Damian Lewis absolutely fooled me, I still can’t get over how impressive his American persona was. I couldn’t believe he was a Brit after watching Homeland. I’d never seen him in anything else beforehand. I’d say he was the most impressive out of all of those featured, and he wasn’t featured 😂
Cary Elwes has tricked Americans into thinking he was American born and bred. His American accents include ‘Twister’, ‘Saw’, ‘Kiss The Girls’, ‘Stranger Things’
Omg yes. I believe the first movie I saw him in was “Hot Shots!” when I was a kid and caught him in subsequent movies after that. Saw him in an interview later on and thought: “Is he playing an Englishman in his next movie?! What’s with the English accent?!” I researched this because I was blown away by how fooled I was and he went to an American university and practiced his American accent while surrounded by Americans for years.
One British actor who had me completely fooled was John Mahoney who played Martin Crane in the long running American sitcom Frasier. The first time I heard him talking during an interview I was completely blown away.
Florence Pugh deserves an honourable mention as well, since she's British, but usually plays Americans, with her accent being extremely convincing, and never slipping. When not being an American, she's a Russian as Yelena in the MCU.
If I hadn't heard Hugh Laurie's natural accent in "Friends" and in interviews, then I'd have assumed that he was American, though he's gotten better since "Stuart Little."
In fact he became famous playing the quintessential upper class Brit. By famous, I mean outside the US. The first time I saw him in House was a bit weird, and completely unlike any other character I had seen him play.
You missed David Morrissey as the Governor in Walking Dead doing a southern American accent. When I first saw him, I assumed he was American and did not realize he's from Liverpool. Another British actor who did a very convincing American accent was Daniel Kaluuya in Get Out.
Dialects are tough. I've worked as an actor for most of my life, and though I have a western American accent, I've taken on characters from other places. It is difficult. Hugh Laurie certainly had the right approach with listening and practice. Practice. Practice. I coach other actors on their dialects, but the most difficult thing is carrying on a believable accent in your own native language. One thing I do is to basically do an impersonation of someone I know from that region. I can do a Welsh accent because I have spent time there, but also because I imitate my friend when I do it, so rather than actually putting on a dialect, I'm imitating someone I know.
Unlike this list, Gillian Anderson is an American and does have an American accent. She only lived in London as a child so developed both an American and English accent. She code switches between them.
@@kimcallaghan3404 I can't confirm anything about her citizenship beyond American. From what I understand, she's just an English Resident (the first step towards citizenship).Only thing I know is that she was spotted stepping out of the office that processes citizenships and visas. She is however Bidilectual. She has two accents. and can't control which she speaks.
@@LilyStarstrider Soon after her birth, her parents moved to Puerto Rico for 15 months before relocating to London so her father could attend the London Film School.[7] She lived in Crouch End and Harringay,[8] and attended Coleridge Primary School.[9] When she was 11 years old, her family returned to the U.S. and settled in Grand Rapids, Michigan
I think there should have been a mentioned section in this where they could have included Kunal Nayyar who played Raj koothrappali in the Big Bang Theory, Kunal Nayyar was born in Hammersmith to his Indian family although he’s more famous for his Indian accent he still fooled America
British actress Nicola Bryant's American accent was so good that she fooled the producers for classic "Doctor Who" by maintaining the accent before, during and after her audition! (She played one of the Doctor's companions).
When Doctor actor Colin Baker asked her and her husband to dinner, she felt she couldn’t lie to him and his wife in their own home so he was the only one on set who did know. Nicola’s husband at the time was from California.
As an American this video should’ve been longer since there is way more actors who have fooled me into thinking that they are American when in reality they are British
Conversely, the American and British audiences were shocked to find out Robin Wright of "The Princess Bride" was not British despite a very believable English accent.
On "The Good Doctor," Freddie Highmore fooled me at first with his amazing American accent, but then I realized who he was from his childhood acting days. Still, I was delighted and fascinated when I heard him in an interview with his real-life British accent. But what really astounded me was when I saw an interview with fellow British cast member Antonia Thomas. My jaw was on the floor. I was simply flabbergasted that she was not American. Her accent is impeccable.
