she even talked about it by The Graham Norton show...
Not only did he have a great American accent, his delivery of jokes and expressions were very American, if that makes any sense. I wish they would do a 2 hour follow up movie type thing on House (similar to Breaking Bad/El Camino). It would be so interesting to see him perform medical miracles under a different identity!
I was flabbergasted when I found out Hugh Laurie was English! Incredible! He played a curmudgeonly American doctor so incredibly well! I don't know how people can do that with their voice.
Hugh Laurie was very outstanding in the mini series "All the Light We Cannot See"! Bravo. I was in tears several times during the series. Very poignant drama and an excellent cast overall, with german actors actually born (from) Germany, ... great feature.
I just binge-watched it yesterday! I had read the book a few yrs back. Really enjoyed the Netflix series. So well cast. In particular I thought Werner was played beautifully.
His American accent was so good that although I recognized from somewhere, I couldn't place him until the second episode and payed attention to the credits. Holy crap ! Hugh Laurie ? From A Bit of Fry and Laurie and Blackadder ? Wow ! I was amazed.
I'm American. For the first couple seasons of House, I had no idea that Hugh was British. It wasn't until I looked him up, that I found out where he was from. His American accent was really good.
I knew Hugh Laurie was British from seeing him in Black Adder. My favorite House scene was when he was talking on the phone to someone and needed to disguise his voice so he went back to his Black Adder Prince Regent character voice. My ex- (who also knew him from Black Adder) and I were howling with laughter.
As a non native English speaker, it's very easy for me to accept the British and American versions of Hugh, both have lived rent free in my head for years harmoniously 😊
I truly thought Hugh (Jackman and Laurie) were American because both of their American accents were flawless. I was shocked to learn neither are. Brilliant talent.
I'll never forget hearing the Get Happy song in House, and he couldn't hide his accent. I laughed and said, "Hugh can't hide his British accent while singing." My wife looked at me like an alien. She had no idea bc his American accent was so good
Hugh obviously has the insecurity of an actor, compounded with the insecurity of being a stranger in a foreign land, but his American accent is so good that many Americans don't even know he's British.
I watched all 8 seasons of House believing that Hugh Laurie was American; one of the sharpest accent-switch performances from any actor in my humble opinion!
I remember I use to think his American accent was real. When I heard him years ago sounding British I was blown away. He nailed the American accent I thought.
Hugh Laurie's American accent in House was a better American accent than most Americans who speak from areas (mid-atlantic) that would have that accent. He slipped so rarely, and for only one word, it was perfection!
It's easy to forget about Hugh Laurie's comedy chops (he's a legend in the comedy world) after we all saw him in such a serious role for so long as House.
I can't believe he said this because he was AMAZING as House! His accent was SO convincing that I would forget he was even British! I honestly figured, plus or minus a few bloopers, that it was probably rather natural to him to fake it by a certain point. Really interesting to hear that it never got any easier!
He does a pretty amazing job. One place I noticed that he couldn’t do an American accent was the few times that house did an impression of a game show host. He did the British impression of an American game show host rather than an American impression of a game show host.
I am a 74 year old heartland American, but when I go to the UK, after about 12 hours or so, I have trouble speaking with an American accent because my voice (not me) wants to talk like everyone around me. I have the same problem in America. It takes me about three hours to speak in the correct regional Southern accent, but about 3 days to start talking like a New Englander.
@@minaus5082 My intonation tends to blend with the person I am speaking to if the manner of it is close to my own. Like I am 'cutting and pasting' a style overlay upon my own. I can do a number of accents because of a musical ear - whether that is something to do with my father being both a musician, and a polyglot, is uncertain. As per my preceding comment, it's interesting to find out if musicianship has anything to do with this or just a particular affection for music or that plus an analytical mind.
@@larkan511 It's called empathetic reciprocation. A type of mimesis that shows both kindness, co-evolutionary respect and a certain degree of humility and a want to communicate and not set up difference intensifying barriers and to not be arrogant. My father went a stage further and was a polyglot. Your own comment shows a partisan abrasiveness and an unwillingness either to understand and meet people halfway or on even terms.
It was a great mental disconnect hearing Hugh Laurie doing an American accent in “House” and “Stuart Little” after seeing him in “Jeeves & Wooster” and “Blackadder” in his native British accent. The fact that his acerbic Dr. House character was a stark change from his good-natured Bertie Wooster was an even greater shock.
The Brit with the most convincing American sounding accent is Idris Elba. The majority of American believed that he was an American. I had no idea he was British until I saw him in a couple of interviews.
I grew up with British TV in Canada, so I knew who Hugh Laurie was. British people can usually do American accents well, but Americans are hit and Miss. Sometimes you get chimneysweeps in Julie Andrews movies.
As a child growing up in the north of England I genuinely believed Dick Van Dike's accent was native Cockney. I didn't learn how bad it was until years later.
Thank goodness for the creation of the- whatever the Mid Atlantic accent is... 😅 Growing up, watching House and Stuart Little, I had no reason to believe he wasn't American. I don't think I found out he was British until like, season 5??
Having lived as an Australian in America for almost 25 years, my impression of 'House' is that Laurie first adds a certain dialectical tone to the voice, and then it follows that the vowels are more easily framed within that. I've done that, when I just wanted to walk through a new conversation quickly with an American stranger, such as a store clerk. Essentially, us outsiders put on the persona of an darker alternate voice to be more easily heard. Corse if I relax and talk Ozzie mate, which I do a lot now cause I just don't care anymore, one gets the incessant query to repeat what I just said.
Hugh Laurie's american accent on House is INCREDIBLE. If I didn't know about a bit of Fry and Laurie beforehand I never would have known he wasn't an american actor.
I have been doing accents since I was very young. My maternal grandmother was from Ireland and I sounded like her. Then I realized that even my family sounded less like her than I. I then adopted an English accent. Then I picked up a German one from an exchange student. It went on from there. I've done plays and commercials where I was in an accent. I never dropped it between takes, scenes, and shows. I would do the accent all the time just to stay authentic. I think it's also better to live in the accent for a while before doing a show.
That's cool. Of course the joke is that any American doing Irish comes out sounding like a Lucky Charms commercial! Hopefully you don't make that mistatke! LOL Or someone out of Brigadoon.🤣🤣 But we fans of accents know that real Irish isn't anything like those... Btw a guy on SNL last week did a spot-on impression of filmmaker Werner Herzog, and just nailed his (what I think is rather odd and unique sounding) German accent. It was hilarious.
