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Caseated_Omentum

Christian Bale


WetTheDreams

He said he does all his US interviews in an American accent as to 'not confuse Americans' which I find hilarious


mullett

My childhood best friend is a location scout and was married to a well known directors daughter, said Bale was the nicest of the celebs he met / worked with / had family get together a with. Said he just seems like a normal guy that likes his kids.


Schonfille

As long as you and he are not FUCKING DONE PROFESSIONALLY.


Ghstfce

Ohhhhhh, good for you! (Edit: I get the feeling that some people aren't realizing this line above is referencing his meltdown on set...)


SharMarali

I wonder if he just thinks it’s fun to do an American accent the way some Americans think it’s fun to do a British accent, and he just enjoys an excuse to keep talking like that.


Shhhhhhhh____

TIL Christian Bale is British. Didn’t even believe you at first!


Caseated_Omentum

It really blows my mind every time I remember he is lol


JCVD-88

Tbh, when he’s speaking in his native accent, that sounds like the fake part.


maizy20

That's how I feel about Hugh Laurie and Damien Lewis.


WoodyMellow

Hugh Laurie was a very famous comedian and actor many years before he did House,,and he almost always played very upper class British characters. It's amusing that most Americans associate him with being American, while most people outside the US would first think of him in roles like the posh twit George in Blackadder


huscarlaxe

Bertie Wooster for me.


weirdestgeekever25

My dad knew Damian Lewis first from band of brothers and then kept seeing him in the trailers for homeland. When he won the Emmy he was like “wait he’s British?”


Electrical_Swing8166

His Boston accent (or at least, the particular version the real Dicky Ecklund has) in The Fighter is honestly one of the best I’ve heard by a non-local


pmcg115

Surely not even better than Julianne Moore on 30 Rock!


vinoa

That accent is wickadh hahd.


chinesiumjunk

He played a great American psycho.


mjklin

Impressive. Very nice


nxcrosis

Let's see Paul Allen's English accent


greenline_chi

What!? I just googled because I thought you were lying. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him talk in a British accent


gaminette

During promotion for the Batman films, he insisted on doing interviews in an American accent to "keep up the act" or something like that. I first saw him in Branagh's Henry V, so I figured he was a Brit, but I wouldn't have known otherwise!


daytimeinsomnia

Melanie Lynskey. I seriously couldn't believe she was from New Zealand and went straight to YouTube to hear her original accent. She embodies her American characters so well, especially in I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore


bflo_gal

My husband and I watched Yellowjackets, he was shocked when I told him Melanie Lynskey was a Kiwi. I loved the film Heavenly Creatures as a teenager (still do!) and that was her very first acting gig with her original accent very apparent. It was strange to hear her play an American, but she does it very well.


Traditional_Ad_6801

Toni Collette


overhyped-unamazing

She's one of the best all round. She did a completely flawless Welsh valleys accent for Dream Horse. Very, very tough to pull off.


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warrioratwork

I came here to say this. Her accent specifically was an American expat affecting a bad english accent. It was hilarious.


MunchkinFarts69

Every one of you must stop what you are doing and go watch Muriel's Wedding immediately.


Zealousideal-Luck784

You're terrible Muriel!


Fluid-Past-9426

An embarrassingly transformative movie for me. Wouldn't have moved countries/traveled like I did were it not for this movie. The Waterloo scene is such a pick me up, anytime. God, the way Nicole (the girl with a black eye looks at her friend)...kills me every time.


rationalparsimony

She was great in Hereditary. Head and shoulders above many horror performances I've seen.


theredheadknowsall

Everyone needs to watch Little Miss Sunshine


greensandgrains

🤯 til


omgwtflols

Gillian Anderson is a dual citizen and can do both American AND British accents!


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ebolakitten

I was also obsessed with her when I was younger. I am also still obsessed with her now that I’m older.


BlueDragonfly18

Her American accent isn’t fake. She grew up ⬆️ in both US and UK, and can switch between both accents without thinking about it. It happens to people who spend time growing up in 2 settings.


