You need to explain to Americans that in Britain 'Public schools' mean our top high class boarding schools where rich people go. The exact opposite of the meaning in the USA ;)
@Mark Anthony Wyatt I did some searching, public school and private school are different. both have fees but private is less inclusive than public school. I am from surrey and live near ascot. (uk-education-blog.blogspot.com/2009/02/public-school-private-school-whats.html) to see difference. I went to Pangbourne College, one of those 'posh schools' your talking about ( i really hate the term posh) and from our perspective we called them Private School.
Fanny Buster so basically to break it down for you in real easy terms: 1. Private school. Any school run by a private enterprise, which can charge pupils, and generally doesn't care who, or where you come from, as long as you have the money to pay your term fees which runs into the thousands per term. Private schools, are Enterprise, in that they are commercially run for a profit. They can be run by anybody on any scale from small to large. They don't have to be boarding school, although some are. 2. A public school. A public school is differentiated from a state school, bye the fact that a public school is a school not run by the state, but which runs similar curriculums 2 state schools, and uses similar exam systems 2 state schools. They all charge term fees. Many are boarding schools. They usually have entrance exams so that they can keep there results percentages high. The main difference between a public school, and a private school, is that public schools are usually run by governors, and have been in existence for many years, and are usually, but not always, owned by comma and run by, trustees, and have a board of governors just had any state school would. Schools like Eton, and Harrow are famous public schools. They have no funding from the state. So you have to think in terms of, a school just like any other school, that runs itself just like any state school, and open to the public, but charges instead of using state funds to run itself. There are many similarities to a private school, they just happen to be known as public schools and most people generally know the difference between a private and a public school, even though they are very similar. 3. A state school. A school run, owned, and controlled by local or national government, with state funding, and more Union involvement for teaching, and a more adhered to national curriculum. The board of governors of a state school must answer to the Secretary of State for education.
Hugh is one of our most appreciated comedy actors - our comedy would be lost without him. He and Stephen Fry - a duo. Hugh in Blackadder. Wonderful. Obviously he is a consummate actor per se, and I do hope he gets the offers to show us, again, just how good he is.
And in the Jeeves and Wooster series ,based on the books by P.G.Wodehouse. He played brainless toff Bertie Wooster and Stephen Fry the more intelligent and even intellectual ``gentleman`s gentleman` ,Jeeves.
Kim Cattrall from sex in the city is from Liverpool , Halle Berry's mum is English Many classic Hollywood actors were British , Cary Grant Stewart Granger Olivia De Havilland Joan Fontaine and Charles Laughton to name a few. Tim Roth from pulp fiction and Gary Oldman both do convincing American accents.
Is he... Didn't know that. I do remember being shocked seeing him play an Pro-Nazi American industrialist on Foyle's War, and finding it difficult to get his role as Frasier's Dad out of my head. lol
Hugh Laurie was even in an episode of Friends with his English accent. He played an Irate passenger, stuck on a plane with Rachel and deciding that it sounded as if her and Ross were indeed on a break..
Jamie Bamber too. Born and raised in England, to an Irish mother and American father, speaking Brit-Eng. But due to his fathers influence, he can pull of the perfect American accent for Battlestar Galactica (2003) where he's one of the leads and other productions where it's needed, and people would be none the wiser for it. He did say that he can hear some slips throughout the pilot episode, the mini-series, of Battlestar but otherwise, it's perfect.
John Barrowman is dual nationality but Scottish by birth. Although he maintains his American accent while living in Britain, when he talks to his parents he reverts straight back to broad Glasgow. Angela Lansbury is also someone who can easily switch back and forth between her original English accent and her acquired American one, although I doubt there is anyone who would not have realised was born in England. Someone for whom the opposite is true though is Zoe Wannamaker. She has since become a British Citizen but is American by birth, though her British accent is entirely genuine
John Barrowmans scottish accent didnt sound put on to me when he was speaking to his parents. He seemed to lapse into it easily and he sounded just like my ex boyfriend who was from Glasgow. I'm not Scottish so I dont hear the accent everyday, but honestly it sounded real to me.
Captally - or indeed, Jeeves and Wooster. The character of House is radically different to the roles that Laurie became famous for in the UK - dim-witted, boggle-eyed toffs. Did he go for the House role deliberately, to break the stereotype?
He was a comedian working for BBC comedies. They decided to drop him probably because as you say dim witted boggle eyed toffs was only what they thought he could do. He was playing a small film role in a desert when he auditioned for house, seems like he decided to drop comedy and reinvent himself. IIRC he is still a bit bitter at how quicky the BBC just dropped him completely.
I keep on going back to a sketch on "A Bit of Fry & Laurie" where Hugh is dressed as a woman & Stephen (completely in his own attire & persona) is Oprah Winfrey. Hilarious!
That's a bit of a sweeping statement to say most of the best actors in the world are British and the main reason they go to Hollywood is because that's where it all happens and there's not much of a film industry in Britain.
@@gordoncampbell3514 No, it's because British actors are better. They usually have a broader depth of experience, stagecraft, Shakespeare etc than Americans.
Yes but Cary Grant didn't really lose his English accent. What he did was lose his Bristol accent, picked up a south east English accent and then ended up with a mid-Atlantic accent. As for Bob Hope, he left England at a very young age and regarded himself as an American although proud of his English roots.
Hanniffy Dinn In small doses it can help alleviate ptsd and depression. Although you haven't been able to get good lsd since the mafia took over the industry in the 60's.
Gillian Anderson now lives back here in England i believe and has tackled some of the biggest period dramas for the BBC over the last few years including some of the great Dickens classics. Christian Bale first same to fame as a child actor in an amazing Speilberg film called Empire of the Sun, which i really recommend
Dominic West, also from the Wire (he actually was a cop, unlike Idris who was a drug dealer, 😏). Jamie Bamber in Battlestar Galactica. You should see if you can do the reverse, actors who play English but are actually Yanks. There’s not so much call for that, but I can think of a few.
I agree with Andrew, I realise that this is a sweeping generalisation, but they aren’t always wrong and doesn’t seem like it is in this case... Americans seem to be all together a little too self involved to realise what is going on in places other than their own. I knew all on this list. No surprises.
To be fair, Hugh's accent in House sounded to me (a Londoner) like a bad fake american accent, probably because I do know how he really sounds. Always shocked that he passed as american to them.