They could have knocked me over with a feather when I found out Dominic West was not only a Brit but a posh one. I only found out when he played in Downton Abbey.
@@margaretlouise6200 Watch him in Responsible Adult where he plays real-life West Country, intellectually challenged serial killer Fred West. It seems like such an unlikely role for him yet he does it brilliantly.
Y'know... I was so dang mad to find out the Irish American Balimer Cop Jimmy McNulty was not one of us... I saw he played in some show and he played the feller who is now the king of England.... how can that be!
@@julben27 I’m an elderly British bloke. In my day I played Rugby Football (usually known as Rugby or 'Rugger') and Association Football (usually known as Soccer). These days, Rugby is rarely referred to as 'football', enabling the round ball game to have exclusive use of the term. The name 'soccer' - derived from 'Association' - began to disappear in the UK in the last quarter of the 20th century. It’s still in use in the USA because 'Football' is recognised as a very different game.
Like to see an opposite list. American actors doing different GB accents well. And i knew Hugh Laurie from British roles. Took some getting use to seeïng him as House. But he nailed it.
Hugh Laurie sent in his audition for House while on Location filming the remake of Flight of the Phoenix. He shot it in the bathroom of his hotel room because it was the only room with enough light. When He came to LA the Producers did not know he was British his American accent was so good.
If I hadn’t seen Robert Pattinson in HPtGoF, I would have thought he was some new American actor in Twilight. And his Queens accent in Good Time? Amazing.
True. I have watched "The Gentlemen" recently and I was shocked to discover that he's British. I had seen all 7 seasons of Sons Of Anarchy and never had any doubt he was American.
I'd have to commend Stephen Graham, as an excellent actor, but also for his grasp of various accents. He's from Lancashire, but played a convincing cockney in Snatch. Furthermore his role as Al Capone in Boardwalk Empire would have anybody fooled.
Jamie Bamber (Lee Adama in the 2000s version of Battlestar Galactica), was born in London to an American father and Northern Irish mother, and raised mainly in parts of Great Britain. He had an American accent for BSG and fooled people. Though he says that he, himself, can hear the Brirish accent bleed through at some points during the BSG (pilot) miniseries.
BTW, I recommend a film starring Garfield (and Claire Foy) titled “Breathe.” It’s a biopic about disability rights activist Robin Cavendish, who contracted polio right after moving to Kenya in 1958 in his 20s with his new (and pregnant) wife, and was permanently paralyzed from the neck down and confined to a respirator. It was the first time I saw Garfield in anything, so I never thought of him as *not* English. Kinda the same thing with Idris Elba - I never watched The Wire, but I did watch Luther. (And the first time I saw Hugh Laurie was in Blackadder, so…🤷🏻)
You are right about the southern accent being hard to do. Most American actors can't do it well either. Timothy Olyphant in Justified did it really well.
@@donaldanderson6604 Yep, I grew up watching those old Crosby / Hope films and believed he was as American as John Wayne. Sometimes its what they say, the way they are as well as the accent.
Stephen Graham was fantastic in the Irishman. I wonder if Americans agree. Switching it around, the first time I saw Adrien Brody was in The Pianist and thought he was British.
Young and upcoming addition---Oliver Stark. Whenever I show someone an interview clip of him after we've watched 9-1-1, they are blown away by his accent.
The funny thing about Hugh Laurie is that even though I saw Blackadder and A Bit of Fry & Laurie long before I saw House, after seeing him in House I'm always slightly taken aback when I hear him talking with his native accent in interviews and the like. And while it's not exactly an English accent (I want to say it was New Zealand), hearing Bob Hoskins' native accent for the first time was shocking.
Totally missed Mark Addy! He was so good with his American accent in Still Standing that I was floored back then to find out he's actually British (I was quite late to see the movie A Knight's Tale!) Love his acting, so incredibly funny as Bill Miller!!!