@@sakitoby1581 There is no one Irish accent. I’ve had irish friends make fun of Brad Pitt in Devils Own, but the destroy his friend. Ironically, the actor is from Carlow. He speaks fluent Irish. He’s Saoirse Ronan’s father. I’m sorry, except for the most egregious renditions, even those living in the State get it wrong at times.
The second time I saw Hugh Laurie was in House. The first time I saw him act was in Stuart Little as the dad. The third time was in A Bit of Fry and Laurie and it blew me out of the water.
I’m astounded at the ability of British actors’ ability to perform American accents. There are several actors I just thought were from America. Matthew Rhys and Dominic West come to mind. Flawless. I can’t thinks of good examples that go in the other direction.
Magnum P. I. is one of my favorite shows, and Higgins is my favorite character. It's been said that Hillerman was so good with his accent that he fooled some English people (they believing he was actually from England!)@@Not_so_greatScott . He was asked how he prepared for the role of Higgins and he stated that he tried emulate Sir Laurence Olivier's accent by listening to Olivier recordings (specifically Olivier reciting Shakespeare!) . If you have ever seen "Blazing Saddles", you can hear Hillerman's "real" accent, he plays one of the townspeople in the movie. :) Or you can search for Hillerman interviews on youtube...his real voice is very different! :)
This really interesting, because I've been living in America for about 6 months and have found doing an American accent get easier and easier! Mine is still definitely not nearly as good as Hugh Laurie's as House, but I've passed for theatre purposes, and all my American friends are very impressed!
My dad is Australian and his accent has fully assimilated after a few decades here in the states. He said being younger he was able to learn and use the accent much more quickly than his parents, who after living here for a large portion of his adult life still have the accent. I wonder if at your age it came a lot more naturally than it did for Hugh Laurie because your brain is still very plastic
Most Americans absolutely love it when foreigners "do" their accent. We find it so charming and funny!! I've tried to get a lot of my friends from around the world to show me how we sound like to them, but a lot are reticent to do so. Maybe they think we'll be offended but that's rarely the case. When Raj on Big Bang Theory did an American accent, I died laughing. I love it!! So funny! I had a coworker from South Africa who became a good pal and I would call his house to leave him important sales messages (1990's) but I'd speak in my version of his South African accent. He loved it. 🤣🤣
He totally nails it, as an American he was good enough if he walked down the street I’d never think about it. He’s up there with James Gandolfini with the level of consistency and integrity to the vocals.
Apparently British have a tough time with American accents but out of all the British actors to try an American accent the two best are Hugh Laurie and Gary Oldman! Gary Oldman's portrayal of Lee Harvey Oswald in Oliver Stone's 1991 JFK was spot on IMO and I did not even know he was British. Then years later as a villain in The Fifth Element he had a kind of southern accent and I still was not really aware of him as an actor too much. He also does a great Russian accent!
I think he had the best American accent in all of acting history to be honest. He sounded more American than most Americans. I was shocked when I found out he was an imposter 😂
I saw that he was British, but I had no clue he was *British* . As House, he had the perfect American accent, but as Hugh Laurie, he has the perfect British accent. That's impressive to be able to go that far in both directions so casually. His acting as House was already amazing on it's own, but the added VA part being that convincing is amazing.
Olivia must not have seen the show lol. The character "Chase" also had his own (native) Australian accent that was prominent in the show in the earlier seasons, so Hugh definitely had a big challenge trying to integrate to the rest of the cast while still having to counter other non-American accents.
The actor who played Chase on HOUSE plays an American on the show Chicago FIRE and in one episode is Australian accent comes through so pronounced it kind of took me out of the show a bit tbh.... and in later episodes you can still hear a hint of his Australian accent.
It's funny bc some people change their accent and they sound the same with a different accent. When Hugh Laurie does it, it sounds like two completely different people
Never thought of it before, but I think that Laurie's professional tension around his accent might have enhanced the character's mood of tension due to his physical pain. In other words, Greg House constantly looks stressed, irritated but trying to stay professional, partly because in real life Hugh Laurie was stressed, irritated (with himself) and yet keeping it professional.
For me, there have been 3 standouts, starting of course, with Hugh Laurie. Damian Lewis as Captain Winters in "Band Of Brothers," and Matthew Rys in "The Americans." I was shocked each time I saw interviews and "discovered" that they weren't Americans. Incredible talent!
I think the biggest problem with trying to do an accent is that there is no such thing as an "American" accent or a "British" accent. I had this realization watching Doctor Who. I couldn't figure out why Peri's accent was driving me crazy until it suddenly hit me that she had done a very good moment of basically a Brooklyn accent followed by a very good moment of a Southern accent. Taken in isolation, both accents were very credible. The problem was that my native ear knew those accents weren't the same thing, so it sounded extremely weird to hear them juxtaposed. In fact, is was so weird that the first several times I heard those parts I didn't even hear the Brooklyn flavor or the Southern flavor. All I heard was, "Wrong!" I couldn't even figure out how it was supposed to be an American accent. The same thing obviously applies to a "British" accent. My American ear isn't familiar enough with the accent to distinguish between a London accent and a Northern accent and a Cockney accent, for example. Sure, I know enough to occasionally spot phrases that give the region away, but that's not enough if I'm going to speak in the region consistently. To speak in a regional accent you need to be extremely familiar with all of its idiosyncrasies to the point that you can say consistent with every single word you say, all while not falling back into the habits of your own accent. That being said, in a way we have an artificial "American" accents that all Americans are used to hearing and an artificial "British" accent that all Brits are used to hearing. The artificial American accent could be called the Hollywood accent, and the artificial British accent would definitely be the BBC accent. Beware if you are practicing either of these accents. If you get it right, they are very recognizable and feel right. The problem is that in spite of Hollywood's desire to standardize accents, especially in early days, they do occasionally allow regional accents to slip in. Sometimes it is clearly accidental, those moments when someone might say, "Don't look now, but your accent's showing." Sometimes it is very intentional, especially for characters where the accent is seen as part of their character. Want a female character who knows how to take care of herself and has a bit of an edge? Give her a Brooklyn accent. Want a man who is considered charming and a gentleman? Give him a Southern accent. The BBC does the same thing, obviously. Want a character that is a bit more street smart than book smart and that knows local lore and earns his living as a peddler? Make him Cockney. Want a woman who is shallow and materialistic? Have her come from Essex. The point is if you want a sure fire way to learn an accent that will go under the radar of most locals, learn the Hollywood or BBC accent. Just make sure when you are practicing that you focus on the dramatic actors with characters that don't come from small towns. Don't make the mistake of basing your accent on the more colorful characters. The temptation to do that will be strong. Those accents will feel like they are more interesting and have more color and will stick in your mind more. But if you mimic them they will quickly give you away as the poser that you are - unless of course you can actually name the region it comes from and are focusing on mastering that specific region's accent.
