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British actors have long been cognize for being able to inhabit the American accent pretty cleanly . Actors from Laurence Olivier to Daniel Day - Lewis play American lineament with everlasting American accents . Sadly , it is American actors who are less successful in doing British accents . For every Kevin Costner flubbing his speech pattern inRobin Hood : Prince of Thieves , there is anAngelina Jolie in theTomb Raiderfilmsor Gwyneth Paltrow inShakespeare In Lovewho pulls it off .
Accents are toilsome . Any actor will tell you that their dialect coaches work extra time . However , these actors have managed to get their across - the - pool accents just right .
Bob Hoskins- The Cotton Club
InFrancis Ford Coppola ’s ill-famed epic 1984 epicThe Cotton Club , Bob Hoskins play " Owney Madden " the bountiful meter gangster who owned and flow the famous nightclub .
Hoskins ' carrying out stick out out amongst the ensemble cast . He played the mobster with fashion and humanitarianism , fix sure he did n’t become a imitation . His old - panache New York dialect was dead perfect . Even more telling since Hoskins ' own British emphasis was heavy Cockney . He would use the accent again to not bad comic effect in Robert Zemeckis’Who Framed Roger Rabbit .
Johnny Depp- Sweeny Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street
Johnny Depp had done British accent before . His " Captain Jack Sparrow " was good but played for comedyand was more of an uttermost imitation of rocking chair Keith Richards . InTim Burton’sSweeney Todd : The Demon Barber of Fleet Street , Depp had a spot - on London emphasis circa the 1700 - 1800 era .
Steven Sondheim himself gave Depp rave reviews and say that the actor not only sang the songs well but fully inhabited the character , including his unflawed British accent .
Robert Downey Jr.- Chaplin
Robert Downey Jr. was already a respected actorwho was in the thick of changing his career to more adult - themed films . His big faulting in this arena come when Sir Richard Attenborough cast him in the coveted role of Charlie Chaplin .
Chaplindid well at the box office and faired pretty well with critics . It was Downey Jr. ’s thoroughgoing rendition of Chaplin both inwardly and out that won wide congratulations . Chaplin ’s accent mark was stark British and critics agreed the thespian did it utterly .
Vivien Leigh- A Streetcar Named Desire
Elia Kazan’sA Streetcar refer Desireis one of the keen American films . It is widely consider to be the best cinematic version of Tennessee William ’s works . The groundbreaking acting from Marlon Brando is legendary and inspire many to take up the craft , as did the functioning by British actress Vivian Leigh as " Blanche DuBois " .
Leigh , a very British actress did n’t strike a delusive note in her accent . She made audiences and critics ( and Tennessee Williams himself ) believe she was a woman brook in the Southern U.S. For her amazing efforts , Leigh won the Academy Award for Best Actress .
Daniel Day-Lewis- Lincoln
Long considered one of cinema ’s greatest actors , Daniel Day - Lewis has the performances to back it up . His Oscar - come through turn inMy Left Foot , There Will Be Blood , andLincolnare some of the fine examples of modernistic - day acting .
InSteven Spielberg’sLincoln , the actor dug deep to get the perfect idiom . His enquiry led him to inquire the dialect of the meter . He base that Abraham Lincoln was said to have a soft - spoken drawl with trivial of his Kentucky roots and more of the rootage of the Midwestern way of talk . It isone of the really utter examples of a British actor playing an American .
Julianne Moore- The End of the Affair
In director Neil Jordan ’s 1999 adaptation of Graham Green ’s beloved novelThe final stage of the Affair , Julianne Moore plays a very British woman who is the long lost love of a man played by Ralph Fiennes . She is now with another man and Fiennes sets out to determine out why she leave behind him all those class ago .
Moore was nominate for Best Actress for her role in this photographic film andher accent is considered to be totally flawless . Not only in her accent but Moore was praised for in full inhabiting the affectedness and demeanor of a order woman in pos - WWII England .
Cate Blanchett- Blue Jasmine
Woody Allen has always been brilliant at writing important roles for women . The author / director has led 3 actresses to Oscar wins . Diane Keaton won Best Actress forAnnie Hall , Diane Weist won 2 Supporting Oscar for Allen ’s filmsHannah and Her SistersandBullets Over Broadway , andCate Blanchett added to her leaning of nifty rolesand finally pull ahead a well - deserved Best Actress Oscar for her lead function in Woody ’s 2013 filmBlue Jasmine .
Blanchett dally " Jasmine " , a socialite from New York who is have got a breakdown due to her reject to accept her dying marriage ceremony . Her stylistic turn allowed the actress to completely inhabit the bitchiness of the NYC upper - course societal crowd . Her accent seemed thoroughgoing East Coast American , with any suggestion of her British stem completely wash away .
Michael McKean, Harry Shearer, and Christopher Guest- This Is Spinal Tap
In what was the first of the Guest / McKean / Shearerimprovised mockumentaries , Rob Reiner directed1984’sThis is Spinal Tapand the three comedians starred as the wacky Heavy Metal Rock grouping who were more than a little " off " but completely endearing .
Christopher Guest , Michael McKean , and Harry Shearer were perfectly perfect in their roles and , although the characters are play for laughs , the three actors perfected their British idiom and gain ground praise from critics and hearing for the legitimacy of their idiom .
Gwyneth Paltrow- Sliding Doors
In 1998’sSliding DoorsGwenyth Paltrow played Helen , a London - born woman who have two parallel love lifetime .
While Paltrow previously used an old - fashion British accent in1996’sEmma , her accent inSliding Doorswas more forward-looking and integrated , and realistic . It was an faultless avatar for Paltrow and her legato transition from American to London woman in love was expertly manage and her work
Peter Sellers-Dr. Strangelove Or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Bomb
InStanley Kubrick ’s classic 1964 political satire , Peter Sellers spiel three dissimilar roles . Dr. Strangelove or : How I Learned to bar Worrying and screw the Bombfound the actor playing the titular doctor , skittish British Group Captain Lionel Mandrake , and American President Merkin Muffley .
As President Muffley , Sellers play it with a high midwestern drawl . He spoke in balmy timber and accurate sentences which allowed the performance and accent to shine bright . Sellers ' work in the film entire is reckon some of the greatest acting of its day and his American accent was , at the sentence , unmatched and still holds up . The role player was appoint for Best Actor for his trifecta of great performances bind within this funniness classic .
NEXT : Killing Eve : Villanelle ’s Best Accents & Multilingual Moments ( Ranked )