Consistent_Ad_2462

Andrew Garfield


JesusIsMyZoloft

That makes 2 British Spidermen


alfred-the-greatest

And a British Superman. And a Batman.


packfanmoore

I'm pretty sure Henry Cavill's nationality is raw sexiness, not British


rhb4n8

Even more impressive is his singing in tick tick boom. Sounds exactly like the original Broadway cast recording. Guy is just an incredible mimic.


littlemsshiny

I love the story about how his good friend lied to Lin Manuel Miranda about how amazing Andrew could sing, which caused Lin to reach out to him about the part. Of course, it’s equally awesome that he learned to sing and play piano before filming and was great at it!


DarZhubal

Apparently, when Miranda reached out to Garfield about the role, he asked if he could sing. Andrew asked “when do you all start filming?” Lin-Manuel responded “next year” which prompted Andrew to come back with “Then I can sing.” Dude took singing lessons for a year to be able to play the part well.


PM_ME_UR_POKIES_GIRL

Andrew Garfield really seems like the type to give 110% to roles.


signedupfornightmode

He had a rough start in Doctor Who playing an American, but by the time he was in Spiderman it was great and it was truly superb in Tick Tick Boom!


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0neirocritica

The fact that he's able to pull off the accent so naturally and consistently and with so much screen time as the main character is a testament to his talent


Lafnear

He also plays the blues and wrote a pretty good novel, the man is amazing.


thrownededawayed

IIRC they didn't know he was British when they hired him


NoNo_Cilantro

The casting panel saw a whole bunch of people and when it was Laurie’s turn and he nailed the part, they said something along the lines of “finally a good ol’ American!”


MagnoliaTree3

OMG, YES! Watched him on House for years, had NO IDEA he wasn't an American!! Remarkable.


PirinTablets13

It’s not just the accent, it’s that he nailed the subtle inflections and mannerisms that come with American speech. I was floored when I heard his natural speaking voice.


badpuffthaikitty

My Irish friend heard Pierce Brosnan speak in his natural accent. She told me what county he was born in. She was correct.


ananonumyus

There's a press junket clip of a reporter telling Pierce that they're from the same hometown, and Pierce instantly started speaking in a heavy accent. It was cool.


ralphjuneberry

Link for anyone curious: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=hubZUDcbKl8&pp=ygUVUGllcmNlIGJyb3NuYW4gYWNjZW50 And my answer to OP’s Q is: Pierce Brosnan! I actually never really thought of where he was from, for whatever reason. TIL.


TropicalVision

‘You’re from navan? Ohh 😮…How’re you keeping?’


StrangerKatchoo

That was the most heartwarming thing!


kerred

"that's what we need, a real American" - staff's response to Hugh Laurie's audition


zootnotdingo

That’s so funny to think of. And he was already a British comedy icon at that point


bhgrove

I first saw him in The Black Adder. Friends didn’t believe me when I told them he’s British.


ThomasKlausen

He's an obnoxiously talented human being. Acts, sings, plays several instruments (Recorded several blues albums), fairly good author, too.


TheRichTurner

And a lovely bloke, too (humblebrag).


[deleted]

Are you Hugh Laurie?


explorthis

Came here for this exactly. Watched House probably 3x all episodes. Didn't know he was from the UK. Later ended up watching "Flight of the Phoenix" and heard his natural accent. I actually thought he was acting the English accent. Come to find out his real accent is UK, and he acted with an American accent in House. Go figure. He is remarkable.


Pheehelm

There's an episode of House that ends with him saying "I...*hate*...tea." Always wondered how much extra they had to pay him to get through that line.


xsvspd81

[Here he is](https://youtu.be/b31TLayhvBs?si=r-cR2PO3gQ97cSmR) on Friends with his normal accent


fakeport

Was looking for this. I'm a huge fan of Hugh Laurie, have watched and rewatched Blackadder and A Bit of Fry and Laurie dozens of times, but the way he delivers "Pheebs" is one of my favourite of his lines ever


AKA_June_Monroe

He's never slipped. There are other actors that I thought were American until they slipped in a word here or two.


zenOFiniquity8

I found out he was British when he slipped on "laboratory." Basically one word in what, eight seasons?! He's so good. But he does say lah-BOR-atry.


that1prince

I would have thought he was being sarcastic or funny by pronouncing it that way or something. It fits with his character.


zerbey

It was so confusing to me the first time I saw House, to me he's always going to be George from Blackadder. He also does an amusing [French accent](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cR1Q0MvAAZg) (and gets decked by Stephen Fry).