You raise many good points which I agree with. However I would put one further thing on the table - we have regional dialects - sure - but everyone has their own idiolect - and that is also never a perfect example of a regional accent - but instead something that is a mash-up of their individual circumstances & flaws. So the other 'uncanny valley' effect - for the want of a better term - is when an accent is too apple-pie perfect that it doesn't actually feel very real anymore.
Hmm, that’s a very interesting theory. In principle it sounds plausible. But at the moment I can’t think of a single real life example where someone’s accent sounded too Apple pie perfect that it gave them away. Perhaps there are plenty of examples out there and I’m just not thinking of them, but I also have another potential explanation - in practice it may be literally impossible for anyone to speak without letting a certain amount of personal idiosyncrasies to enter their speech, so while it would absolutely give someone away to have a “perfect” regionalized accent, it also would give that person away as some kind of robot or alien because simply being human automatically gives every accent a personalized style of speaking. It’s only when that style is inconsistent that the accent gives itself away as artificial. But I am definitely open to the possibility that I am completely wrong on that point. If I am wrong, it would certainly help to hear some genuine concrete examples of accents that sounded wrong specifically because they were too perfect and not because they either were inconsistent or were just flat out wrong.
i was today years old when i found this out, had no idea he was british but then again ive only ever seen shorts of the show "house" and never a full episode.
For anyone in the UK who doesn't know, most people in the US watched House for YEARS without realizing Hugh Laurie was British. His American accent is absolutely spot on.
True. I certainly had no idea back then (although I'm not American); his accent was just spot on. Imagine my surprise when I found out he was British. Phenomenal actor.
Yeah, I thought he was American.
I always thought his American accent sounded too nasal. I didn’t really watch House so I didn’t know he was British at first but I always thought his voice was kind of weird.
i’m going to be honest i’m british and i was in the exact same boat until i saw this
I saw him on House first and knew he was not American pretty early on. He pronounced Sebastian in a way that no American ever does. Other than that, and maybe the way he said "of" very early in the series, his accent is almost perfect. As far as non regional accents go.
I'm American and I remember seeing Hugh Laurie and being shocked at how good his British accent was.
Hahahahaha nice!
I always thought it would be hilarious to find an American fan of House and play them an episode of Jeeves and Wooster...
Love his Hugh Laurie character.. He really goes in deep.. I hardly noticed the limb when he walked out, now thats some classy acting right there..
@grimmriffer Or Blackadder Goes Forth. Basically the same character.
@@grimmriffer lol they wouldn't get it
Hugh Laurie being unconvinced of the calibre of his own American accent when the director thought he was American in his audition is a testament to the quality of work Hugh Laurie expects of himself.
I think he knows it’s good, but he finds it difficult to do, and maybe reduces his attention to other parts of his performance.
Most Americans don't sound as American as he does, to be honest. That is to say, most Americans have regional accents that probably only a local would catch on to (y'all ain't from around here, are ya?) or maybe just a very enthusiastic linguist who will catch the way that, say, my personal region beats vowels into submission until they become more of an inflected schwa... but his voice acting is to the point where one doesn't really "sense" that - you know they aren't from where YOU are but at the same time, you could just chalk that up to mannerisms and dialect over accent.
Show runner, not director
Idk if I met a guy who sounded American but a little off I wouldn't jump to the conclusion he wasn't American
The first time I saw him on that show where he was a MD, I had no clue he was British, and then when I saw him on Graham Norton I thought, wow he does a good British accent. Turns out his American accent is good.
His American accent was FLAWLESS. I'm still baffled that he's not American. You can hear it with most other actors, but I was floored when I found out he was a Brit. He did an amazing job!
Actually, to my ear, his accent was always a bit flat. Never entirely dead on for one region being part, but inflection slightly off on occasion to have had me wondering since the first episode and it was between second and third episode that I did learn he was British. Largely, because I honestly don't go running to see where some actor or actress came from as a matter of course.
Once I learned, I had to admit that he did an exceptionally fine job of it and well, one does have to work with what speech impediments one is stuck with.*
*The fun part of that statement, it being pronounced with a southwest Philly accent. Excuse me while I take my breakfast of pills, lemme grab my worder boddle, gonna haveta fill this at the zink laedder on...
Suffice it to say, I've quite a number of friends from the UK, most being from London and my accent actually is rather variable, as I tend to pick up idioms and accents rapidly during conversations. The result being sounding at times like I'm northern midlands in part fairly frequently, although missing the mark on idioms often enough due to lack of practice. That said, I sincerely doubt that I'll ever come close to speaking whatever language it is that spoken in Liverpool. ;)
The US and UK, two people separated by a common language. It's their own fault though, they never bothered documenting the language until after that little tiff we had in 1776 and they ended up losing the war. We further diverged after much exposure after we rescued them from two world wars, the wars going quite terribly for the war...
Actually, the original UK accent in received English was closer to the US mid-Atlantic accent, which oddly has decreased to near-extinction in the US since the 1950's. Makes sense, as the mid-Atlantic had the last great wave of immigration from the UK before that bit of unpleasantness in the late 1700's and that general trade disagreement in 1812.
You should hear me go on about US tourism of Canada during said conflicts and their rather humorous conclusion of an honor guard escort to our borders, when their arms were finally returned... A spoiler, Benedict Arnold was seriously wounded during that brief vacation abroad, resulting in disability and inability to work his farm, resulting in his contracting to earn a living in the UK... As a result, we created the precursor to the VA.
Yeah, history actually is pretty cool. Right until one survives having actually made some of it, then it's damned tedious and unpleasant.
Adris Alba is pretty spot on too
I am an American and I recall being very surprised to learn that Laurie was British. His accent was impeccable. I’m equally surprised it didn’t come naturally or easily as time went on. Flawless.
Same. For a long time the only roles I knew him from were “House” and “Stewart Little”, and he uses an American accent in both. His remarkable American accent is so unremarkable I never suspected for a moment he wasn’t actually American. Wasn’t til I saw a TH-cam clip from Fry and Laurie that I realized he’s British.
I first realized he was British after I saw him on a late night talk show - my jaw dropped when I heard him speak. For the first few years of "House", I had no idea he was British.
