Image Credit: Giles Keyte
One Day could very well turn out to be the most distracting movie of 2011. Either you couldn’t get attached because you’d read the book and knew the shocking, twist ending that was coming or you didn’t know and were so blindsided you had a hard time enjoying the rest of the film. But, there’s been an even bigger diversion that’s kept people for falling for the weepy, big-screen adaptation of David Nicholls’ best-selling novel: Anne Hathaway’s shaky British accent.
The folks over at LIFE would have to agree. In their list of “The Worst Accents in Movie History” they argue that Hathaway’s Emma is supposed to hail from Leeds, but the actress seemed to have picked up a whole bunch of regional dialects and compiled them into one super-distracting allegedly British accent. Of course, she’s hardly the only star to miss the mark completely when it comes to speaking in a foreign tongue.
LIFE‘s list included all-time worst offenders, including the on-screen mangling of British accents (Kevin Costner in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, Keanu Reeves in Bram Stoker’s Dracula), Russian (Liam Neeson and Harrison Ford in K19: The Widow Maker), Indian (Keanu — again! — in Little Buddha), Unintelligible (Angelina Jolie in Alexander), Racist (John Wayne in The Conqueror, Mickey Rooney in Breakfast at Tiffany’s), and more. Of course, no list of this nature would be complete without the gold standard: Dick Van Dyke’s cockney British accent in Mary Poppins. Anyone who has ever jokingly done a terrible British accent has always inadvertently sounded just like him. (Ahem, Andy Bernard!) Watch and (un)learn:
Still, there were some left off the list that very well could have been included. My personal vote goes to Helen Hunt for her on-and-off Noo Yawk accent in As Good As It Gets (sort of amazing how many Oscar-winning and nominated performances there are here, huh?), which still bothers me whenever I catch it on cable. But let’s not forget Brad Pitt’s “Austrian” accent in Seven Years in Tibet or Jon Voight speaking Spanish in Anaconda in such a way that Al Pacino’s Scarface would call “over-the-top.” Check out EW’s list from 2009 that included other horrors, like Steve Martin butchering the French language (and Peter Sellers’ legacy) in The Pink Panther and Jessica Simpson’s deep-fried Southern disaster that was The Dukes of Hazzard.
Do you agree with LIFE‘s list, PopWatchers? Who was left off that should have been included? Share in the comments section below, awright den?!
Read more:
Dialect Laughing: 16 Horrible Movie Accents
Why do Boston accents make good actors look bad?
‘Mad Men’: Nurse Phoebe’s Disappearing Accent
Nicolas Cage’s “Southern” accent in Con Air was simply atrocious, though it has provided plenty of comedic fodder for my friends and I over the years when we try to imitate it (“put the bunneh back in the bawx”).
Also in Captain Corelli’s Mandolin. That was horrid.
ohhh gosh, I completely forgot about his italian accent in Captain Corelli’s Mandolin. I couldn’t take that movie seriously, at all because of it!
haha i just watched that movie for the 1st time a couple of days ago. my mom loves nic cage. but yeah it was horrible
Lily Taylor’s “Scottish” accent in a movie called The Promotion is by far the worst ever, in the history of movies.
I still want to be her husband, and I hope this won’t hurt my chances, but Halle Berry’s West African accent as Storm in the first X-Men movie was so bad the directors seemed to just say “forget it, just do you” for the next two films.
Lol I noticed that too. Simply awful!
She had a West Africa accent in those movies? Guess that shows how convincing it was.
hahaha! so true. thankfully she wasn’t in it much.
Poor Storm, Halle butchered her accent. Halle should never attempt another accent.
Brad Pitt was the worst of all time with a bizarre Irish accent in Devil’s Own
Hilarious! I don’t remember her even having an accent. That is pretty bad…
Thank you – I was going to comment on the exact same line from Con Air. My husband and I always imitate it too.
I will never forgive Cage for that Con Air accent!! I’ve in Alabama all my life & I’ve never met anyone with an accent that horrendous!
“Put the bunny back in the box.”