You missed Tom Hardy, as in 2011's "Warrior". He made me (an American) think that they found him in a gym in Southie (Boston). Like, they wanted an authentic actor for the role, so they went around to gyms in the rough parts of Boston saying "hey, anyone want to try their hand at acting?"
Hugh Laurie was in the live action version of “101 Dalmatians”. My son and I first saw him in the BBC series “Jeeves and Wooster” along with Stephen Fry.
I think Eamonn Walker does a good job in Chicago Fire. I was surprised to find that he's from the UK. I watch a lot of UK television and I've heard a lot of really really bad American accents, just totally unbelievable and also antiquated. So when someone nails it, I'm impressed. I'd love to hear them try some Canadian accents too. Actors (and people in general) usually think American and Canadian accents (and vocabulary) are identical, but they're not.
Linus Roache performed with a convincing American accent in Batman Begins and Law and Order. Not only is he English, but he's also the son of the legendary Corrie star William Roache. Blow my mind when I discovered this.
Grant didnt hide his heritage. He always admitted he was from Bristol amd travelled there often. In those days where one was from just didnt matter in Hollywood and Broadway. Grant adopted the mid-atlantic accent to gain access to roles and work.
Agreed! I was stunned when I noticed a young Jamie in the ITV production of "Horatio Hornblower." I thought to myself: "He's affecting a very good British accent." But then I thought, "Why would the Brits hire a young American for this role (which, I learned later, was his first on-screen roll). Shocked to learn he was English, London born. He was also one of several Brits who played American soldiers in "Band of Brothers" (Along with the aforementioned Damian Lewis - who else was surprised at Damian Lewis as Henry VIII in Wolf Hall?"). I can think of no better testament to an actor's lingual abilities than this.
Damian Lewis absolutely fooled me, I still can’t get over how impressive his American persona was. I couldn’t believe he was a Brit after watching Homeland. I’d never seen him in anything else beforehand. I’d say he was the most impressive out of all of those featured, and he wasn’t featured 😂
I totally thought Garfield was American for so long 🤣🤣 The rest i knew were English. Edit: I did not know Cary Grant was English, especially from the West country 🤣🤣
One actor who comes to mind who absolutely _nailed_ a US accent _isn’t_ British-she’s Australian Frances O'Connor whose pitch-perfect American accent as Rose Selfridge in the TV drama _Mr Selfridge_ had me (an American) convinced she was a Yank till long after I had watched the series.
@@thomaskilroy4573 I was going to say that as a Southerner from Alabama, I think British actors usually do the Southern accents better than non-Southern Americans.
@@lilykitty111 We mostly do, that’s because of the fact that both of us do things like not having rhotic ‘R’s like non-southern Americans do and making highly similar shapes with the mouths due to our ways of speaking that mean it’s far easier for Brits to do Southern American accents than it is for non-Americans since they basically have to learn a new way of moving their mouths unlike us. We have far more mutual similarities in our vocal patterns. Even American Presidents like Washington and Jefferson from the South spoke in accents nearly identical to English West Country accents like Farmers and Pirates instead of generalised stereotypical “Accentless American” they usually get given in films and tv.
Kate Winslet's character in Steve Jobs was probably a bad example. Joanna Hoffman moved to the US as a teenager so has a Polish accent. Certainly at the time of the events of the movie she had a very strong Polish accent when she spoke English.
The first time I watched House, Hugh Laurie's accent bothered me. It was not because it was a bad accent, but I was so used to his natural British one - Blackadder is one of my all-time favorite TV shows.
Freddie Highmore as Dr. Shaun Murphy in "The Good Doctor" was not only brilliant for his American accent but for his amazing portrayal of an autistic person. I already knew Henry Cavill was a Brit from his early 2000s role as a bully in "Midsomer Murders."
Which one had you fooled?
10 Inappropriate Newsreader Moments
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Damian Lewis in Band of Brothers along with many other GB actors did excellent American accents.
Yes, a lot of Brits in Band of Brothers including Tom Hardy and Stephen Graham. Damian Lewis also nailed it in Homeland.