In the late fifties, some of my apprentice mates went over to Hollywood and were talking to some people, who asked where they were from and when they said "Britain" These people said that some British had come over to try and make it in films, but did not get anywhere. When my mates said a whole list of names of famous actors, these people were dumbfounded and had not known the country of origin of their most popular stars.
For the British side of Hugh Laurie, watch some of the old Black Adder series. Includes Stephen Fry and Rowan Atkinson (Mr Bean) also Tony Robinson as Baldrick.
Andrew Garfield was actually born in the U.S. to an English Mother and American Father but was raised in the U.K. so he's very Anglo-American. I live in the town Tom Holland is from (Kingston Upon Thames) and it's a really short distance from where Andrew Garfield grew up (the Ashtead/Banstead/Epsom area). So the last two Spider-Men are basically Surrey boys (which is kinda weird)!
David Harewood, Martian Manhunter on Supergirl is also British, Lena Luthor Katie McGrath is Irish though spent most of her career in English/Welsh shows.
I remember Damien Lewis in his first breakthrough show in the U.K. It was called Warriors and was based on the U.K's peacekeeping force in the Balkans war. That was what led him onto getting the part in Band Of Brothers. And Hugh Laurie was brilliant in Blackadder alongside Stephen Fry and Rowan Atkinson. Comedic guy who also had a show with Fry. They were a great partnership in shows such as The Fry and Laurie Show and more importantly Jeeves and Wooster. You folks across the pond have to check those shows out. I'd also like to add Matthew Rhys who was in Brothers And Sisters. A very passionate Welshman. I could go on and on. Britain is producing some amazing talent these days.
Gillian Anderson was born in the US to American parents. Having lived in the UK for years makes it easier for her to portray British characters, but that doesn't make her British.
@J Ant Do I really need to explain to you that it was only for several years of her life, and that she was born in the US to American parents? What confuses you about that? Based on your claim, if an English couple have a kid in the UK, then move to Japan for several years, the kid automatically becomes Japanese!
@J Ant Let me walk *you* though this, genius. She was born in the US to American parents. You do inherit nationality - everyone who has American parents is automatically entitled to US citizenship at birth. That makes her American. She hasn't given up her US citizenship, nor taken on British citizenship. She didn't have her whole upbringing in England - it was several years, before she & her family moved back to the US. Hopefully, we've made progress.
Hugh Laurie was also was part of the comedic duo "Fry & Laurie" w/Stephen Fry (from Bones and 24). Emma Thompson introduced them to each other when they all went to Cambridge in the 80s. F&L had their own comedy show, A Bit of Fry & Laurie, as well as the series Jeeves & Wooster that was filmed in the 90s. These can be seen on TH-cam.
I loved Shameless (UK original), well at least the beginning seasons. Because of that it always throws me back when I see him appear in a big movie, and can't help but think "It's Steve from Shameless".
@@catherinerobilliard7662 I agree I would rather watch a British comedy than an American one any day No offense to the Americans they have the odd good one here and there
As a Canadian I am always puzzled as to why actors from Canada, the UK and Australia/New Zealand seem to have no problem playing Americans and yet Americans are rarely able to get any of our accents right. I mean we're all Native English speakers.
I have to say one notable exception is Catriona Balfe who plays the "Sassenach" lead in Outlander so well I had no idea she was American till I saw her being interviewed.
" Don't call Christian bale Welsh, he gets angry 😂😂 his parents are English and he grew up in England xx" And over the last few years he's cultivated and astonishing Mockney accent
So funny he's not English his mother is infact Irish and his father was born in south Africa his grandfather was English but grandmother not. so has you see he has actually has no right or legal right to call him self English I'm amazed his mather and father were allowed back into the UK they are not British. He was born in Wales so I'm afraid he Welsh how can he call himself English he wasn't born there neither were his parents. The man is an idiot!
As someone who grew up watching Fry & Laurie and Blackadder, I find it really funny to think that Americans assume Hugh Laurie is from the US. His accent in House must be pretty convincing then? PS: Nice video as always. You guys deserve more subs.
Yep. Blew my mind to find out he was a Brit. I've never heard of Blackladder until now. Because the US TV and movie industry is so huge, it's far easier for a UK actor to blend in playing a Brit, than an American would in the much smaller UK TV and movie industry. Also, British TV shows aren't nearly as popular here in the US as I've heard our shows are in the UK, so Americans don't grow up listening to British accents like Brits do ours. Heck, most Americans can't tell a Brit from an Australian.
@@andrewjones575 I think as most of her well known film credits are in roles where she is playing an american it's safe to assume that a lot of people might be surprised she wasn't an American... when you look at films like Pearl Harbor and Click she was definitely putting on an American accent in those films... later on she obviously felt confident enough to only take roles where she could speak in her native accent
Not a single one mentioned was a surprise. I certainly wouldn't categorize Gillian as British simply because she lived in England for a while., any more than I would categorize Christian Bale as American simply because he lived in the U.S. while his father worked in the U.S. You might have mentioned celebrities such as Bob Hope who was born in England or Elizabeth Taylor who was born in England and didn't move to the U.S. until she was in her teens. McAvoy was in at least a dozen films (including the first Chronicles of Narnia) and was an established Scottish/English actor before he got the role in Wanted. You could have mentioned Andrew Garfield, Andrew Lincoln, Christopher Guest, Laura Frasier, and Jack Huston.
I’m a British Scot, from Edinburgh. However emigrated to the States, in 1963, and became an American in 1969. My accent wasn’t to thick, at that time, after three years in the British Army. Where I met fellow Brits, from all over Britain. We could all understand one another, most of the time. However, many words and phrases that we used in our home towns, weren’t understood in our Barrack room. So over the first few weeks, after much of “ What does that mean?”, we stopped using them. Unless they came from our home areas. Do we adopted more or less the Queen’s English. Our accents were still there, and like most British could tell by an accent, which area they came from. But coming to the States, I had to learn American English, different words or phrases, meaning the same thing. It’s not until I’ve been talking with someone, for a few minutes or more, then they catch my accent. Hollywood has been a haven for British Actors since the Silent era. Many major stars. Obviously in Silent movies, made no difference. Many British actors of today, surprise me, appearing in talk shows. Being themselves and not their character. I know now, if I went home, I’d be taken for aYank. As I was before. Actors often use other accents in the role they play. It does amuse me, how easy it seems for British to talk American, but hard for American actors to do an English accent. Like Dick Van Dyke, in “ Mary Poppins”. But can’t deny he was brilliant in the part. Lol
The first time I saw Renee Zellweger in a film(Bridget Jones Diary) she was "British" so I had no idea she was American until later. Also, Gwyneth Paltrow, in Sliding Doors, was "British" until quite some time later when I thought she was excellent at doing an American accent 😂
A lot of top British actors trained at the Royal Academy for Dramatic Arts (RADA), and one thing taught there is how to "lose" your native accent and speak in a neutral voice. It's far easier to add on a new accent to RADA neutral than to an existing accent. BTW, one actress who I'm always amazed at the real (London) accent of is Star Trek: TNG's Marina Sirtis.