I just found out omg what a revelation
Which American accent? There are so many
Yeah, I thought he was American for a while. Before I looked into his other work.
House always does such a good job at playing Hugh Laurie.
I know right
He’s so great at it 😂
Yesss 😂
I was so shocked to watch him sing and dance after knowing him only as House. I didn't recognize him in the "Walking On Broken Glass" video until after I learnt he's not actually American.
The medical field doesn't pay very much. He does did a side job.
As an American, I must say he did the accent perfectly. Unless people knew him, most Americans would think he was one of their own.
Not perfectly, but pretty close.
I was a teenager when House was airing, and I remember going on Fox's website looking for the latest episode (streaming was not common/easy to find at the time) and their player automatically played interviews with the cast, and I was floored when I heard Laurie talking in the "real" accent the first time. Like, the ground was falling out from beneath my feet lol.
I knew him as Jasper, so I was impressed
I didnt know he was british until season 3-4
@@TrueThanny I think if it’s enough for many or most of that accent to believe it, then it’s there
Hugh had me fooled as House. He did a phenomenal job.
The only time I remember it slipping through was in an episode where he said "New York" and pronounced it "Newark"
He fooled us all
Maybe he was referring to Newark NJ? Or the airport 🫣
It’s always weird to me to hear him with a British accent since I watched him on House before I knew.
He fooled the producers in his audition!
I’ve never heard a British person humbly describe the difficulty of performing an American accent. How refreshing, lol
same & I'm surprised how many Americans don't notice bad accents. Like Doctor Strange? That guy's supposed to be from NY?
McNulty from The Wire
@@timgimmy609 Problem is, there's a LOT of different accents across the US, as opposed to a single "American" accent (this is true in most countries, but the size of the US increases the problem). People notice if the accent they're familiar with is being done poorly, but not as much accents from other regions. Even American actors often struggle to nail accents from different regions of the country. As long as they don't fall back into caricature, I'm pretty forgiving of people attempting accents that aren't their own. It just makes me more appreciative of the ones who can truly pull it off.
@@davidward2651but i dont think they much listen to other accents, so they dont always notice something odd, or where it comes from.
@@timgimmy609 the worst American accent I've heard was Michael Caine, who of course is a good actor, in a movie set in Texas. He doesn't do a Southern accent there at all, it's like his accent mixed with a 1930s New York accent.
I don't agree with the consensus that British actors are so much better at doing American accents than American actors are at British accents. There are plenty of American actors that can do spot-on British accents and plenty of actors in both countries are either bad at accents in general or they didn't have a good accent coach.
Also, Americans might be a little more forgiving and less pretentious about our accents.
Love how Norton just lets the guests chat and ask genuine questions to each other. Creates such a good vibe and allows a more natural side of people to shine through, Graham just steps back and only is there more as a guide. Best host there is!
Way better than what we have on the US & we have some good ones
He is THE BEST. Always has great guests in interesting combinations, and they always seem to have fun, as well.
He is a very good interviewer and a master at getting his guests to genuinely engage in conversation. He has the ability to make them feel comfortable.
Every clip feels like them just hanging out and shooting the shit. 😂😂
@@richardthompson3346 The alcohol they supply do help a bit.
The beauty of American English is even if something doesn't come out right when trying to imitate, there's always probably at least a couple people that actually talk like that.
That's valid in just about any language. But if you switch dialect from word to word, it still sounds weird.
Anyone trying an American accent but getting things wrong here and there can always cover themselves by saying they're from somewhere between Baltimore and Philadelphia.
American English is light on the mouth. No need for too much mouth movements like British English, with its drawl and everything.
Yup, we’ve got a ton of different dialects. But if you hear “aboot,” that’s a Canadian 😜
@@sigsin1 In Southern Ontario at least, it's more like "a boat".
His American accent was so good that whenever I hear him speak naturally in my head he still sounds like an American doing a British accent. I assumed for several years he was American and my brain subconsciously still seems to believe that lol
When I picture him I always hear House.
There's a great bit in House where he puts on a bad British accent when trying to fool someone over the phone. So it's a Brit doing an American doing a Brit.
@kvetcha thats something im curious how he went about that. From the thought prosses to how he even preformed it
Hugh Laurie's American accent was so perfect, as an American myself, I had no earthly idea he was British until Dr. House Season 7 during an interview of him! You did fantastic, Hugh!!! I ❤❤❤❤❤ Dr. House!!!!
Same. In fact, I’m not entirely convinced that he’s not putting us on with the British accent.
@@lieslceleste3395 That seems strange you would feel that way. I first saw him in his supporting roles in the Black Adder series. Then I watched Jeeves and Wooster religiously. And finally, when he started doing House, it really took some getting used to. His American accent sounded fake to me until after a half dozen episodes or so.
I myself as well.
Exactly. I had no idea he was British either!
Yep. Same here. I never knew
..😮
As a Brit, one of my favourite House moments was when he told Chase "you put the Queen on your money - youre British".
Genuinely brilliant line.
I called when he said it. 😂
I didn't know for a really long time that he is British. I never once questioned his accent. Amazes me how he could do that, especially with such complex dialog.
I'm a Brit and was impressed at how he could reel off complex speeches, very fast, with an accent that wasn't British and of a very specific area.
Not only did he nail an American accent, he nailed a New Jersey accent. I live in the NY/NJ/CT tri-state area, and he sounded like a native of the Garden State throughout the run of the show.
Actually, House's father was in the military and the family moved around a lot, so he doesn't have a really distinct regional accent, then again, he could have been living in New Jersey for many years, even before joining Princeton Plainsboro Teaching Hospital, some time after getting a blood clot on his leg.
@@tracymurray6840 I was going off of the locale of the show, as well as my own lifelong experience with native regional speakers. Certain vowels are distinctive, and Laurie captures that.
@@davidwalter2002 you're the first person I've seen online who doesn't think of the Sopranos as the only possible NJ accent and i appreciate it.
Speaking of NJ i happen to be reading this comment on my way to get a cup of cawfee and a Taylor Ham, egg and cheese on an everything bagel
@@highviewbarbell Salt, pepper, ketchup? Cawfee regular?
@@davidwalter2002 just pepper, cream and two sugars
Let’s not forget how good he is at piano. This guy is crazy talented
But is his piano playing British or American? He certainly plays the blues well.
Not to mention being a considerable athlete. He was on course to be an Olympic class rower until forced to give up by contracting glandular fever. His father actually was an Olympic gold medallist in the coxless pairs.
