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UK actors playing Americans

I was surprised that the British-sounding accent Suresh has on Heroes isn't his real one. I heard the actor talking on one of the commentaries and it sounded like a normal American accent.

And the actor who plays Sayid on Lost has a British accent in real life.

And Lennie James (?) on Jericho -- I was floored when I found out he was English too!
 
Then there is Patrick Stewart. An Englishman, who played a Frenchman and he didn't even try to alter his natural English accent.

Yeah... let's get into this debate again...
What about Sean Connery in Highlander, a Scot playing an Egyptian with a Spanish name (who might be an alien) with no attempt to change his accent. Of course the Highlander in question was played by a Frenchman.
 
Though that applies in the comics worlds, too. Two of the most memorable tales about Batman and Superman -- Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader? and Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?, respectively -- were written by the Englishmen Neil Gaiman and Alan Moore.
There are far more memorable tales about Batman than Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader? For a one-shot story, it's fine. But I doubt it will have the same impact over time, by delineating an era, that Moore's Whatever Happened to the Man of Steel? had.

Alan Grant is the British author who, I would argue, has had the greatest impact on Batman, by dint of his decade on the titles, with or without Norm Breyfogle.
 
Though that applies in the comics worlds, too. Two of the most memorable tales about Batman and Superman -- Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader? and Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?, respectively -- were written by the Englishmen Neil Gaiman and Alan Moore.
There are far more memorable tales about Batman than Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader? For a one-shot story, it's fine. But I doubt it will have the same impact over time, by delineating an era, that Moore's Whatever Happened to the Man of Steel? had.

Alan Grant is the British author who, I would argue, has had the greatest impact on Batman, by dint of his decade on the titles, with or without Norm Breyfogle.
I'd say the Dark Knight Returns and Batman Year One have had the greatest impact on Batman.
 
Though that applies in the comics worlds, too. Two of the most memorable tales about Batman and Superman -- Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader? and Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?, respectively -- were written by the Englishmen Neil Gaiman and Alan Moore.
There are far more memorable tales about Batman than Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader? For a one-shot story, it's fine. But I doubt it will have the same impact over time, by delineating an era, that Moore's Whatever Happened to the Man of Steel? had.

Alan Grant is the British author who, I would argue, has had the greatest impact on Batman, by dint of his decade on the titles, with or without Norm Breyfogle.
I'd say the Dark Knight Returns and Batman Year One have had the greatest impact on Batman.
Except that Frank Miller isn't British. ;)

Several authors from the UK and Ireland have written Batman over the years, among them Neil Gaiman, Grant Morrison, Alan Grant, and Peter Milligan. Of those four, I would say that Gaiman's Batman work is the least impressive. He's written good Batman stories, yes, but not on a sustained basis.
 
Surprised to see no one mentioned Damien Lewis (sp?) playing Dick Winters in Band of Brothers or Charlie Crews in Life.
 
I was suprised to hear the guy who plays Bill on True Blood speaking with a English accent when interviewed.
And then there's Anna Paquin (Sookie), who was born in Canada and raised in New Zealand. I haven't been able to get the True Blood DVDs yet; has her Southern accent improved at all since the X-Men trilogy (where it was pretty atrocious)?

Her Southern accent is passable, but it's nothing like any actual south Louisiana accent, so a bit of a misfire there. Then again, it's extremely rare to run across an accurate one in films and tv productions.
 
There are far more memorable tales about Batman than Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader? For a one-shot story, it's fine. But I doubt it will have the same impact over time, by delineating an era, that Moore's Whatever Happened to the Man of Steel? had.

Alan Grant is the British author who, I would argue, has had the greatest impact on Batman, by dint of his decade on the titles, with or without Norm Breyfogle.
I'd say the Dark Knight Returns and Batman Year One have had the greatest impact on Batman.
Except that Frank Miller isn't British. ;)

Several authors from the UK and Ireland have written Batman over the years, among them Neil Gaiman, Grant Morrison, Alan Grant, and Peter Milligan. Of those four, I would say that Gaiman's Batman work is the least impressive. He's written good Batman stories, yes, but not on a sustained basis.
Oops, then I'll go with Alan Grant. :o

Over all its Miller though!
 
Then there is Patrick Stewart. An Englishman, who played a Frenchman and he didn't even try to alter his natural English accent.

Yeah... let's get into this debate again...
What about Sean Connery in Highlander, a Scot playing an Egyptian with a Spanish name (who might be an alien) with no attempt to change his accent. Of course the Highlander in question was played by a Frenchman.


Don't forget his Russian sub captain with Scottish accent.
 
i still have a hard time believing James Marsters and David Anders aren't English.
Marsters is from my high school. He's been acting since he was a kid, seems like anyone that is acting for a long time is able to change accents easier. You have to do a lot of listening as an actor so there's a lot of things like that, that are easier to pick up. Plus they all have people that teach them accent.

I always thought Marsters' accent was pretty solid; until I saw him in interviews, I assumed he was British. However, my friends from the UK swear that his and Juliet Landau's British accents are absolutely horrible. I guess if you're raised in the UK, you notice subtle things that Americans and Canadians tend to miss.
 
I wonder, has Sean Connery ever actually tried doing an accent other than his own? Maybe early in his career, when he didn't have the clout to get away with incongruous accents by virtue of being Sean Connery, was there ever any role where he was required to assay an American or English or some other accent?

Then there's Arnold Schwarzenegger. How many Austrian-accented American heroes has he played?

Which reminds me -- has it come up yet that Mel Gibson's Australian and often plays Americans? Or that his voice was dubbed over with an American one in Mad Max?
 
Which reminds me -- has it come up yet that Mel Gibson's Australian and often plays Americans? Or that his voice was dubbed over with an American one in Mad Max?

You've never looked at where Gibson was born have you :)

But Australians have this habbit of claim foreign born people as our own (Nicole Kidman born in Hawii, Russell Crowe born in New Zealand, Oliver Newton John born in the U.K).
 
I wonder, has Sean Connery ever actually tried doing an accent other than his own? Maybe early in his career, when he didn't have the clout to get away with incongruous accents by virtue of being Sean Connery, was there ever any role where he was required to assay an American or English or some other accent?

Then there's Arnold Schwarzenegger. How many Austrian-accented American heroes has he played?

Which reminds me -- has it come up yet that Mel Gibson's Australian and often plays Americans? Or that his voice was dubbed over with an American one in Mad Max?
I think Connery made a half hearted attempt at an Irish accent in The Untouchables
 
Kenneth Branagh doesn't do too bad of an American accent. It was pretty darn good in "Dead Again."

And, the first thing I ever saw him in was "Wild Wild West." Later, when I saw him in Harry Potter, my first thought was, "Hey, he does a good English accent!".... LOL. Then I finally went to IMDb, and cleared *that* up for myself. hehehe

Joy
 
I think its safe to say that us BRITS make better AMERICANS than you yanks :p. Maybe all 300 million of you should just move over and retire to Canada.
 
Though that applies in the comics worlds, too. Two of the most memorable tales about Batman and Superman -- Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader? and Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?, respectively -- were written by the Englishmen Neil Gaiman and Alan Moore.

There are far more memorable tales about Batman than Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader?

I agree, but I wasn't trying to claim it was the most memorable. Note that I referred to the Whatever Happened-s as "two of the most memorable," not as the definitively most memorable ones.
 
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