One of my best friends is a huge Cage fan but swears he wants to shoot him every time he hears that line! LOL
yay! It’s great to know other people who likes to make fun of the ‘bunny in the box’ line. It’s become like a secret code for my sister and I for years.
Honorable mention to whatever the hell Benicio Del Toro was doing in The Usual Suspects.
Screw that. He was awesome.
Second that.
ya, me too.
You don’t like it? I’ll flip ya.
Flip you for real.
Absolutely – mumbling isn’t an accent. And del Toro WAS awesome!
Benicio Del Toro was so funny and great in The Usual Suspects. He definitely does not make the cut!
Yep. Part of the conceit of the character was that no one could understand him. Sure they could have cut that but it gave the character a bit of character so it was better that way.
Benicio purposely made the speech hard to understand as he knew his character had little screen time, so he wante the character to me memorable. Check it out under the trivia at IMDB for the movie.
Del Toro’s crazy accent was an intentional part of the character not an acting mistake. Just like Brad Pitt’s gypsy character in Snatch.
He’ll flipya…flipya
The best!
Yes! That’s when I noticed him first and I fell in love with him in “Traffic.” Yum.
How does that one even count? You’re stupid.
“In English please!”
“Give me da keys yacucksuckah what da faaaaah…….”
Very good phonetics!
Sean Connery’s Russian accent in The Hunt for Red October or his Irish accent in The Untouchables. He doesn’t even try, and yet, he won an Oscar for the latter.
Not to mention his Scottish accent as a Spaniard in the Highlander films.
A Spainard who was originally Egypthian.
this!
Egypthian? Do you always type with a lisp?
A Spaniard from Egypt with a Scottish accent who trained in Japan.
A visitor from the planet Zeist who posed as a Spaniard from Egypt with a Scottish accent who trained in Japan. Accompanied by another visitor from the planet Zeist who posed as a Scotsman who spoke with a French accent.
I was thinking the exact same thing. But maybe that’s because I saw Hunt for Red October for the first time last night.
That’s just Connery! He’s never attempted to use any accent but his own. I’d much rather an actor not even make the attempt than to do it horribly (like Colin Firth in Main Street). Also, in the Hunt for Red October, after the initial scenes of the ship’s crew speaking Russian they all switch to English, using their own accents (listen to Sam Neill & Tim Curry). If the filmmakers just have to have the accent then they should hire someone who has it naturally or force the actor to work full time with a dialect coach for months before filming.
^ This
Can you not simply say: “I agree?” What’s with the “This” crap? I presume you “reached out” to someone today as well? Gag.
YOU make me gag.
I didn’t think he was trying to do an Irish accent in “The Untouchables.” I thought it was just his regular brogue. And Lyndsey, I’ll listen to Tim Curry any time.
“^ This” Does get pretty annoying. At least just put “agreed” or something…
I’ve never heard Connery try to change his accent. Watch several movies in a row & you’ll see that it never changes…thank God (the man could make a fortune just selling his voice…give me a Tony Stark computer butler with Connery’s voice & I’d never leave home again, LOL)!! I think people see he’s playing an Irish cop or Russian captain so they assume he’s trying to do a matching accent so it throws them off.
Ha ha! Curry might just be my all-time favorite villain! The man’s just phenomenal at everything he does!
“Gentlemen, Welcome to the Rock!”
Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman in Far and Away (who am I kidding, the accents were the least of that movie’s problems) – There’s land in Oklahoma, Joseph!
I liked that movie and didn’t notice.
Um… Tom’s was horrid, but Nicole’s was awesome!
Hers was less bad, but his was truly awful!
In Far and Away, both Tom and Nicole sounded like they were in an Irish Spring commercial.
Like a bad high school production of “Brigadoon.”
AGREED! God what a horrible movie.
Julia Roberts’ southern accent in STEEL MAGNOLIAS rings false to me, especially considering she’s from Georgia.
This times a million. NO ONE here talks like that, and she knows it!
Not a film, but still not nearly as irritating as Kyra Sedgwick’s fake drawl on The Closer.
I agree. I hate Sedgwick’s southern accent. Sounds so over the top and fake.