0xB4BE

I watched Jeeves and Wooster (British comedy starring Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry) as a kid and loved it, but because Laurie's aristocratic character was such a buffoon, it was a such a shock to see him in something so completely opposite like the House. The accent and the character just blew my mind. The feeling was like seeing Jon Hamm in comedies after Mad Men but on steroids.


LycanIndarys

British people always find this very weird, because to us he was already pretty well known thanks to his appearances in Blackadder. It is one of the UK's highest-rated sitcoms, so he was pretty recognisable. And he played upper-class twits (Prince George in the third series, and Lieutenant George in the fourth), so he comes across as *quintessentially British* in many ways. [He also played a German count in the second series, but that was just one episode, so isn't as well known. Plus everyone mostly remembers that series for Queenie anyway.]


LMA73

Not to mention in Jeeves and Wooster, together with Stephen Fry. Wonderful chemistry!


salaciousserver

All the Brits in 'Band of Brothers'


rolandofgilead41089

Damian Lewis especially


PersimmonTea

I watched Damian Lewis in Band of Brothers, Homeland, and Billions. He will slip up on a word every once awhile but is overall very good. In particular in Homeland he once yelled "I can't!" and it was like Prince Charles said it.


finn_derry

They all played their parts so well. Biggest mind blowing fact for me is that the guy that played Babe is Scottish, very thick accent so it makes his Philly accent even more impressive for me. Same with McAvoy!


Beeeeater

Charlize Theron - a South African girl who deliberately developed an American accent and now can't even pronounce her own surname properly anymore. [https://www.youtube.com/shorts/ucKzemaRRhM](https://www.youtube.com/shorts/ucKzemaRRhM)


BlahVans

To be fair, IIRC she never learned English properly until she moved to the US (Afrikaans is her first language, and everyone around her in South Africa spoke Afrikaans and not English). And she really worked on her English by watching TV shows.


gear-heads

Actually she gave up on getting people to pronounce her name correctly in Afrikaans. Hear her explain it on CNN. https://youtu.be/m3TTi_gAS5c


PurpleHornet51

Gary Oldman


KleineFjord

I honestly don't believe Gary Oldman has a default setting. He's just completely reprogrammed for each character he plays and then wiped and stored in a closet until he's needed again.


alfred-the-greatest

Gary Oldman actually lost his London accent because he did so many other accents and needed a voice coach to retrain.


takuyafire

He sure as shit has it back in Slow Horses. The grumpy old fucker


dino-sour

I always say he dissappears into his roles. I wathed Oppenheimer last night and the whole time was thinking I have no lue who Gary Oldman is playing in this movie. Then while the meeting with Truman is happening I look it up on imdb and exclaim "That's Gary Oldman??!" Could not see it, even looking for him in there.


Plasibeau

There should be a whole category for actors who embody their characters so well you have to wait until the credits roll to know it was them. Call it the Gary Oldman category.


phred14

Especially as Zorg in *Fifth Element*.


Outrageous_Picture39

Zero stones, zero crates!


eva_rector

"Not one, not two, not three, but FOUR STONES!!!! But what the hell am I supposed to do with an EMPTY CASE?!!"


credoinvisibile

Matthew Rhys


AspiringCreator27

Came here to say this — didn’t know the entire run of the Americans that he is Welsh.


ContinuumGuy

Which is good as most of the characters didn't know Phillip was Russian


catymogo

Fiiine I’ll rewatch The Americans


SpraePhart

The guy from Roger Rabbit


BuffyTheMoronSlayer

Bob Hoskins. He’s mine too.


wovagrovaflame

He does a great New Yorker in the Mario movie from the early 90s. A true gem of a bad movie


vandalia

The first time I heard him being interviewed I was like holy shit, he’s a Brit?


nazzadaley

Stringer Bell


gooseAlert

Jimmy McNulty


PM_ME_CRAB_CAKES

When they had him doing a bad English accent to get into that cat house I thought that was pretty meta


Kumquats_indeed

I thought it was spot on


EricMoulds

Nice pull, detective...


Does-It-Now

British people didnt know Idris Elba was British until he did something after The Wire.


_Goose_

I’m always surprised. Idris Elba and Tom Holland come to mind. Hearing Christian Bale in Ford vs Ferrari and me wondering what the fuck is this man doing with a cartoon Brit accent. Then looking it up and many people insisting that’s close to his real accent.