A lot of British actors who especially the public school boy type. Are classically trained stage actors, starting in plays like Shakespeare. When you’re good enough to hold up an entire play as a leading role, and do it night after night, perfectly making no mistakes because it’s live. Those talents can transfer very well to becoming a talented movie actor. Hugh Jackman was reluctant to take the part of Wolverine in X-Men. Because he was a classically trained stage actor and had just started getting lead roles in plays. He only accepted because Patrick Stuart and Sir Ian McKellen were also cast.
insanity wolf Actually, he was raised in Australia and picked up an Australian accent to avoid being picked on by school mates. That's why sometimes he slips into an Australian accent when he speaks - he got so used to an Australian accent that he had to relearn how to speak with an American accent when he started to do films in the US after a career in Australian films (like Galapagos, for example).
Not by birth he isn't. He was born in Peekskill, New York and is a citizen of the US and Ireland, not Australia. He came to Australia when he was 12 but is NOT an Australian citizen. He does however hold Permanent Residency.
Thank you. This already has a thumbs up marked. Did I watch it 5 years ago? Not sure but I always enjoyed your videos. Sometimes I find on videos I haven't seen that there is already a 'thumbs up' so there's nowhere to show my pleasure and approval - except now to tell you. Thanks -and have a wonderful 2024!
Jennifer Lawrence is a Glaswegian, she grew up in Bishop Briggs ... but she wasn't getting any gigs, so she adopted a quirky Kentucky accent [not a very convincing one either]. The rest is history. The USA fell for it, and she's now one of the richest females on planet Earth. Not bad for a young girl surviving a council estate in Glasgow. I tip my hat to that ... great job Jennifer.
On the other hand, Sean Connery was an Iowa farm boy who so loved Andy Stewart he spent his childhood trying to cultivate a Scottish accent, which he then used for all of his roles.
Another good video! I subscribed because, as a millennial Brit, I very much appreciate your family being more traditional (as so many good and old values are being lost or neglected). Could I ask where in the states you used to live, and where in the UK you have moved to? Keep up the brilliant videos! Knowing families like you exist gives me confidence that I can achieve the same in this increasingly 'progressive' society.
Thanks!!! We individually have lived in various places but as a family lived in the D.C. area before moving to the UK. Here in the UK we live on the southern coast. We’re so glad you enjoy our content and values. Keep up the fight!
Brilliant! I too live on the southern coast, just north of Chichester. I hope you've been enjoying the tragic heat we're currently suffering through. I hear it will be like this until august! Look forward to your next video, thank you for your kind reply!
From U.K.: We are often surprised when we see British actors, actually playing Brits in American shows or movies, but with very strange accents. Often its more of a high pitiched Australian. But now we may have the answer. I once watched a local TV chat show, interviewing a recently returned British actor. He said that his accent was considered unacceptable for the role, and so was taught the correct British accent by an American! I volunteer as a tour guide at a historic house. From time to time Tourists ask what country I come from! (I have a slightly deep voice with a Yorkshire accent).
Stephen Graham (Al Capone), Kelly McDonald (Margaret Thompson), and Anatol Yusef (Meyer Lansky), all from Boardwalk Empire. Andrew Lincoln (Rick Grimes) and Samantha Morton (Alpha), both from The Walking Dead.
MoviesNGames007uk Hugh Jackmans English, his mum and dad moved from England in the 1960s, his sisters both live in England... He mentions he's English in lots of interviews. He has a British passport
Scarlett Fox Au contraire, he was born in Sydney. He has dual citizenship but considers himself Australian. Having a passport from your parents birthplace doesn’t make you that nationality. His dad lives in Sydney. My brother living in the uk doesn’t change that I’m Australian
Cincin click on the link 🔗 above and he says he's English. His DNA and ethnicity is English. His mum and dad are both English and only moved to Australia in the 60s...
I watched this video shortly after it was first published but just stumbled on it again today (January 4th 2021) shortly after watching the series "The Affair" on Sky TV. In that the two principle actors, at least in the first four out of five seasons are Dominic West and Ruth Wilson. Both of them had, to my English ear very convincing and consistent American accents and I could believe that Americans might be surprised to learn that they are English. This is especially true of Dominic West who was also prominent in "The Wire" (Baltimore) when his accent was noticeably different from that in "The Affair", New York/Long Island. I'm not qualified to say but it would not surprise me to learn that the two variants of Americans accents were quite accurate.
Idris Elba did not play a cop in The Wire. His character was Stringer Bell, the head kingpin of the drug dealing operation that the police were trying to take down. The lead character in the show, McNulty, was the main cop, also played by a Brit named Dominic West. The politician who cropped up in the third season was played by Aidan Gillen, an Irishman, who also plays "Littlefinger" in Game of Thrones.
James McAvoy's first role was in a British drama comedy series called Shameless. I'm sure you know the American remake, but if you like McAvoy, you should check out the original British version. You won't regret it
You need to explain to Americans that in Britain 'Public schools' mean our top high class boarding schools where rich people go. The exact opposite of the meaning in the USA ;)
@Mark Anthony Wyatt I did some searching, public school and private school are different. both have fees but private is less inclusive than public school. I am from surrey and live near ascot. (uk-education-blog.blogspot.com/2009/02/public-school-private-school-whats.html) to see difference. I went to Pangbourne College, one of those 'posh schools' your talking about ( i really hate the term posh) and from our perspective we called them Private School.
@Mark Anthony Wyatt What are free schools called?
