Actors With Accents Who Had You Fooled
Actors With Accents Who Had You Fooled
I<3bway
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/14/06
#1Actors With Accents Who Had You Fooled
Posted: 6/2/08 at 3:50am
For a while I actually thought James Marsters was British. He played that accent so well on Buffy the Vampire Slayer when he played Spike. I was actually quite surprised.
#2re: Actors With Accents Who Had You Fooled
Posted: 6/2/08 at 3:52amHaha, James was the first person to come to mind when i saw the thread title.
#2re: Actors With Accents Who Had You Fooled
Posted: 6/2/08 at 5:11am
Definitely Toni Collette. I first saw her in THE HOURS, had no idea she was Australian.
Kelly MacDonald from NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN had me completely fooled. I found her accent to be quite convincing in the film, and would have never imagined she wasn't an American actress, apparently her Scottish accent is quite strong in real life.
Anna Friel is another one that had me fooled.
And I bet if I had seen Meryl Streep in SOPHIE'S CHOICE, or in SILKWOOD, without knowing anything about her, I would have thought she was from Poland or Oklahoma, respectively.
"Some people can thrive and bloom living life in a living room, that's perfect for some people of one hundred and five. But I at least gotta try, when I think of all the sights that I gotta see, all the places I gotta play, all the things that I gotta be at"
Updated On: 6/2/08 at 05:11 AM
Mamie
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/26/04
#3re: Actors With Accents Who Had You Fooled
Posted: 6/2/08 at 8:59amI also thought of James Marsters as well as Daniel Davis on "The Nanny". He's from Arkansas and has a slight southern twang.
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mamie4 5/14/03
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#4re: Actors With Accents Who Had You Fooled
Posted: 6/2/08 at 9:12am
I had never heard of Forrest Whitaker before The Crying Game, and had no idea he was actually American.
Naomi Watts in The Ring had me fooled, too.
"This thread reads like a series of White House memos." — Mister Matt
#5re: Actors With Accents Who Had You Fooled
Posted: 6/2/08 at 9:13amHugh Laurie in House
"It does me no injury for my neighbour to say there are 20 gods or no god. It neither picks my pocket, nor breaks my leg."
-- Thomas Jefferson
nmartin
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/3/05
#6re: Actors With Accents Who Had You Fooled
Posted: 6/2/08 at 9:17am
Daniel Davis is from AR?!
He had me fooled.
ashley0139
Broadway Legend Joined: 1/3/05
#7re: Actors With Accents Who Had You Fooled
Posted: 6/2/08 at 9:19am
Even though I knew she had an accent before the Chicago movie, Catherine Zeta Jones would have had me completely fooled had I not known.
I had no idea the guy from Ocean's 11 was actually American. Don Cheadle I think is his name.
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#8re: Actors With Accents Who Had You Fooled
Posted: 6/2/08 at 9:24am
Hugh Laurie's american accent is impeccable, although I had seen him in Black Adder and knew he was British (if you are a fan of his you have to see Black Adder series 3 and 4, the man is a comedic genious)
Anthony LaPaglia is Australian which I was shocked, I always thought he was American and Meryl Streep in Sophie's Choice was so impressive
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Borstalboy
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/9/04
#9re: Actors With Accents Who Had You Fooled
Posted: 6/2/08 at 9:31amAnother flawless one is Natasha Richardson's spot-on Californ-ese in PATTY HEARST.
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JbaraFan1
Broadway Legend Joined: 8/14/04
#10re: Actors With Accents Who Had You Fooled
Posted: 6/2/08 at 9:41am
I didn't know Alex O'Loughlin on Moonlight was Australian until I read that he is.
For one that's more under the "if I hadn't already known better..." category: Christian Bale.
Roscoe
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/15/03
#11re: Actors With Accents Who Had You Fooled
Posted: 6/2/08 at 10:36am
I'll second Anthony Lapaglia, I had no idea he wasn't American until I read about it somewhere. One of the best American accents going.
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#12re: Actors With Accents Who Had You Fooled
Posted: 6/2/08 at 10:39amAgree regarding LaPaglia. He can do various American accents very well.
"It does me no injury for my neighbour to say there are 20 gods or no god. It neither picks my pocket, nor breaks my leg."
-- Thomas Jefferson
#13re: Actors With Accents Who Had You Fooled
Posted: 6/2/08 at 11:20amRachel Griffiths. When I hear her real voice it freaks me out a little. She didn't have a trace in it in Six Feet Under or now on Brothers and Sisters. It wasn't until I realized she was in Muriel's wedding did I hear her real accent.
#14re: Actors With Accents Who Had You Fooled
Posted: 6/2/08 at 11:22amStreep in "A Cry in the Dark"
"Carson has combined his passion for helping children with his love for one of Cincinnati's favorite past times - cornhole - to create a unique and exciting event perfect for a corporate outing, entertaining clients or family fun."
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#15re: Actors With Accents Who Had You Fooled
Posted: 6/2/08 at 11:41amSam Neill in Jurassic Park. I just grew up for years assuming he was American and just did a Russian accent for The Hunt For Red October.
#16re: Actors With Accents Who Had You Fooled
Posted: 6/2/08 at 11:52amJamie Bamber's American accent in Battlestar Galactica is flawless. And so is his chest.