And in the series Life
He was in Billions, too. I thought he was from Massachusetts because of his New England accent.
Damian Lewis absolutely fooled me, I still can’t get over how impressive his American persona was. I couldn’t believe he was a Brit after watching Homeland. I’d never seen him in anything else beforehand. I’d say he was the most impressive out of all of those featured, and he wasn’t featured 😂
Hugh Laurie is definitely the most impressive person on this list.
Did you know he's also a brilliant singer of blues-ish songs. He's very good.
Cary Elwes has tricked Americans into thinking he was American born and bred.
His American accents include ‘Twister’, ‘Saw’, ‘Kiss The Girls’, ‘Stranger Things’
And one of my favorites, Glory.
Omg yes. I believe the first movie I saw him in was “Hot Shots!” when I was a kid and caught him in subsequent movies after that.
Saw him in an interview later on and thought: “Is he playing an Englishman in his next movie?! What’s with the English accent?!”
I researched this because I was blown away by how fooled I was and he went to an American university and practiced his American accent while surrounded by Americans for years.
One British actor who had me completely fooled was John Mahoney who played Martin Crane in the long running American sitcom Frasier. The first time I heard him talking during an interview I was completely blown away.
Yes! I didn’t know it until after he died, and NPR played an old interview with him.
Yep. How could he be anything but a good old grumpy American dad?
I just found out now!
Yes! He got me!!! That show FRASIER was so funny😂
How could you miss Gary Oldman and Minnie Driver? Those two, in my opinion, are masters at hiding their true accents when acting in American movies.
Fun fact: Gary Oldman lived in California for so long that he lost his english accent and had to hire a dialect coach to get it back
Florence Pugh deserves an honourable mention as well, since she's British, but usually plays Americans, with her accent being extremely convincing, and never slipping. When not being an American, she's a Russian as Yelena in the MCU.
To which we should add Emily Blunt!
I know he’s Irish, but Colin Farrell has a brilliant American accent. I was shocked when I discovered he was Irish
Glad to see Jason Statham didn't make the list. He's our revenge for Dick Van Dyke.
🤣
surely the 2 Sirs Caine and Connery are well known to do accents that sounds almost the same as their natural voices
Oh shit, I still remember him twisting his jaw around trying to have an American accent in "The One". Absolutely the worst case I've seen.
If I hadn't heard Hugh Laurie's natural accent in "Friends" and in interviews, then I'd have assumed that he was American, though he's gotten better since "Stuart Little."
In fact he became famous playing the quintessential upper class Brit. By famous, I mean outside the US. The first time I saw him in House was a bit weird, and completely unlike any other character I had seen him play.
You haven’t seen him in Blackadder?
@@suebursztynski2530 Or 'A Bit of Fry and Laurie'.
I'm British. I grew up with him in Blackadder etc.
It’s a good thing I knew about Blackadder before I saw him as House
James McEvoy and Robert Carlyle do impeccable English and American accents.
Jason Isaacs. Star Trek Discovery. Sounds like a Texan but he’s from Liverpool. Amazingly, he doesn’t sound like a scouser in anything else either.
You missed David Morrissey as the Governor in Walking Dead doing a southern American accent. When I first saw him, I assumed he was American and did not realize he's from Liverpool. Another British actor who did a very convincing American accent was Daniel Kaluuya in Get Out.
Dialects are tough. I've worked as an actor for most of my life, and though I have a western American accent, I've taken on characters from other places. It is difficult. Hugh Laurie certainly had the right approach with listening and practice. Practice. Practice. I coach other actors on their dialects, but the most difficult thing is carrying on a believable accent in your own native language. One thing I do is to basically do an impersonation of someone I know from that region. I can do a Welsh accent because I have spent time there, but also because I imitate my friend when I do it, so rather than actually putting on a dialect, I'm imitating someone I know.
Gillian Anderson is one I get confused with
She’s brilliant with British & amercian accents
I agree. I was hooked on The X Files. Then she started popping up with a British accent. Overall I am so thrilled that she is still acting.😁😁
Unlike this list, Gillian Anderson is an American and does have an American accent. She only lived in London as a child so developed both an American and English accent. She code switches between them.