@@TheEulerID Sounds like a jab house would use at a lesbian couple
So that was really him playing in Jeeves & Wooster? Neat!
And has also written novels
As most perfectionist Hugh Laurie will most likely never be fully pleased with his own work. There will almost always be something he feels that he could've done better, which I'm sure has helped him become such a great actor. A good man, and a great actor.
I recall him saying to Craig Ferguson that about ten years would pass before he could finally accept his work as being okay.
I love Hugh Laurie ❤️
wasn't his father was a physician and would've found his behavior deplorable? He was FANTASTIC in this role.
Not only did he have to switch his accent but house has a very witty specific sense of humor and he delivered his jokes perfectly, also he had to pronounce all those big medical terms. ...I miss that show, it was my favorite
Hugh Laurie and Matthew Rhys are the two who will forever blow me away with how perfect their American accents are. Just unbelievably good. They never slip!
Simon Baker as Patrick Jane on The Mentalist...amazing American accent...
Agreed. Matthew Rhys especially. What a fine actor. Exceptional.
Hugh did THE BEST american accent ever from a British actor.
Hey let's give Chase some credit: "I play video games, I wish bro" lmao
@@Valientlink Lmao
Claire in The Good Doctor, Cavill, and Carey Mulligan also do American well.
This is like, the third time Hugh Laurie & Olivia Colman have been booked on the couch on the same episode. I really hope they keep this going because they play off each other really well!
She's not keen though
They are so amazing individually and together… together it’s like watching magic but real!
He is one of the vanishingly few English actors who can do an American accent perfectly. He absolutely nailed it. I've watched House MD several times through, and never noticed one moment where he wasn't perfectly convincing, and not just his accent, but everything about the character. Brilliant actor.
The real situation is the exact opposite. There are hundreds of young British actors who can perform with a flawless American accent. You've probably watched films with many of them and just assumed they were Americans.
I noticed a couple of times but it wasn’t horrible. Look at the season 1 episode 2 when he says “The kid will be graduating in a wheelchair and diapers” the diapers had a British accent. Overall though yes he did a phenomenal job of making the American accent.
@@allendracabal0819 I was astonished that Christian Bales is a Brit.
@@allendracabal0819 I almost always know when someone is putting on an American accent. With the exception of Freddy Highmore (if I hadn't seen the awful remake of Willy Wonka).
@@allendracabal0819I was shocked when I found out Tom Holland was British lmao
I literally found out today that he's not American. I'd say he nailed the accent.
I first saw Hugh Laurie in shows like A Bit of Fry and Laurie and Black Adder, so I knew full well he was British. Seeing him in anything where he performs with an American accent is a revelation. His American accent is amazingly good!
Not only is his American accent really good it’s the fact that his real accent is so British that’s amazing he can switch it so well
What do you mean by 'so British'? He just is British and speaks with a fairly normal, posh English accent
@@cerdic6305 I think he means he sounds like he graduated Eton, and then from Cambridge, which he did. And as you said: that’s properly “posh.”
@@DeeEllEff ok but that doesn’t make him sound more British than a cockney or a scouser, they all sound equally British
I'm not sure what you mean. He's got an accent with very clear annunciation and isn't too dissimilar to American already.
If he had a more impenetrable accent like scouse, brummie or cockney I'd understand that "so British" comment, but no.
He's just what people who've never been to Britain, barring uptown London, mean when they say British accents are sexy. We really aren't.
@@cerdic6305 you sound so british
He pronounced gigantic medical diagnosis terms flawlessly. Impressive.
As an Australian who didn't originally recognise him, I just thought it was an American actor. And then when I eventually did recognise him from Black Adder, I thought: "My god, he does such a great British accent for an American".
What's really fun is that there's an episode of House where he briefly pretends to be British, and he somehow manages to sound like a American trying to fake a British accent.
@@KoyasuNoBaraI just watched a clip of that recently. The fake British accent he does is hilariously bad, it was brilliant 😂
I think I do a good British accent (I know, there's more than one "British accent") but I've noticed most people are just bad at accents. There are a good number of American actors who can do a proper British accent.
@@sarahberkner Chris Pratt can do a British accent flawlessly. He does an Essex accent on the Graham Norton show and all I could think was _"Hang on, he does that accent better than me and I AM British!"_
@@sarahberkner There's literally no such thing as a British accent.
Hugh Laurie’s American accent is impeccable. Tom Holland does a great job as well.
Tom Holland's not American? 💀
@@AP-gb3eb no haha
Hugh's American pronunciation was PERFECT. Faultless. He only gave himself away twice that I can recall, and those were turns of phrase, not accent. Once was when he said "round" where an American would've said "around" and once he said "pay a call", whereas an American would have said "pay a visit". Most of my friends who watched House had NO IDEA Hugh is British. (I knew cuz I had seen Jeeves & Wooster, BlackAdder, and A Bit of Fry & Laurie)
I always thought it would have been so fabulous to have Stephen Fry do a guest appearance on House as a professor from Princeton with some fabulously exotic illness and have his posh English imperiousness get right up House’s nose. Imelda Staunton or Emma Thompson could have had a cameo as Fry’s wife or secretary or something.
OMG that would’ve been great!
Some medical miracle happens, and Fry transforms into Sandi Toksvig....
I've heard they wanted to, with Fry being even smarter than House but they couldn't mesh the schedules.😊
I've heard Stephen Fry's American accent too and he was pretty good at it too.
That really should have happened, Fry & Laurie are fantastic together
One of the most delightful things to do - for avid fans of House who've not seen Laurie's prior characters, - is to play them a little bit of Bertie Wooster (especially when he's at the piano). Their reactions are priceless.
LOVED Jeeves and Wooster.
As much as I love House, Jeeves and Wooster is my favorite vehicle of Hugh's. He was hilarious and brilliant at it, He nailed Wodehouse.
Apart from Americans not realising Laurie was British, you also have Kevin McKidd in Greys Anatomy (Dr Hunt) who they did not remember seeing speaking his natural accent in 'Trainspotting' and Damien Lewis who they watched in 'Band Of Brothers' playing Major Winters and the lead role of Nicholas Brodie in 'Homecoming'. To be fair, a lot of British did not realise Gwyneth Paltrow was American when she starred in 'Sliding Doors' and Rene Zellwegger did a good job in the Bridget Jones films. It may not have been an accent very many British people use but it does exist and she nailed it. I will skip over Gillian Andersons fantastic British accent as she grew up here.