@@fannybuster state schools
Fanny Buster so basically to break it down for you in real easy terms:
1. Private school. Any school run by a private enterprise, which can charge pupils, and generally doesn't care who, or where you come from, as long as you have the money to pay your term fees which runs into the thousands per term. Private schools, are Enterprise, in that they are commercially run for a profit. They can be run by anybody on any scale from small to large. They don't have to be boarding school, although some are.
2. A public school. A public school is differentiated from a state school, bye the fact that a public school is a school not run by the state, but which runs similar curriculums 2 state schools, and uses similar exam systems 2 state schools. They all charge term fees. Many are boarding schools. They usually have entrance exams so that they can keep there results percentages high. The main difference between a public school, and a private school, is that public schools are usually run by governors, and have been in existence for many years, and are usually, but not always, owned by comma and run by, trustees, and have a board of governors just had any state school would. Schools like Eton, and Harrow are famous public schools. They have no funding from the state. So you have to think in terms of, a school just like any other school, that runs itself just like any state school, and open to the public, but charges instead of using state funds to run itself.
There are many similarities to a private school, they just happen to be known as public schools and most people generally know the difference between a private and a public school, even though they are very similar.
3. A state school. A school run, owned, and controlled by local or national government, with state funding, and more Union involvement for teaching, and a more adhered to national curriculum. The board of governors of a state school must answer to the Secretary of State for education.
@@RB747domme Can I just throw in 'Academies' just to liven the conversation?
Christian Bale was a child actor in Empire of the Sun, an amazing film.
Brilliant film
Hugh is one of our most appreciated comedy actors - our comedy would be lost without him. He and Stephen Fry - a duo. Hugh in Blackadder. Wonderful. Obviously he is a consummate actor per se, and I do hope he gets the offers to show us, again, just how good he is.
And in the Jeeves and Wooster series ,based on the books by P.G.Wodehouse.
He played brainless toff Bertie Wooster and Stephen Fry the more intelligent and even intellectual ``gentleman`s gentleman` ,Jeeves.
Kim Cattrall from sex in the city is from Liverpool , Halle Berry's mum is English
Many classic Hollywood actors were British , Cary Grant Stewart Granger Olivia De Havilland Joan Fontaine and Charles Laughton to name a few.
Tim Roth from pulp fiction and Gary Oldman both do convincing American accents.
The dad from Fraiser is British as is Slash from Guns and Roses.
Groove Mistress Or is she a scouser doing a really good American accent?
Just like Halle Berry, Keanu Reeves Mom is English.
Is he... Didn't know that. I do remember being shocked seeing him play an Pro-Nazi American industrialist on Foyle's War, and finding it difficult to get his role as Frasier's Dad out of my head. lol
...Ms Ida Lupino!
Hugh Laurie was even in an episode of Friends with his English accent. He played an Irate passenger, stuck on a plane with Rachel and deciding that it sounded as if her and Ross were indeed on a break..
"Oh no" *fist bite* 🤣
Catherine Zeta Jones if you not know is Welsh.. Alan Rickman was English, Kate Winslet is english
CZJ often states that she's Welsh, so that's well-known.
Jamie Bamber too. Born and raised in England, to an Irish mother and American father, speaking Brit-Eng. But due to his fathers influence, he can pull of the perfect American accent for Battlestar Galactica (2003) where he's one of the leads and other productions where it's needed, and people would be none the wiser for it. He did say that he can hear some slips throughout the pilot episode, the mini-series, of Battlestar but otherwise, it's perfect.
John Barrowman is dual nationality but Scottish by birth. Although he maintains his American accent while living in Britain, when he talks to his parents he reverts straight back to broad Glasgow. Angela Lansbury is also someone who can easily switch back and forth between her original English accent and her acquired American one, although I doubt there is anyone who would not have realised was born in England. Someone for whom the opposite is true though is Zoe Wannamaker. She has since become a British Citizen but is American by birth, though her British accent is entirely genuine
Sarah Baker John barrowmans Scottish accent just sounds put on,same as Alan Cummings
Canadian not American
Aye I've never heard anyone else here talk like that
John Barrowmans scottish accent didnt sound put on to me when he was speaking to his parents. He seemed to lapse into it easily and he sounded just like my ex boyfriend who was from Glasgow. I'm not Scottish so I dont hear the accent everyday, but honestly it sounded real to me.
Marcus Smith, who is Canadian not American?
Marianne Jean -Baptiste, the Black actress from "Without a Trace" blew my mind. Had ZERO idea she was a Brit until I saw her in an off set interview.
Your wife has a great deal of trusting happiness in her smile.
Very complimentary of you both to give so much attention to our shows.
Thanks.
Hugh Laurie as Bertie Wooster is priceless. Dozens of episodes all great stuff.
And Stephen Fry
Charlie Chaplin and Stan Laurel two comedy legends,..
Don't forget Benny Hill, he was huge in America
Bob Hope too,
Andrew Garfield is another of those ambiguous ones too, bon in New York but brought up in London
Bob Hope
Paul Walker Jerry springer & Keifer Sutherland born in London
The last two "Blackadder" series must come as quite a shock to American Hugh Laurie fans, not to mention the hysterical "A Bit of Fry and Laurie".
Captally - or indeed, Jeeves and Wooster.
The character of House is radically different to the roles that Laurie became famous for in the UK - dim-witted, boggle-eyed toffs. Did he go for the House role deliberately, to break the stereotype?
He was a comedian working for BBC comedies. They decided to drop him probably because as you say dim witted boggle eyed toffs was only what they thought he could do. He was playing a small film role in a desert when he auditioned for house, seems like he decided to drop comedy and reinvent himself. IIRC he is still a bit bitter at how quicky the BBC just dropped him completely.
I keep on going back to a sketch on "A Bit of Fry & Laurie" where Hugh is dressed as a woman & Stephen (completely in his own attire & persona) is Oprah Winfrey. Hilarious!
Stephen and Hugh in drag doing the vox pops and Hugh in drag in Blackadder Goes Forth
I was going to say that!
Most of the best actors in the world are British. That's why Hollywood uses them so much.
I know, right?
Also, we don't mind being the villain.
That's a bit of a sweeping statement to say most of the best actors in the world are British and the main reason they go to Hollywood is because that's where it all happens and there's not much of a film industry in Britain.