@@LilyStarstridershes a dual citizen, one of her parents is English and she lived in England during her childhood
@@kimcallaghan3404 I can't confirm anything about her citizenship beyond American. From what I understand, she's just an English Resident (the first step towards citizenship).Only thing I know is that she was spotted stepping out of the office that processes citizenships and visas.
She is however Bidilectual. She has two accents. and can't control which she speaks.
@@LilyStarstrider Soon after her birth, her parents moved to Puerto Rico for 15 months before relocating to London so her father could attend the London Film School.[7] She lived in Crouch End and Harringay,[8] and attended Coleridge Primary School.[9] When she was 11 years old, her family returned to the U.S. and settled in Grand Rapids, Michigan
I think there should have been a mentioned section in this where they could have included Kunal Nayyar who played Raj koothrappali in the Big Bang Theory, Kunal Nayyar was born in Hammersmith to his Indian family although he’s more famous for his Indian accent he still fooled America
Hugh Laurie can also sing in his American accent
So can most british singers. People thought the Stones were American for years.
@@SpaceDave3000 not to mention Adele
British actress Nicola Bryant's American accent was so good that she fooled the producers for classic "Doctor Who" by maintaining the accent before, during and after her audition! (She played one of the Doctor's companions).
Peri
When Doctor actor Colin Baker asked her and her husband to dinner, she felt she couldn’t lie to him and his wife in their own home so he was the only one on set who did know. Nicola’s husband at the time was from California.
@@Djarra Nice, I did not know that, thank you. Sixth Doctor-Peri is one of my favorite Doctor-Companion pairs.
Add Damian Lewis "Band of Brothers," "Billions"
As an American this video should’ve been longer since there is way more actors who have fooled me into thinking that they are American when in reality they are British
I was shocked to learn Vivien Leigh was English. Scarlett O'Hara was English.
I would add Marina Sirtis, who played counsellor Deanna Troy in Star Trek Next Gen, and Marianne Jean-Baptiste who was in Without a Trace
Conversely, the American and British audiences were shocked to find out Robin Wright of "The Princess Bride" was not British despite a very believable English accent.
Bob Hoskins stunned me in an interview with is normal voice. I had thought he was American after seeing him in Who Framed RogerRabbit.
You obviously didn't see his BT adverts in the 1980's!
I saw Bob Hoskins in Guys and Dolls at the National theatre in London. Great actor and singer.
@@lordprotector3367 "It's good to talk."
@@lordprotector3367 I liked his voice in the Weetabix commercials.
On "The Good Doctor," Freddie Highmore fooled me at first with his amazing American accent, but then I realized who he was from his childhood acting days. Still, I was delighted and fascinated when I heard him in an interview with his real-life British accent. But what really astounded me was when I saw an interview with fellow British cast member Antonia Thomas. My jaw was on the floor. I was simply flabbergasted that she was not American. Her accent is impeccable.
Along with Idris Elba... Dominic West in The Wire
They could have knocked me over with a feather when I found out Dominic West was not only a Brit but a posh one. I only found out when he played in Downton Abbey.
@@margaretlouise6200 Watch him in Responsible Adult where he plays real-life West Country, intellectually challenged serial killer Fred West. It seems like such an unlikely role for him yet he does it brilliantly.
@@harryselwind When you're good, you're good!
Y'know... I was so dang mad to find out the Irish American Balimer Cop Jimmy McNulty was not one of us... I saw he played in some show and he played the feller who is now the king of England.... how can that be!
@@dodgermartin4895 I think it's called acting....
Jamie Bamber in Battlestar Gallactica totally blew my mind when I heard his British accent. Same with Charlie Cox after watching Daredevil.
Bob Hoskins ‘Who Framed Roger Rabbit’ did a flawless American accent.
Christian Bale does NOT speak with a cockney accent.
Too right, whoever said that must be mutt'n.
Mark Addy always gets overlooked.