I'm reminded of a great story by Bernard Hill and his time working with Brad Dourif on the Lord of the Rings films. Brad stayed in character his entire time on set, and it was only at the premier that Bernard heard Brad speaking in his normal West Virginia accent. Bernard was confused as to why Brad was speaking in that "funny American accent", he had just assumed Brad was English and was shocked to discover he was actually American.
@@guyincognito8440 yeah it was pretty forced/strained; it was the only way Andrew Lincoln could sound kinda american--he said as much himself in an interview, i think.
Dominic West for me... I knew him from The Wire with a Baltimore accent and then I spun out when I saw him on The Crown. Did a quick Google from there.
Sorry to say this but they know about Rene, there was a whole thing about the fact that a American woman was playing Bridget Jones...Same with Angelina was playing Lara Croft..
@@guyincognito8440don't forget the great Carrie Fisher, because she studie in England she had a British accent in the first star wars movie.... she even talked about it by The Graham Norton show...
Hugh is fabulous. He's always spot-on in my book.
Not only did he have a great American accent, his delivery of jokes and expressions were very American, if that makes any sense. I wish they would do a 2 hour follow up movie type thing on House (similar to Breaking Bad/El Camino). It would be so interesting to see him perform medical miracles under a different identity!
...this coming from a man who arguably does one of finest American accents out there.
I thought Hugh Laurie's American accent on House, MD was spectacular!
Growing up with Hugh in the 90s I always knew he was British, but now I find it odd hearing him with a British accent because I loved House so much.
I was flabbergasted when I found out Hugh Laurie was English! Incredible! He played a curmudgeonly American doctor so incredibly well! I don't know how people can do that with their voice.
Hugh Laurie was very outstanding in the mini series "All the Light We Cannot See"! Bravo. I was in tears several times during the series. Very poignant drama and an excellent cast overall, with german actors actually born (from) Germany, ... great feature.
I just binge-watched it yesterday! I had read the book a few yrs back. Really enjoyed the Netflix series. So well cast. In particular I thought Werner was played beautifully.
His American accent was so good that although I recognized from somewhere, I couldn't place him until the second episode and payed attention to the credits. Holy crap ! Hugh Laurie ? From A Bit of Fry and Laurie and Blackadder ? Wow ! I was amazed.
I'm American. For the first couple seasons of House, I had no idea that Hugh was British. It wasn't until I looked him up, that I found out where he was from. His American accent was really good.
I knew Hugh Laurie was British from seeing him in Black Adder. My favorite House scene was when he was talking on the phone to someone and needed to disguise his voice so he went back to his Black Adder Prince Regent character voice. My ex- (who also knew him from Black Adder) and I were howling with laughter.
His Blackadder characters speak in such an over the top manner that you could be forgiven for believing his House voice was his normal voice!
Hugh Laurie is absolutely top notch. House will always and forever be one of my top favorite actors in a TV series.
As a non native English speaker, it's very easy for me to accept the British and American versions of Hugh, both have lived rent free in my head for years harmoniously 😊
I love how like everyone just starts asking questions to him as if it some weird 3 people interviewing 1 person type of thing
I truly thought Hugh (Jackman and Laurie) were American because both of their American accents were flawless. I was shocked to learn neither are. Brilliant talent.
Laurie as House was a perfect American accent. I fancy myself a keen imposter catcher. But he got me.
I'll never forget hearing the Get Happy song in House, and he couldn't hide his accent. I laughed and said, "Hugh can't hide his British accent while singing." My wife looked at me like an alien. She had no idea bc his American accent was so good
Laurie released a couple amazing blues albums. More people need to look into that.
Hugh obviously has the insecurity of an actor, compounded with the insecurity of being a stranger in a foreign land, but his American accent is so good that many Americans don't even know he's British.
A superb actor, period. And yes, his House accent wad spot on, and the delivery of it delicious.
I watched all 8 seasons of House believing that Hugh Laurie was American; one of the sharpest accent-switch performances from any actor in my humble opinion!
Blows my mind how these guys can change their accents!!!
I remember I use to think his American accent was real. When I heard him years ago sounding British I was blown away. He nailed the American accent I thought.
Hugh Laurie's American accent in House was a better American accent than most Americans who speak from areas (mid-atlantic) that would have that accent.
He slipped so rarely, and for only one word, it was perfection!
i love him. a bit of fry & laurie is the best!!
It's easy to forget about Hugh Laurie's comedy chops (he's a legend in the comedy world) after we all saw him in such a serious role for so long as House.
loved a bit of Frye and Laurie!
looking back on him in Blackadder series, and contrasting it with HOUSE gives you a mindblowing range.
@@ZakhadWOW Rowan Atkinson ( Mr Bean) was also in Black Adder something few Americans know
As an American I can say he did a phenomenal job!
I can't believe he said this because he was AMAZING as House! His accent was SO convincing that I would forget he was even British! I honestly figured, plus or minus a few bloopers, that it was probably rather natural to him to fake it by a certain point. Really interesting to hear that it never got any easier!
He does a pretty amazing job. One place I noticed that he couldn’t do an American accent was the few times that house did an impression of a game show host. He did the British impression of an American game show host rather than an American impression of a game show host.
In our generation, the most recognizable game show host was Hughie Green.
@@josefschiltz2192 it's this american game show host thing that I've seen a lot of brits do- even int he HItchhikers guide.
@@Sagitarria Ah. Max Quordlepleen - played by Colin Jeavons - the host at The Restaurant at the End of the Universe? Over the top on everything!
@@josefschiltz2192 I think maybe
@@Sagitarria Overdone make-up, a rictus 'smile' and boundary contentious enthusiasm. Spike Milligan used to do those as well.
I am a 74 year old heartland American, but when I go to the UK, after about 12 hours or so, I have trouble speaking with an American accent because my voice (not me) wants to talk like everyone around me. I have the same problem in America. It takes me about three hours to speak in the correct regional Southern accent, but about 3 days to start talking like a New Englander.
Any musicians in your family? Just as a thought.
I’m not a native English speaker and yet I feel like my accent changes depending on the person I am talking to and their accent.
@@minaus5082 My intonation tends to blend with the person I am speaking to if the manner of it is close to my own. Like I am 'cutting and pasting' a style overlay upon my own. I can do a number of accents because of a musical ear - whether that is something to do with my father being both a musician, and a polyglot, is uncertain. As per my preceding comment, it's interesting to find out if musicianship has anything to do with this or just a particular affection for music or that plus an analytical mind.