#17re: Actors With Accents Who Had You Fooled
Posted: 6/2/08 at 11:52am
I can't tell you how much I LOVE that "genius" is one of the most frequently misspelled words I see. It's beautiful, in its way. ^_^
See, Hugh Laurie's faultless American accent isn't what surprised me about 'House'. Nope, I'm still shocked, appalled, and dismayed at how damn SEXY he is now! I never ever would have thought it. O_O
Wish Christian Bale would be Welsh more often. When they said they'd got him for 'Howl's Moving Castle', I thought "Hurrah! We shall have Welsh!". What a shamefully missed opportunity there. 
Can't think of anyone off the top of my head who I personally have been fooled by, but I'll let you know if anyone springs to mind. ^_^
snl89
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/4/05
#18re: Actors With Accents Who Had You Fooled
Posted: 6/2/08 at 11:55am
DUDE. James Marsters WASN'T actually British!?! ahaha, news to me! Clearly he rocked that accent!
I def thought for a while that Catherine Zeta-Jones was American. Not so much because she does THE most convincing accent ever (though her Chicago accent was pretty darn awesome), but just because she always DOES an American accent haha. It wasn't until I started watching her interviews and stuff that I was like "oh wow, who knew she had such a strong accent!"
and yeah, Rachel Griffiths. I had no clue she wasn't American until my mom and I were watching an Austrailian movie with her and I was like "wow, she does a really good Austrailian accent!" and my mom was like "that's actually her real accent!" haha
OH OH. And Anna Friel in Pushing Daisies! She doesn't even SOUND at all the same. It's amazing! When I hear her speak regularly I'm like "...that's so WIERD! It doesn't sound like her!" lol ("her" of course being her in PD)
And of course Hugh Laurie in House 
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Updated On: 6/2/08 at 11:55 AM
worrell4077
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/11/04
#19re: Actors With Accents Who Had You Fooled
Posted: 6/2/08 at 2:25pm
There's video from the Golden Globes or the Emmys can't remember which one, but it was Zach Braff and Hugh Laurie presenting an award and I think first Laurie starts talking in his normal voice and than Braff chimes in with a british accent and right before the nominees Braff says, "Upstage me will ya" or something like that.
I knew he was welsh, but my sister didn't know that Christian Bale was. She was talking and saying does he have a lisp or something and I said, no he's welsh. He uses his American accent when he's promoting Batman, he did it with Batman Begins and he's probably going to do it with The Dark Knight.
#20re: Actors With Accents Who Had You Fooled
Posted: 6/2/08 at 2:42pm
I was surprised to learn that Janet McTeer is British. Her Southern twang in TUMBLEWEEDS is very convincing.
BTW: When I was little, I thought ALL actors were American. Those with British accents I assumed were from the upper class.
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Vita, dulcedo, et spes nostra
Salve, Salve Regina
Ad te clamamus exsules filii Eva
Ad te suspiramus, gementes et flentes
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#21re: Actors With Accents Who Had You Fooled
Posted: 6/2/08 at 3:38pm
- Naveen Andrews (Sayid on Lost) has a crazy British accent that sounds NOTHING like his character. I saw him being interviewed, and I was wholly confused.
- Daniel Day Lewis ... I think the only thing I've ever seen him in was There Will Be Blood. Hearing him speak at the Oscars was mind-boggling.
- Anna Friel (Chuck on Pushing Daisies)
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Updated On: 6/3/08 at 03:38 PM
fairygodmother
Featured Actor Joined: 4/30/06
#22re: Actors With Accents Who Had You Fooled
Posted: 6/2/08 at 7:42pm
it does make me laugh that people think that Don Cheadle's accent in the Oceans movies is good - its truly awful, like dick van dyke in poppins awful - but i've always hoped that it was in tribute to the sammy davis jr version. cos Don's an amazing actor and I'm sure if he'd been allowed to he would have done the accent much better.
as for surprises;
Gwyneth Paltrow does a lovely, neutral British accent.
Cate Blanchett could fool natives in every accent she does, she's a true merryl!
Billy Crudup was unrecognisable in Charlotte Gray, v sexy french man!
I was just talking about Paddy Considine, how's I'd always assumed he's Irish, yet he's got a northern english accent.
do you guys think that Marianne Jean-Baptiste in Without A Trace has a convincing accent? because after seeing her in Secrets and Lies I'm amazed at her.
#23re: Actors With Accents Who Had You Fooled
Posted: 6/2/08 at 8:01pm
Oh my God, I completely forgot about Naveen Andrews, his accent is perfect. I could have sworn that was his actual accent that he uses in LOST. Did he use an accent in THE BRAVE ONE? I can't remember now.
Rachel Griffiths is good, but I always felt there was something wrong with her speech, until I realized she was actually Australian. You can definitely tell when she pronounces certain words ("marriage" in particular, every time I hear her say that word in BROTHERS & SISTERS, I hear her beautiful Australian accent come out and it makes me smile). She is pretty convincing though.
Meryl's accent in SILKWOOD is fantastic, and you are right, her accent in A CRY IN THE DARK is pretty neat as well. If only she weren't stuck with "a dingo ate my baby."
"Some people can thrive and bloom living life in a living room, that's perfect for some people of one hundred and five. But I at least gotta try, when I think of all the sights that I gotta see, all the places I gotta play, all the things that I gotta be at"
#24re: Actors With Accents Who Had You Fooled
Posted: 6/2/08 at 9:02pmAlan Tudyk is one that got me. The first time I saw him in something with his natural accent, I had to run and IMDB him because I could have sworn he was British.
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