Cary Grant died in 1986. Throughout his lifetime 'soccer' was the common name for football in the UK.
No it wasn’t
@@julben27 I’m an elderly British bloke. In my day I played Rugby Football (usually known as Rugby or 'Rugger') and Association Football (usually known as Soccer). These days, Rugby is rarely referred to as 'football', enabling the round ball game to have exclusive use of the term. The name 'soccer' - derived from 'Association' - began to disappear in the UK in the last quarter of the 20th century. It’s still in use in the USA because 'Football' is recognised as a very different game.
Chris Nolan having an English accent but his brother Jonathan having a Chicago accent is so mind blowing.
Like to see an opposite list. American actors doing different GB accents well. And i knew Hugh Laurie from British roles. Took some getting use to seeïng him as House. But he nailed it.
You won’t see that because the amount of American actors who can do GB accents “well” is a number you can count on one hand.
try Elijah and Sean Astin, who play Frodo and Sam in the lord of the rings
@OldTiredFat That's because she's British and American
Half the cast of the Walking Dead could be included.
The other Toms? Hardy? Hiddleston? or...?
Damian Lewis in Band of Brothers
Hugh Laurie sent in his audition for House while on Location filming the remake of Flight of the Phoenix. He shot it in the bathroom of his hotel room because it was the only room with enough light. When He came to LA the Producers did not know he was British his American accent was so good.
Richard Dawson had me fooled for years. So did John Mahoney.
If I hadn’t seen Robert Pattinson in HPtGoF, I would have thought he was some new American actor in Twilight. And his Queens accent in Good Time? Amazing.
Charlie Hunnam from Sons Of Anarchy
True. I have watched "The Gentlemen" recently and I was shocked to discover that he's British. I had seen all 7 seasons of Sons Of Anarchy and never had any doubt he was American.
Going the other way, Peter Dinklage had a very convincing British accent in Game of Thrones.
Zoe Wanamaker's dad was a blacklisted American who moved to Britain. Somewhere along the line she must have played an American, you would figure?
I'd have to commend Stephen Graham, as an excellent actor, but also for his grasp of various accents.
He's from Lancashire, but played a convincing cockney in Snatch.
Furthermore his role as Al Capone in Boardwalk Empire would have anybody fooled.
Jamie Bamber (Lee Adama in the 2000s version of Battlestar Galactica), was born in London to an American father and Northern Irish mother, and raised mainly in parts of Great Britain. He had an American accent for BSG and fooled people. Though he says that he, himself, can hear the Brirish accent bleed through at some points during the BSG (pilot) miniseries.
I never ever heard it. Totally thought he was American.
BTW, I recommend a film starring Garfield (and Claire Foy) titled “Breathe.” It’s a biopic about disability rights activist Robin Cavendish, who contracted polio right after moving to Kenya in 1958 in his 20s with his new (and pregnant) wife, and was permanently paralyzed from the neck down and confined to a respirator. It was the first time I saw Garfield in anything, so I never thought of him as *not* English.
Kinda the same thing with Idris Elba - I never watched The Wire, but I did watch Luther. (And the first time I saw Hugh Laurie was in Blackadder, so…🤷🏻)
I thought Gary Oldman and Lena Headey.
Martin Freeman in Fargo had a fantastic Minnesota accent
Damian Lewis
Oh yes! I didn't know he was a Brit until well after Band of Brothers!
The actor who played Lydia in Better Call Saul, hearing her speak with her native accent is a wow moment.
A big one that was missed is Gillian Anderson.
She was born in Chicago.
She is bidialectal, both accents are her natural accents because of her upbringing
You are right about the southern accent being hard to do. Most American actors can't do it well either. Timothy Olyphant in Justified did it really well.
I always thought it would be simpler to get those of us who are real southerners to do it.
For years I believed Bob Hope was an American. He seemed about as American as you could get.
Bob Hope grew up in Eltham in South London.
@@donaldanderson6604 Yep, I grew up watching those old Crosby / Hope films and believed he was as American as John Wayne. Sometimes its what they say, the way they are as well as the accent.