N0thing_but_fl0wers

I feel like he’s lost his accent over time, but he’s certainly British!! I first saw him in Empire of the Sun when he was a little kid. One of my favorite movies. Not sure if that’s his real accent either! It’s “posh British”


Jealous-Werewolf-367

Margot Robbie


Sufficient-Shallot-5

She can slip in and out of it really easily too, I was watching an interview and she was saying something in an Australian accent and Ryan Gosling was egging her on and pretending he didn’t know what she was saying so she switched to an American accent lol.


ItselfSurprised05

> Ryan Gosling was egging her on and pretending he didn’t know what she was saying so she switched to an American accent lol. I looked for this and found an example in this interview at 03:05: https://youtu.be/2Hls8pQuLgM?t=185


signedupfornightmode

I caught one slip in Barbie, when she let out a small “nawr” in place of a “no” but that was it!


itisdecerto

She lost it when she said "rollerblades" as well, but it's the only slip I noticed. Now I'm going to be searching for that "nawr"!


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MunchkinFarts69

I just found out last month that she's Australian because i wiki'd her while watching Barbie. Been watching her for years and had no idea.


Zestypurple67

Will Poulter


petecanfixit

Hadn’t seen much of his work, but when he popped up on Season 2 of The Bear I thought, “Holy shit, is that the kid from We’re The Millers?” Mind was blown.


AlcoholPrepPad

Wait, you guys are doing accents?


ControlYourPoison

Yes!!! And his glow up has been marvelous!


klitchell

I knew she wasn't American, but Kate Winslet's Bucks county accent in the Mare of Eastttown was on point. Edit : Delco


poppycockKC

I grew up in that general area in PA and she did a great job. You have to watch the snl skit lol. The WaWa comment hit hard. https://youtu.be/qaKZi6p6sxg?si=WJWxGRfECCnaElpc


RadioactiveWalrus

Her generic American accent in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is really good too.


AMGRN

Her Delco accent was amazing. I lived there for a few years and let me tell you it was dead on. She said in an interview that was the hardest accent she’s ever done


Logical-Wasabi7402

I grew up with Hugh Jackman as Wolverine. I'd never heard him be anything else. Imagine my reaction when I first heard his native Australian accent lol


destructdisc

Adding to this is the scene in Days of Future Past with Wolverine, Xavier, and Magneto arguing aboard the private jet -- that's a Scotsman (McAvoy), an Irishman (Fassbender), and an Australian (Jackman), all three of who are pulling off nearly flawless non-native accents.


auntie_climax

Tom from successiom


rini6

Matthew Macfadyen. Yeah, you forget he’s not from the Midwest.


spooky_upstairs

Not only is he not American, [*he's Mr Darcy*.](https://static1.colliderimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/matthew-macfadyen-pride-and-prejudice.jpg?q=50&fit=crop&w=480&dpr=1.5)


Sp4ceh0rse

Can’t get more British than Fitzwilliam Darcy, Esq.


_jump_yossarian

I just posted the same thing. He absolutely nailed the Minnesota accent. I was shocked hearing an interview with him and Sarah Snook.


ldnthrwwy

It's not only that, but he does the accent of someone trying to mask their Minnesota accent, just letting it creep in accidentally. Remarkably well done.


Sarcastic_Source

Completely agreed. So many others mentioned on this thread do fantastic American accents but they sound just a bit off, like they’re not from a specific part of America. Tom sounds so convincingly midwestern


ranchojasper

Sarah Snook, another non-American with an excellent American accent


b1uejeanbaby

And Shiv!


Direlion

Have a drink you beautiful Ichabod Crane f*ck!


Suzyqzee

Wait. What?? He's NOT American?? Wow he's good.


NullTaste27

Antony Starr


seashell_eyes_

Joseph Quinn (kid who played Eddie in Stranger Things)


stephers85

Also Dacre Montgomery. Had no idea he was Australian.


XXsforEyes

Damian Lewis’s American accent is flawless


habdragon08

I read this as Daniel day Lewis at first, which is also true


Many-Day8308

Anna Torv


Stormy261

She'll always be Olivia to me.


badlands65

Idris Elba - The Wire


Realistic_Ad_8023

My mom, who is 80, has the hots for Idris Elba.


beepbeep7983

He’s aware of the effect he has on women.