It could also have something to do with being cheaper to employ
@@gordoncampbell3514 No, it's because British actors are better. They usually have a broader depth of experience, stagecraft, Shakespeare etc than Americans.
I thought you might have included those two American icons Bob Hope and Cary Grant. Bob was born in Eltham London and Cary in Bristol.
Yes but Cary Grant didn't really lose his English accent. What he did was lose his Bristol accent, picked up a south east English accent and then ended up with a mid-Atlantic accent. As for Bob Hope, he left England at a very young age and regarded himself as an American although proud of his English roots.
What about Jerry Springer? He's from London.
Hanniffy Dinn In small doses it can help alleviate ptsd and depression. Although you haven't been able to get good lsd since the mafia took over the industry in the 60's.
Hanniffy Dinn I had some trippy weed a while back. I saw the pattern in everything, the lawn, clouds, speech. It was amazing.
Hanniffy Dinn To the best of my knowledge I've never taken it before.
Gillian Anderson now lives back here in England i believe and has tackled some of the biggest period dramas for the BBC over the last few years including some of the great Dickens classics. Christian Bale first same to fame as a child actor in an amazing Speilberg film called Empire of the Sun, which i really recommend
As was Cary Grant,Ray Milland, Debora Kerr,Jean Simmons, & Boris Karloff etc etc.
Deborah Kerr was Scottish
Still British
@@Mike-ol7gt True, don't know why I said that.
Charlie chaplin, stan laurel.
Bob Hope
Dominic West, also from the Wire (he actually was a cop, unlike Idris who was a drug dealer, 😏). Jamie Bamber in Battlestar Galactica. You should see if you can do the reverse, actors who play English but are actually Yanks. There’s not so much call for that, but I can think of a few.
Kristina Winter blades or owls?
I was convinced that James Marsters (Spike) was a Brit who'd picked up a bit of an American accent.
Dominic West also went to Eton.
what about Andrew Lincoln 'Rick Grimes'' from the walking dead
And lenny james
And Jesus.
Peter D i didnt know jesus was english aswell. I know maggie is born in america but lived for years in england
Simon Ingram, Yes he was born in Essex and grew up in Somerset.
Yes Jesus was of course English. A very upper class gentleman. That’s how he got his peerage.
Delroy Lindo from gone in 60 seconds is a Londoner so that film has at least 3 British stars in it.
How could anybody think Hugh Laurie & Idris Elba were anything other than British.
Andrew Law Are you stupid, because in America they play American roles, so how could Americans know the're English if they use American accents.
JenkinsJenkins Jenkins But their voices are clearly British, that tends to give it away.
I agree with Andrew, I realise that this is a sweeping generalisation, but they aren’t always wrong and doesn’t seem like it is in this case... Americans seem to be all together a little too self involved to realise what is going on in places other than their own.
I knew all on this list. No surprises.
To be fair, Hugh's accent in House sounded to me (a Londoner) like a bad fake american accent, probably because I do know how he really sounds. Always shocked that he passed as american to them.
I watched the whole of the Wire before I found out Idris Elba was British, and Dominic West for that matter
In the late fifties, some of my apprentice mates went over to Hollywood and were talking to some people, who asked where they were from and when they said "Britain" These people said that some British had come over to try and make it in films, but did not get anywhere. When my mates said a whole list of names of famous actors, these people were dumbfounded and had not known the country of origin of their most popular stars.
Great story!
The one actor that immediately comes to mind is Anthony Hopkins. His role as Nixon was truly amazing.
Don't forget Dominic West in the Wire who plays Jimmy Mcnulty he's also British to.Born in Sheffield.
For the British side of Hugh Laurie, watch some of the old Black Adder series. Includes Stephen Fry and Rowan Atkinson (Mr Bean) also Tony Robinson as Baldrick.
it's Blackadder a British name.
lol say the name right twat
pfeh. Watch Jeeves and Wooster. You'll never think he is doing a genuine accent in House after that.
"I have a cunning plan....." classic!!!! One of the best Comedies of all time!!! Never gets old!!!
The first series was called The Black Adder.
Don't forget, Spider Man is English (Tom Holland) & Superman (Henry Cavill)
John Cole the previous spiderman Andrew Garfield is also British.
Andrew Garfield was actually born in the U.S. to an English Mother and American Father but was raised in the U.K. so he's very Anglo-American. I live in the town Tom Holland is from (Kingston Upon Thames) and it's a really short distance from where Andrew Garfield grew up (the Ashtead/Banstead/Epsom area). So the last two Spider-Men are basically Surrey boys (which is kinda weird)!
Henry Cavill started in an episode of Midsomer Murders 😂
David Harewood, Martian Manhunter on Supergirl is also British, Lena Luthor Katie McGrath is Irish though spent most of her career in English/Welsh shows.
Dude, Superman is an extraterrestrial.
I remember Damien Lewis in his first breakthrough show in the U.K. It was called Warriors and was based on the U.K's peacekeeping force in the Balkans war. That was what led him onto getting the part in Band Of Brothers. And Hugh Laurie was brilliant in Blackadder alongside Stephen Fry and Rowan Atkinson. Comedic guy who also had a show with Fry. They were a great partnership in shows such as The Fry and Laurie Show and more importantly Jeeves and Wooster. You folks across the pond have to check those shows out. I'd also like to add Matthew Rhys who was in Brothers And Sisters. A very passionate Welshman. I could go on and on. Britain is producing some amazing talent these days.
I thought Band of Brothers was magnificent and really showed exactly how war is. Damian Lewis was just brilliant.
BoB had so many brits in it - including james mcavoy, michael fassbender, simon pegg, dexter fletcher, etc
Gillian Anderson was born in the US to American parents. Having lived in the UK for years makes it easier for her to portray British characters, but that doesn't make her British.
@J Ant She merely lived in the UK for several years. That doesn't make her British.
@J Ant Do I really need to explain to you that it was only for several years of her life, and that she was born in the US to American parents? What confuses you about that? Based on your claim, if an English couple have a kid in the UK, then move to Japan for several years, the kid automatically becomes Japanese!
@J Ant Let me walk *you* though this, genius. She was born in the US to American parents. You do inherit nationality - everyone who has American parents is automatically entitled to US citizenship at birth. That makes her American. She hasn't given up her US citizenship, nor taken on British citizenship. She didn't have her whole upbringing in England - it was several years, before she & her family moved back to the US. Hopefully, we've made progress.