You're a sheep, have your own voice and quit trying to conform
@@larkan511 It's called empathetic reciprocation. A type of mimesis that shows both kindness, co-evolutionary respect and a certain degree of humility and a want to communicate and not set up difference intensifying barriers and to not be arrogant. My father went a stage further and was a polyglot. Your own comment shows a partisan abrasiveness and an unwillingness either to understand and meet people halfway or on even terms.
House character is amazing, look even after all these years, house steals the limelight
his American accent is INCREDIBLE
Incredibly obvious.
His American accent is perfect. You would *never* know
For the reverse, listen to Chris Pratt doing a British accent, he does it perfectly on the Graham Norton show.
@@upturnedblousecollar5811 Yeah, for 30 seconds! 🙂Not for 8 fkn seasons!
@@PavelPitchugin I've no idea what you're trying to say.
It was a great mental disconnect hearing Hugh Laurie doing an American accent in “House” and “Stuart Little” after seeing him in “Jeeves & Wooster” and “Blackadder” in his native British accent. The fact that his acerbic Dr. House character was a stark change from his good-natured Bertie Wooster was an even greater shock.
The Brit with the most convincing American sounding accent is Idris Elba. The majority of American believed that he was an American. I had no idea he was British until I saw him in a couple of interviews.
How bout mcnulty
@@dutchman8129 for real?
Edited to correct the spelling of “Jonson.” I typed it with the “h” and then thought that doesn’t look right.
LoL have you asked the majority of Americans their opinion?
Same! I watched him in House. Would never have guessed he wasn't American.
I grew up with British TV in Canada, so I knew who Hugh Laurie was. British people can usually do American accents well, but Americans are hit and Miss. Sometimes you get chimneysweeps in Julie Andrews movies.
Oddly having listened to various cockneys over the years I think Mr Dick Van Dyke's accent was far closer than people realise
As a child growing up in the north of England I genuinely believed Dick Van Dike's accent was native Cockney. I didn't learn how bad it was until years later.
He did such a great job..I didn't know he was English until much later. Wonderful actor and great character.
This guy is so good at that accent. Americans were shocked to find out he was british
So he found out what it feels like to be speaking a second language - only it’s still English 😂
Thank goodness for the creation of the- whatever the Mid Atlantic accent is... 😅
Growing up, watching House and Stuart Little, I had no reason to believe he wasn't American. I don't think I found out he was British until like, season 5??
Having lived as an Australian in America for almost 25 years, my impression of 'House' is that Laurie first adds a certain dialectical tone to the voice, and then it follows that the vowels are more easily framed within that. I've done that, when I just wanted to walk through a new conversation quickly with an American stranger, such as a store clerk. Essentially, us outsiders put on the persona of an darker alternate voice to be more easily heard.
Corse if I relax and talk Ozzie mate, which I do a lot now cause I just don't care anymore, one gets the incessant query to repeat what I just said.
Hugh Laurie's american accent on House is INCREDIBLE. If I didn't know about a bit of Fry and Laurie beforehand I never would have known he wasn't an american actor.
it hurts to see him getting old, but life is life
I have been doing accents since I was very young. My maternal grandmother was from Ireland and I sounded like her. Then I realized that even my family sounded less like her than I. I then adopted an English accent. Then I picked up a German one from an exchange student. It went on from there. I've done plays and commercials where I was in an accent. I never dropped it between takes, scenes, and shows. I would do the accent all the time just to stay authentic. I think it's also better to live in the accent for a while before doing a show.
That's cool. Of course the joke is that any American doing Irish comes out sounding like a Lucky Charms commercial! Hopefully you don't make that mistatke! LOL Or someone out of Brigadoon.🤣🤣 But we fans of accents know that real Irish isn't anything like those... Btw a guy on SNL last week did a spot-on impression of filmmaker Werner Herzog, and just nailed his (what I think is rather odd and unique sounding) German accent. It was hilarious.
@@sakitoby1581 There is no one Irish accent. I’ve had irish friends make fun of Brad Pitt in Devils Own, but the destroy his friend. Ironically, the actor is from Carlow. He speaks fluent Irish. He’s Saoirse Ronan’s father. I’m sorry, except for the most egregious renditions, even those living in the State get it wrong at times.
He was spot-on with his American accent on House.
The second time I saw Hugh Laurie was in House.
The first time I saw him act was in Stuart Little as the dad.
The third time was in A Bit of Fry and Laurie and it blew me out of the water.
He’s being humble. There were several years of my life where I had no idea he was English because his accent in House was so convincing
Hugh Laurie is a gem!
I’m astounded at the ability of British actors’ ability to perform American accents. There are several actors I just thought were from America. Matthew Rhys and Dominic West come to mind. Flawless. I can’t thinks of good examples that go in the other direction.
Dick Van Dyk? 🤣to be fair Brad Pitt played a blinding "traveller" in Snatch. That was quality.
John Hillerman, who played Higgins in the original Magnum P.I. had a really good British accent -- He's from Texas though. :)
@@ChessMarine310 wow that is a great one! I loved that showed but did not know that about Hillerman
Magnum P. I. is one of my favorite shows, and Higgins is my favorite character. It's been said that Hillerman was so good with his accent that he fooled some English people (they believing he was actually from England!)@@Not_so_greatScott . He was asked how he prepared for the role of Higgins and he stated that he tried emulate Sir Laurence Olivier's accent by listening to Olivier recordings (specifically Olivier reciting Shakespeare!) . If you have ever seen "Blazing Saddles", you can hear Hillerman's "real" accent, he plays one of the townspeople in the movie. :) Or you can search for Hillerman interviews on youtube...his real voice is very different! :)
This really interesting, because I've been living in America for about 6 months and have found doing an American accent get easier and easier! Mine is still definitely not nearly as good as Hugh Laurie's as House, but I've passed for theatre purposes, and all my American friends are very impressed!
My dad is Australian and his accent has fully assimilated after a few decades here in the states. He said being younger he was able to learn and use the accent much more quickly than his parents, who after living here for a large portion of his adult life still have the accent. I wonder if at your age it came a lot more naturally than it did for Hugh Laurie because your brain is still very plastic
Most Americans absolutely love it when foreigners "do" their accent. We find it so charming and funny!! I've tried to get a lot of my friends from around the world to show me how we sound like to them, but a lot are reticent to do so. Maybe they think we'll be offended but that's rarely the case. When Raj on Big Bang Theory did an American accent, I died laughing. I love it!! So funny! I had a coworker from South Africa who became a good pal and I would call his house to leave him important sales messages (1990's) but I'd speak in my version of his South African accent. He loved it. 🤣🤣
As difficult as he found it, he made it look incredibly easy.