He came through Ellis Island at the age of 4.
@@donaldanderson6604 No, he was born in London but did not grow up there. Unlike Cary Grant from my home town, Bristol.
He left England when he was 4.
Stephen Graham was fantastic in the Irishman. I wonder if Americans agree. Switching it around, the first time I saw Adrien Brody was in The Pianist and thought he was British.
He was also amazing in Boardwalk Empire as Al Capone.
I thought Rene Zelwegger's accent in Bridget Jones was pretty good.
Also Elle Fanning in The Great. Amazingly good English Accent ( while playing a German living in Russia)
@@lordprotector3367it was!
Vivian Leigh (Scarlett Ohara in Gone With the Wind).
Benedict Cumberbatch in "Doctor Strange".
You missed Dominick West of The Wire. Played American but he’s British.
Kate Winslet reading Matilda on audiobook really shows how brilliant she is at ALL accents! It's great to listen to!
When I first heard "Spill the wine" by Eric Burdon and War, I thought he was American. 😂
Young and upcoming addition---Oliver Stark. Whenever I show someone an interview clip of him after we've watched 9-1-1, they are blown away by his accent.
Stephen Graham portrayed Al Capone in Boardwalk Empire. Hearing him speak on Graham Norton was just jarring for me.
He still does British shows even now.
Winslet also used her American accent in "Contagion" as well
How about Robert Pattinson?
Charlie Cox and Finn Jones, both of the Defenders as well as Daredevil and Iron Fist, respectively.
After Scotty in Star trek, we sent them people like Billy Connolly to demonstrate what real Scottish accents sounded like!
The funny thing about Hugh Laurie is that even though I saw Blackadder and A Bit of Fry & Laurie long before I saw House, after seeing him in House I'm always slightly taken aback when I hear him talking with his native accent in interviews and the like. And while it's not exactly an English accent (I want to say it was New Zealand), hearing Bob Hoskins' native accent for the first time was shocking.
I remember the first time I heard Lucy Lawless speak not as Xena and I was blown away
Totally missed Mark Addy! He was so good with his American accent in Still Standing that I was floored back then to find out he's actually British (I was quite late to see the movie A Knight's Tale!) Love his acting, so incredibly funny as Bill Miller!!!
You missed Tom Hardy, as in 2011's "Warrior". He made me (an American) think that they found him in a gym in Southie (Boston). Like, they wanted an authentic actor for the role, so they went around to gyms in the rough parts of Boston saying "hey, anyone want to try their hand at acting?"
Hugh Laurie was in the live action version of “101 Dalmatians”. My son and I first saw him in the BBC series “Jeeves and Wooster” along with Stephen Fry.
I think Eamonn Walker does a good job in Chicago Fire. I was surprised to find that he's from the UK. I watch a lot of UK television and I've heard a lot of really really bad American accents, just totally unbelievable and also antiquated. So when someone nails it, I'm impressed. I'd love to hear them try some Canadian accents too. Actors (and people in general) usually think American and Canadian accents (and vocabulary) are identical, but they're not.
DOMINIC WEST!!! How could you miss "The Wire" perfect Baltimore accented toff-talking Brit???
Mine would be Hugh Dancy. After watching all of Hannibal, I was SHOCKED when I heard his natural accent in an interview haha
How could anyone not know Mark Addy is English! I guess they never saw “The Full Monty”.
It won an Oscar!
Maybe an honourable mention for Bob Hoskins, started with Roger Rabbit?
Emily Blunt. Tom Hardy,...
Linus Roache performed with a convincing American accent in Batman Begins and Law and Order. Not only is he English, but he's also the son of the legendary Corrie star William Roache. Blow my mind when I discovered this.
Jason Issacs, obviously.
Grant didnt hide his heritage. He always admitted he was from Bristol amd travelled there often. In those days where one was from just didnt matter in Hollywood and Broadway. Grant adopted the mid-atlantic accent to gain access to roles and work.
Jamie Bamber.