Band of Brothers is full of Brits
Saying Idris was a detective on The Wire and then saying you’re from Baltimore nearly made me crawl under my desk and scream.
LMAO.
Gary Oldman is another actor who is amazing at US accents (he does a different accent in every movie he stars in).
Love gary in harry potter and his darkest hour .
Hugh Laurie was also was part of the comedic duo "Fry & Laurie" w/Stephen Fry (from Bones and 24). Emma Thompson introduced them to each other when they all went to Cambridge in the 80s. F&L had their own comedy show, A Bit of Fry & Laurie, as well as the series Jeeves & Wooster that was filmed in the 90s. These can be seen on TH-cam.
Idris Elba played Stringer Bell in The Wire, a key player in the local West Baltimore drug cartel - not one of the cops....!
The star cop in The Wire was Dominic West who is also British; maybe that is where their confusion lies!
James macavoy appeared in two great English shows shameless and early doors.
I loved Shameless (UK original), well at least the beginning seasons.
Because of that it always throws me back when I see him appear in a big movie, and can't help but think "It's Steve from Shameless".
I love the reference to him in seris 2 of Early Doors where they say he was shameless
pts1971- He did indeed! Early Doors is so under appreiciated, it was comic genius! "Do you like circuses,Tommy?"lOLOLOL!
I see they've put temporary traffic lights over at Samuel St.
And I have to go back on meself....
Damian Lewis surprised me after I heard him during an interview while promoting the second season of Homeland, and I'm British.
You didn't see the Forsyte Saga, which he was in after BoB and before Homeland? Brilliant show.
Kim catrall is from Liverpool UK.the old man from frasier is from northern england
Blackpool
So is Mike Myers
Paul Gallacher she’s from mossley hill Liverpool
On Fraisier, John Mahoney as Fraisier's dad, couldn't say Wednesday and sound American, so the script change the day to Toosday
What must Americans have thought when they saw Hugh Laurie in re-runs of Jeeves and Wooster?
I've heard of neither. British TV shows don't get played in the US like American shows get played in the UK.
@@careyconley4690 th-cam.com/video/JQ_R8QBeYvs/w-d-xo.html
Jeeves and Wooster is One of my all-time favourites
@@michaelkiddle3149 Americans are missing so much
@@catherinerobilliard7662 I agree
I would rather watch a British comedy than an American one any day
No offense to the Americans they have the odd good one here and there
And Dame Angela Lansbury, she's always a shock. I always thought that she was American.
Did you see Matt LeBlanc riffing on this in Episodes? "you guys come over here and get all the top jobs. It's like some kind of fricking magic trick!"
As a Canadian I am always puzzled as to why actors from Canada, the UK and Australia/New Zealand seem to have no problem playing Americans and yet Americans are rarely able to get any of our accents right. I mean we're all Native English speakers.
I have to say one notable exception is Catriona Balfe who plays the "Sassenach" lead in Outlander so well I had no idea she was American till I saw her being interviewed.
@@grahamkey8496 Except she is Irish- not actually American.
AMERICANS ACTORS CAN GET YOUR ACCENTS , IT IS JUST THAT WE DONT HAVE TO BECAUSE YOU PEOPLE COME TO ACT IN AMERICAN MEDIA NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND
Don't call Christian bale Welsh, he gets angry 😂😂 his parents are English and he grew up in England xx
Scarlett Fox and he's a knob
Mixed up with Gareth Bale from Cardiff, no doubt.
" Don't call Christian bale Welsh, he gets angry 😂😂 his parents are English and he grew up in England xx"
And over the last few years he's cultivated and astonishing Mockney accent
Dont ask Christian to call his sister up, he gets angry at that also
So funny he's not English his mother is infact Irish and his father was born in south Africa his grandfather was English but grandmother not. so has you see he has actually has no right or legal right to call him self English I'm amazed his mather and father were allowed back into the UK they are not British. He was born in Wales so I'm afraid he Welsh how can he call himself English he wasn't born there neither were his parents. The man is an idiot!
As someone who grew up watching Fry & Laurie and Blackadder, I find it really funny to think that Americans assume Hugh Laurie is from the US. His accent in House must be pretty convincing then?
PS: Nice video as always. You guys deserve more subs.
Yep. Blew my mind to find out he was a Brit. I've never heard of Blackladder until now. Because the US TV and movie industry is so huge, it's far easier for a UK actor to blend in playing a Brit, than an American would in the much smaller UK TV and movie industry. Also, British TV shows aren't nearly as popular here in the US as I've heard our shows are in the UK, so Americans don't grow up listening to British accents like Brits do ours. Heck, most Americans can't tell a Brit from an Australian.
Hugh Laurie was Prince Regent in Blackadder The Third
And George in the fourth.
The one I see missed here in the video and comments is one of the most beautiful actresses of recent years Kate Beckinsale.
Do many people wrongly assume she's American?
@@andrewjones575 I think as most of her well known film credits are in roles where she is playing an american it's safe to assume that a lot of people might be surprised she wasn't an American... when you look at films like Pearl Harbor and Click she was definitely putting on an American accent in those films... later on she obviously felt confident enough to only take roles where she could speak in her native accent
Not a single one mentioned was a surprise. I certainly wouldn't categorize Gillian as British simply because she lived in England for a while., any more than I would categorize Christian Bale as American simply because he lived in the U.S. while his father worked in the U.S.
You might have mentioned celebrities such as Bob Hope who was born in England or Elizabeth Taylor who was born in England and didn't move to the U.S. until she was in her teens. McAvoy was in at least a dozen films (including the first Chronicles of Narnia) and was an established Scottish/English actor before he got the role in Wanted.
You could have mentioned Andrew Garfield, Andrew Lincoln, Christopher Guest, Laura Frasier, and Jack Huston.
The first 12 years of your life yea I would.
I’m a British Scot, from Edinburgh. However emigrated to the States, in 1963, and became an American in 1969.
My accent wasn’t to thick, at that time, after three years in the British Army.
Where I met fellow Brits, from all over Britain. We could all understand one another, most of the time.
However, many words and phrases that we used in our home towns, weren’t understood in our Barrack room.
So over the first few weeks, after much of “ What does that mean?”, we stopped using them. Unless they came from our home areas.
Do we adopted more or less the Queen’s English.