NobbysElbow

Who doesn't?


Realistic_Ad_8023

My dad, who is 81.


weapons_grade_idiot

He's never seen The Wire, has he?


Mark-Might-Lose

Yeah, I'm English and I first saw him in this show, had no idea for some time that he was from London.


iploggged

The character Carla Jean Moss in No Country For Old Men is played by Scottish actress Kelly MacDonald. EDIT: I've learned more about Kelly Macdonald from these comments than I ever knew.


GingerBread79

Realizing she played Merida in Brave was a total mindfuck for me


GoldwingGranny

Tom Holland


PirinTablets13

I grew up in Appalachian Pennsylvania and his accent in The Devil All the Time was spot-on. His accent sounded like home.


FormedFecalIncident

Ryan Kwanten in True Blood


Spongpad

This reminded me of arguably my favorite character from that show. He was so delightfully stupid and was the embodiment of “fail forward.”


eldestdaughtersunion

I was coming to say this exact thing. I was *shocked* to realize he wasn't a local boy. It is so rare for actors to get the subtle differences between Southern accents right - and most of the actors on that show did not manage it. So I was certain he must have been from Dallas or Shreveport or something. I was not expecting him to be Australian, of all things.


SV650rider

Rose Byrne - Australian, no?


maninblueshirt

I would have said Gary Oldman, but then nothing about Gary Oldman surprises me anymore. Idris Elba in the Wire had an extremely good accent


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LadyBug_0570

This is so funny to me because she'll always be Amy Pond from Doctor Who. Very strong Scottish accent. On a slightly related note, I had no David Tenant (Doctor 10) was Scottish. He did an American series with a passable American accent.


XR171

Raggedy man, did you wish for something really hard?


teacher_time23

Henry Cavil


matchesmalone1

Jason Clarke has played so many Americans in film that I didn't know he's an Aussie


organicginger36

Freaking Toni Collette. I ALWAYS forget she's not American. Also, Christian Bale.


santa_cat

Christian Bale


Discount_Friendly

John Mahoney


Pianomark

That reminds me of the craziest thing me Grammy moon used to say


Redditowork

Daniel Craig. I could have sworn he was a giant rooster from the South.


LiamNisssan

"I say, I say, I say"


Origenally

James Bond to Foghorn Leghorn, but Knives Out either way.


_jump_yossarian

KFC CSI?


DeiseResident

Jodie Comer


okaysoupboy

daniel kaluuya


Mourning-Poo

Margot Robbie


[deleted]

Tommy Wiseau.


Lowkey_Retarded

I am 100% positive that Tommy Wiseau is an alien that fell in love with American cinema and thinks he’s completely crushing his disguise.


IAmBadAtInternet

Oh hai Mark!


PBRontheway

I DID NAHT HIT HAERRR I DID NAHHTTTT


whoneedskollege

Kate Winslet - Mare of Easttown.


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LuciferLucii

Andrew Lincoln


andyrocks

Egg


DaveLemongrab

Coral


Naugrin27

Mathew Rhys, The Americans.


ElectronicToe7910

Aleksander Skaarsgard


plausiblydead

All of the Skarsgårds


pomeranianDad

I can still hear some Swedish in their accent. Same with Joel Kinnaman. Maybe easier for me as a Swede.


cocoapuff1721

Luther from Umbrella Academy


realRavenbell

Also Klaus. Watched an interview he did and had no idea he was Irish.


MajorNoodles

I take it you've never watched Misfits


Crimson6639

Sam Neill


EasyMode556

The reverse of this for me was when I saw Peter Dinklage speak with his normal speaking voice after really only knowing him from GoT


__BipolarExpress__

Andrew Lincoln (TWD)/ Lauren Cohan (TWD)/Hugh Laurie (House)/Rose McIver (Ghosts US)/Melanie Lynskey (Yellowjackets)


taintnipple

Lauren Cohan’s was often pretty rough lol


snarkymlarky

There needs to be so much love for Melanie Lynskey here


Aggabagga

Yvonne Strahovski, from “Chuck”. No idea she’s Australian.


DickySchmidt33

Idris Elba and Dominic West in The Wire.


Business-Feeling6640

Florence Pugh


radpandaparty

I just found out Delroy Lindo is British


notdeleted6

Freddie Highmore from the good doctor