Agreed! I was stunned when I noticed a young Jamie in the ITV production of "Horatio Hornblower." I thought to myself: "He's affecting a very good British accent." But then I thought, "Why would the Brits hire a young American for this role (which, I learned later, was his first on-screen roll). Shocked to learn he was English, London born. He was also one of several Brits who played American soldiers in "Band of Brothers" (Along with the aforementioned Damian Lewis - who else was surprised at Damian Lewis as Henry VIII in Wolf Hall?"). I can think of no better testament to an actor's lingual abilities than this.
Damian Lewis absolutely fooled me, I still can’t get over how impressive his American persona was. I couldn’t believe he was a Brit after watching Homeland. I’d never seen him in anything else beforehand. I’d say he was the most impressive out of all of those featured, and he wasn’t featured 😂
I totally thought Garfield was American for so long 🤣🤣 The rest i knew were English.
Edit:
I did not know Cary Grant was English, especially from the West country 🤣🤣
Bristol boy.
The guy who's in Oz as adebeysi and he's in lost as a Nigerian in both. Heard him being interviewed with a London accent I was shook
One actor who comes to mind who absolutely _nailed_ a US accent _isn’t_ British-she’s Australian Frances O'Connor whose pitch-perfect American accent as Rose Selfridge in the TV drama _Mr Selfridge_ had me (an American) convinced she was a Yank till long after I had watched the series.
The southern accent is even difficult for northern Americans to pull off.
That’s why it’s easier for Brits to pull it off. Our accents are more similar to the Southern American accents with very similar pronunciations.
@@thomaskilroy4573 I was going to say that as a Southerner from Alabama, I think British actors usually do the Southern accents better than non-Southern Americans.
@@lilykitty111 We mostly do, that’s because of the fact that both of us do things like not having rhotic ‘R’s like non-southern Americans do and making highly similar shapes with the mouths due to our ways of speaking that mean it’s far easier for Brits to do Southern American accents than it is for non-Americans since they basically have to learn a new way of moving their mouths unlike us. We have far more mutual similarities in our vocal patterns. Even American Presidents like Washington and Jefferson from the South spoke in accents nearly identical to English West Country accents like Farmers and Pirates instead of generalised stereotypical “Accentless American” they usually get given in films and tv.
The Southern accent has so many regional quirks. Even in NC there are at least four different dialects.
I don't think so. I can do all kinds of Southern accents and I have no talent along those lines. Or maybe I do and I just didn't know it? 🤔
Kate Winslet's character in Steve Jobs was probably a bad example. Joanna Hoffman moved to the US as a teenager so has a Polish accent. Certainly at the time of the events of the movie she had a very strong Polish accent when she spoke English.
Charlie Hunnam - sons of anarchy, Pacific Rim
How did you miss Matthew Macfadyen in Succession?
Linus Roach from Law & Order as EADA Mike Cutter and Hugh Dancy from the 2010s Hannibal and also in Law & Order as EADA Nolan Price
Charlie Hunnam, Damian Lewis
Owain Yeoman who played Wayne Rigsby on the Mentalist
The first time I watched House, Hugh Laurie's accent bothered me. It was not because it was a bad accent, but I was so used to his natural British one - Blackadder is one of my all-time favorite TV shows.
Michelle Dockery, Gillian Anderson.
Freddie Highmore as Dr. Shaun Murphy in "The Good Doctor" was not only brilliant for his American accent but for his amazing portrayal of an autistic person. I already knew Henry Cavill was a Brit from his early 2000s role as a bully in "Midsomer Murders."
British born Canadian my Canadian daughter was surprised when she found out Hugh was English
Charlie Hunnam had to relearn his English accent for King Arthur after playing Jax on Sons of Anarchy.
no one said Patrick Stewart, Yorkshire born and bread
he's a loaf of hovis? or a DYAC?
Gillian Anderson aka Scully from the X-Files.
Eamonn Walker (Boden in Chicago Fire), he is from London.
What about Martin Freeman in Fargo.
One you missed was Damson Idris from the TV series "Snowfall" which was an excellent show on par with Breaking Bad.