Our accents were still there, and like most British could tell by an accent, which area they came from.
But coming to the States, I had to learn American English, different words or phrases, meaning the same thing.
It’s not until I’ve been talking with someone, for a few minutes or more, then they catch my accent.
Hollywood has been a haven for British Actors since the Silent era. Many major stars. Obviously in Silent movies, made no difference.
Many British actors of today, surprise me, appearing in talk shows. Being themselves and not their character.
I know now, if I went home, I’d be taken for aYank. As I was before.
Actors often use other accents in the role they play.
It does amuse me, how easy it seems for British to talk American, but hard for American actors to do an English accent.
Like Dick Van Dyke, in “ Mary Poppins”. But can’t deny he was brilliant in the part. Lol
I know it's the other way around. But have you seen Safe on Netflix? Michael C Hall is quite convincing as an Englishman.
As a Brit myself I was shocked to discover that Bale was Welsh - his accent is so broad!
Not really Welsh... he was born in Wales, but has English parents.
Dominic West from the Wire is also British. Most of the Band of Brothers cast is British as well.
Band of Brothers even has Simon Pegg in there briefly!
Irish ☘️
Mischa Barton (english father, irish mother), she became a naturalised US citizen when her parents emigrated to New York when she was aged 4
James Mcavoy? Isn’t he British in most things? Also Hugh Laurie is one of the most British people ever invented 😂
Empire of the sun is one of my favourite films with Christian Bale in it. Not many people realise how it is
Rajesh from The Big Bang Theory was born in London.
And in the latest series of Criminal, brilliant!
Charlie Hunnam known for sons of anarchy,Andrew Lincoln the walkin dead
As an Englishman- loving your views on our country and culture :-)
Thanks!!
The first time I saw Renee Zellweger in a film(Bridget Jones Diary) she was "British" so I had no idea she was American until later. Also, Gwyneth Paltrow, in Sliding Doors, was "British" until quite some time later when I thought she was excellent at doing an American accent 😂
Re Idris Elba - Stringer Bell wasn't a cop/detective, quite the opposite really. :)
Well, he did launder some of the drugs money into property, which means that he was a legit businessman, lol.
And Dominic West, who played the cop, is also British.
A lot of top British actors trained at the Royal Academy for Dramatic Arts (RADA), and one thing taught there is how to "lose" your native accent and speak in a neutral voice. It's far easier to add on a new accent to RADA neutral than to an existing accent. BTW, one actress who I'm always amazed at the real (London) accent of is Star Trek: TNG's Marina Sirtis.
Also Dame Angela Lansbury (Jessica Fletcher)
Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor, Peter O’Toole, David Niven, Liam Neeson, Glynis Johns, Jane Leeves
I was expecting Gary Oldman on there tbh.
I'm English and I was shocked at how many British and Irish actors were in Preacher, which I loved!
Idris Elba played a drug dealer not a cop in The Wire.
A lot of British actors who especially the public school boy type. Are classically trained stage actors, starting in plays like Shakespeare.
When you’re good enough to hold up an entire play as a leading role, and do it night after night, perfectly making no mistakes because it’s live. Those talents can transfer very well to becoming a talented movie actor.
Hugh Jackman was reluctant to take the part of Wolverine in X-Men. Because he was a classically trained stage actor and had just started getting lead roles in plays. He only accepted because Patrick Stuart and Sir Ian McKellen were also cast.
I know he's not British...but Mel Gibson is American not Australian...born in new York I think..
insanity wolf Actually, he was raised in Australia and picked up an Australian accent to avoid being picked on by school mates. That's why sometimes he slips into an Australian accent when he speaks - he got so used to an Australian accent that he had to relearn how to speak with an American accent when he started to do films in the US after a career in Australian films (like Galapagos, for example).
Mel Gibson is Australian
curleman he a anglophob if its English he hates it!
Not by birth he isn't. He was born in Peekskill, New York and is a citizen of the US and Ireland, not Australia. He came to Australia when he was 12 but is NOT an Australian citizen. He does however hold Permanent Residency.
His Australian Grandmother ( could be great grandmother) who was an opera singer who went to US for work and stayed.
Thank you. This already has a thumbs up marked. Did I watch it 5 years ago? Not sure but I always enjoyed your videos. Sometimes I find on videos I haven't seen that there is already a 'thumbs up' so there's nowhere to show my pleasure and approval - except now to tell you. Thanks -and have a wonderful 2024!
Officer Dibble from Topcat was Irish
FlipFlopCamper Irish isn't British
@Jim Thank fuq
Roberto d'Aggis definitely
Jim The tim, I think you may have misunderstood the thrust of my (British) comment :-\
Roberto d'Aggis maybe
Marina Sirtis, Counselor Troi from Star Trek, was born in north London and has a very obvious accent when speaking in her natural voice.
You forgot Tom Hanks - 100% from Wigan.
is that a joke ? he was born in concord cali
Tom Cruise was born in Clacton.
Bruce Willis? Stoke on Trent.
Jennifer Lawrence is a Glaswegian, she grew up in Bishop Briggs ... but she wasn't getting any gigs, so she adopted a quirky Kentucky accent [not a very convincing one either].
The rest is history. The USA fell for it, and she's now one of the richest females on planet Earth.
Not bad for a young girl surviving a council estate in Glasgow.
I tip my hat to that ... great job Jennifer.
On the other hand, Sean Connery was an Iowa farm boy who so loved Andy Stewart he spent his childhood trying to cultivate a Scottish accent, which he then used for all of his roles.
Matthew Rhys, lead actor of 'The Americans' Tv series is British (Welsh)
Another good video! I subscribed because, as a millennial Brit, I very much appreciate your family being more traditional (as so many good and old values are being lost or neglected). Could I ask where in the states you used to live, and where in the UK you have moved to? Keep up the brilliant videos! Knowing families like you exist gives me confidence that I can achieve the same in this increasingly 'progressive' society.
Thanks!!! We individually have lived in various places but as a family lived in the D.C. area before moving to the UK. Here in the UK we live on the southern coast. We’re so glad you enjoy our content and values. Keep up the fight!
Brilliant! I too live on the southern coast, just north of Chichester. I hope you've been enjoying the tragic heat we're currently suffering through. I hear it will be like this until august! Look forward to your next video, thank you for your kind reply!