As an American who enjoys the show, I am sitting here in shock just having found out he's BRITISH 😮
He totally nails it, as an American he was good enough if he walked down the street I’d never think about it.
He’s up there with James Gandolfini with the level of consistency and integrity to the vocals.
House playing a Brit is legendary
Apparently British have a tough time with American accents but out of all the British actors to try an American accent the two best are Hugh Laurie and Gary Oldman! Gary Oldman's portrayal of Lee Harvey Oswald in Oliver Stone's 1991 JFK was spot on IMO and I did not even know he was British. Then years later as a villain in The Fifth Element he had a kind of southern accent and I still was not really aware of him as an actor too much. He also does a great Russian accent!
The worst are Monty Python 😂
You should check out Oldman’s performance in True Romance.
Don't forget Christian Bale.
I think he had the best American accent in all of acting history to be honest. He sounded more American than most Americans. I was shocked when I found out he was an imposter 😂
I saw that he was British, but I had no clue he was *British* . As House, he had the perfect American accent, but as Hugh Laurie, he has the perfect British accent. That's impressive to be able to go that far in both directions so casually. His acting as House was already amazing on it's own, but the added VA part being that convincing is amazing.
Loved him on House so much! Such a complex character.
Olivia must not have seen the show lol. The character "Chase" also had his own (native) Australian accent that was prominent in the show in the earlier seasons, so Hugh definitely had a big challenge trying to integrate to the rest of the cast while still having to counter other non-American accents.
The actor who played Chase on HOUSE plays an American on the show Chicago FIRE and in one episode is Australian accent comes through so pronounced it kind of took me out of the show a bit tbh.... and in later episodes you can still hear a hint of his Australian accent.
It's funny bc some people change their accent and they sound the same with a different accent. When Hugh Laurie does it, it sounds like two completely different people
Never thought of it before, but I think that Laurie's professional tension around his accent might have enhanced the character's mood of tension due to his physical pain. In other words, Greg House constantly looks stressed, irritated but trying to stay professional, partly because in real life Hugh Laurie was stressed, irritated (with himself) and yet keeping it professional.
For me, there have been 3 standouts, starting of course, with Hugh Laurie. Damian Lewis as Captain Winters in "Band Of Brothers," and Matthew Rys in "The Americans." I was shocked each time I saw interviews and "discovered" that they weren't Americans. Incredible talent!
His perfectionism is what makes his accent so believable.
😳 This guy’s actually British? 😂
I think the biggest problem with trying to do an accent is that there is no such thing as an "American" accent or a "British" accent. I had this realization watching Doctor Who. I couldn't figure out why Peri's accent was driving me crazy until it suddenly hit me that she had done a very good moment of basically a Brooklyn accent followed by a very good moment of a Southern accent. Taken in isolation, both accents were very credible. The problem was that my native ear knew those accents weren't the same thing, so it sounded extremely weird to hear them juxtaposed. In fact, is was so weird that the first several times I heard those parts I didn't even hear the Brooklyn flavor or the Southern flavor. All I heard was, "Wrong!" I couldn't even figure out how it was supposed to be an American accent.
The same thing obviously applies to a "British" accent. My American ear isn't familiar enough with the accent to distinguish between a London accent and a Northern accent and a Cockney accent, for example. Sure, I know enough to occasionally spot phrases that give the region away, but that's not enough if I'm going to speak in the region consistently. To speak in a regional accent you need to be extremely familiar with all of its idiosyncrasies to the point that you can say consistent with every single word you say, all while not falling back into the habits of your own accent.
That being said, in a way we have an artificial "American" accents that all Americans are used to hearing and an artificial "British" accent that all Brits are used to hearing. The artificial American accent could be called the Hollywood accent, and the artificial British accent would definitely be the BBC accent. Beware if you are practicing either of these accents. If you get it right, they are very recognizable and feel right. The problem is that in spite of Hollywood's desire to standardize accents, especially in early days, they do occasionally allow regional accents to slip in. Sometimes it is clearly accidental, those moments when someone might say, "Don't look now, but your accent's showing." Sometimes it is very intentional, especially for characters where the accent is seen as part of their character. Want a female character who knows how to take care of herself and has a bit of an edge? Give her a Brooklyn accent. Want a man who is considered charming and a gentleman? Give him a Southern accent. The BBC does the same thing, obviously. Want a character that is a bit more street smart than book smart and that knows local lore and earns his living as a peddler? Make him Cockney. Want a woman who is shallow and materialistic? Have her come from Essex.
The point is if you want a sure fire way to learn an accent that will go under the radar of most locals, learn the Hollywood or BBC accent. Just make sure when you are practicing that you focus on the dramatic actors with characters that don't come from small towns. Don't make the mistake of basing your accent on the more colorful characters. The temptation to do that will be strong. Those accents will feel like they are more interesting and have more color and will stick in your mind more. But if you mimic them they will quickly give you away as the poser that you are - unless of course you can actually name the region it comes from and are focusing on mastering that specific region's accent.
You raise many good points which I agree with. However I would put one further thing on the table - we have regional dialects - sure - but everyone has their own idiolect - and that is also never a perfect example of a regional accent - but instead something that is a mash-up of their individual circumstances & flaws. So the other 'uncanny valley' effect - for the want of a better term - is when an accent is too apple-pie perfect that it doesn't actually feel very real anymore.
Hmm, that’s a very interesting theory. In principle it sounds plausible. But at the moment I can’t think of a single real life example where someone’s accent sounded too Apple pie perfect that it gave them away. Perhaps there are plenty of examples out there and I’m just not thinking of them, but I also have another potential explanation - in practice it may be literally impossible for anyone to speak without letting a certain amount of personal idiosyncrasies to enter their speech, so while it would absolutely give someone away to have a “perfect” regionalized accent, it also would give that person away as some kind of robot or alien because simply being human automatically gives every accent a personalized style of speaking. It’s only when that style is inconsistent that the accent gives itself away as artificial. But I am definitely open to the possibility that I am completely wrong on that point. If I am wrong, it would certainly help to hear some genuine concrete examples of accents that sounded wrong specifically because they were too perfect and not because they either were inconsistent or were just flat out wrong.
House is British? 👀
yes
Well eyes house is in indeed an english word
one of the most underrated actors of all time
i was today years old when i found this out, had no idea he was british but then again ive only ever seen shorts of the show "house" and never a full episode.