We’re currently holidaying in the US and temps are in the 30s. Awful!
Is that Fahrenheit or centigrade? If it's Fahrenheit I'll swap, now immediately! ;-)
I think it's Centigrade. They also said 'holidaying' which leads me to think they have very effectively tailored their mindset to one of a Briton!
Kate Beckinsale, daughter of comedy genius Richard Beckinsale.
Freddie Highmore (Bates motel, Good doctor)
Cary Grant, also Bob hope ,two big legends.
We need more American people, like you two to come and live here. 👍🇬🇧🇺🇸
From U.K.: We are often surprised when we see British actors, actually playing Brits in American shows or movies, but with very strange accents. Often its more of a high pitiched Australian. But now we may have the answer. I once watched a local TV chat show, interviewing a recently returned British actor. He said that his accent was considered unacceptable for the role, and so was taught the correct British accent by an American! I volunteer as a tour guide at a historic house. From time to time Tourists ask what country I come from! (I have a slightly deep voice with a Yorkshire accent).
Eee-dris Elba? Idris is pronounced Idd-riss no eeee sounds at all.
Luther
Dominic West from the Wire is British also, almost half of the cast was from Britain in that!
Let's not forget Andrew Lincoln in The Walking Dead.
Yes, I was really surprised they didn't mention him.
or David Morrissey "the Governor" from the walking dead also.
Kim Cattrall was born in Liverpool England and her parents emigrated to Canada when she was a baby.
Alicia Silverstone, Delroy Lindo (born in Brixton), John Mahoney (Frasiers Dad) and Keifer Sutherland...
Gareth Milliams Keifer Sutherland is Canadian, like his father Donald.
SvenTviking Kiefer Sutherland was born in Paddington in London so could claim a British Passport if he wanted to do so.
And Jerry Springer
I am glad that you mentioned Delroy Lindo as he does indeed come from London , as do about 90 % of all British black actors.
Keifer Sutherland is a COCKNEY by birth as he was born in the hospital within the sound of the Bow Bells !!!
Hugh Laurie is my favourite Bertie Wooster. Check out Hugh in New Orleans singing R&B and playing piano with New Orleans musicians.
Find Gillian Anderson in the BBC's Bleak House... magnificent.
And The Fall with Jamie Dornan
Loved Bleak house and Gillian Anderson was amazing !
Stephen Graham (Al Capone), Kelly McDonald (Margaret Thompson), and Anatol Yusef (Meyer Lansky), all from Boardwalk Empire. Andrew Lincoln (Rick Grimes) and Samantha Morton (Alpha), both from The Walking Dead.
He played a drug dealer in the wire, not a detective👍
Most Americans I know are surprised to discover Idris Elba is British also 😂❤️
And there was Charlie Chaplin.
Sir Charles Chaplin (yes he was actually knighted)
Born one mile from me and Michael Caine.
How far do you take this? Many Americans were born elsewhere. Archie Leach (Cary Grant) from Bristol, Kirk Douglas was born in Russia, etc, etc......
We could take it a little further.
Peter West was born near The Elephant and Castle, South-East London.....
Yes, but Charlie Chaplin didn't need an accent for most of his on-screen career.
As an English person. I'm surprised people thought they were American- especially Hugh Laurie!! Brilliant English comedian.
Try watching Gillian Anderson in the series 'Bleak House', (by Charles Dickens)
well Gilliam Anderson, If she is prude then she is American, if she isnt then she is British
I am sure not many still know Margot Robbie and Hugh Jackman are Australian. Because they do very good convincing American accents.
MoviesNGames007uk Hugh Jackmans English, his mum and dad moved from England in the 1960s, his sisters both live in England... He mentions he's English in lots of interviews. He has a British passport
th-cam.com/video/Ub53c95Soqk/w-d-xo.html
Scarlett Fox Au contraire, he was born in Sydney. He has dual citizenship but considers himself Australian. Having a passport from your parents birthplace doesn’t make you that nationality. His dad lives in Sydney. My brother living in the uk doesn’t change that I’m Australian
Cincin click on the link 🔗 above and he says he's English. His DNA and ethnicity is English. His mum and dad are both English and only moved to Australia in the 60s...
MoviesNGames007uk We know. Trust me, ozzies make sure we know.
I don't know how you can get these wrong. The accent difference is so clear.
Hugh laurie was in comedy in his younger years
You don't say?
I watched this video shortly after it was first published but just stumbled on it again today (January 4th 2021) shortly after watching the series "The Affair" on Sky TV. In that the two principle actors, at least in the first four out of five seasons are Dominic West and Ruth Wilson. Both of them had, to my English ear very convincing and consistent American accents and I could believe that Americans might be surprised to learn that they are English. This is especially true of Dominic West who was also prominent in "The Wire" (Baltimore) when his accent was noticeably different from that in "The Affair", New York/Long Island. I'm not qualified to say but it would not surprise me to learn that the two variants of Americans accents were quite accurate.
Why does Christian Bale sound like a Londoner?
He spent a lot of time in Surrey when he was younger. He does sound like Michael Caine a bit.
He grew up primarily in Surrey and Dorset and has Londoner parents
Cincin I thought they said he’s Welsh
YangSing1 nope, people say he’s welsh
Cincin Welsh sorry, but that still makes things confusing
Idris Elba did not play a cop in The Wire. His character was Stringer Bell, the head kingpin of the drug dealing operation that the police were trying to take down. The lead character in the show, McNulty, was the main cop, also played by a Brit named Dominic West. The politician who cropped up in the third season was played by Aidan Gillen, an Irishman, who also plays "Littlefinger" in Game of Thrones.
I like your channel! 😊👍👋
What a great family! 👨👩👧👦
Sam Worthington from Terminator, Avatar etc. Born in Godalming, Surrey but lives in Australia, met him as he's my mates cousin.
Random fact Winston Churchill was half American.
So is Boris Johnson I believe.
I believe he was born in American to British Parents,where as Churchill's Mother was American.
Worse fact - Donald Trump is half British - his mother was Scottish.
But originally all Americans (Not native americans)we're english
@@jeffwalker7185 Obama's mother was white.......not that the first 'black' President mentioned his maternal heritage much.
James McAvoy's first role was in a British drama comedy series called Shameless. I'm sure you know the American remake, but if you like McAvoy, you should check out the original British version. You won't regret it