I walked in on my wife watching The Closer a few days ago and I said “Why is she doing Dustin Hoffman’s Tootsie? How can people keep a straight face while they try to watch? She’s doing Tootsie!” What a riot !
No offense intended but…yes, you do “talk like that.” It’s charming. I work with a woman from Atlanta and her accent is even more pronounced than Roberts’ was.
If you watch The Closer you’ll know that Brenda talks that way on pupose. She got the exaggerated drawl from her mom. Both of them talk that way to fake people into thinking they’re sweet and dumb. It serves Brenda well on her job.
I have to say, I never had a problem with Roberts’ accent in Steel Magnolias…some of the others were questionable but overall it’s nowhere nearly as bad as most others!
Suzi, we do indeed have a “drawl”! I never object to that description unless people try to compare our accents to ones like True Blood. Even the biggest rednecks I know don’t sound that uneducated! I do always laugh when I travel outside the South & random people ask me to talk! LOL!
@Rose — then why does she sound that way talking to her coworkers and people outside of work?
Exactly Rose!!!
@yibbet Are you nuts? Julia Roberts was born and raised in Georgia.
TM, if you’ll notice she really turns it up when she’s trying to get her way (especially with Fritz)!! Every good Southern woman knows how to lay it on thick to get what we want!! LOL!!
@TM, because she learned to talk that way from her mom. and it’s become natural to her. She does exaggerate it even more when she needs to. But she has developed an overly feminine exterior to hide her strength. She not only uses that overly developed accent, but dresses in florals and bright lipstick. She has developed a persona that helps her get others to underestimate her, and now that persona is 2nd nature to her. She doesn’t let it down very often, but at least Fritz sees through her. It took her co-workers a long time to understand her and appreciate that she’s brilliant at her job.
THANK YOU! I am from South Carolina and every time I stumble upon Steel Magnolias on TV I cringe. We don’t sound like that!
Another idiot! Roberts is from Georgia. Nothing odd about her accent.
Yeah, if the film were set in Georgia. But Steel Magnolias was set in Louisiana. It was also filmed and set in my hometown of Natchitoches. We don’t sound like Georgians here. They’re drawl is thicker than ours, which has a little more of a twang. People pointing that out aren’t idiots, they just notice regional dialect differences better than you. She doesn’t suck by any means and watching her isn’t anything like the torture we have to endure when we watch people butcher New Orleans accents.
You’re right Bren, a Louisiana accent is different from a Georgia accent but I’d rather her use her Georgia accent than mangled attempt at Cajun or another Louisiana accent. She sounded far better than anyone on True Blood! LOL
Roberts accent in Steel Magnolias WAS terrible. Although she was raised in the ATL suburbs, she’ll be the first to tell you that when she moved to NY at the beginning of her career, she took voice lessons to get rid of her accent to open up more roles. I bet even she realizes now that her Steel Magnolias accent was awful.
But the REAL award def goes to Kyra Sedgewick in The Closer. No educated, professional Southerner speaks like that.
Amen. I think she got distracted listening to Sally Field’s terrible Southern Accent which she has used for three movies (Forrest Gump-Alabama, Where the Heart Is-Tennessee, Steel Magnolias-Louisana). The pure Georgia accent is also very strong, but diluted from northerners moving into Atlanta.
This will sound like a big insult — but it isn’t meant to be: What is a GOOD Southern accent? I really am curious.
Ames, it’s kind of hard to describe or define if you haven’t spent time in the South (anywhere but Florida). There is a bit of a drawl to it and its intensity varies according to where you are. We mainly take offense to actors who over-exaggerate that drawl to the point that it sounds like we’re uneducated hillbillies! True a lot of the rural areas have a really country twang going on but they still don’t sound as illiterate as many of the worst Hollywood accents sound.
I don’t know if that answers your question or not. The best way I can boil it down is that a good Southern accent should draw you in & make you enjoy hearing it (how I feel about an Irish accent). If it’s grating on your nerves & unintelligible then it’s most likely a bad impression of a Southern accent.
What I find odd is that both Lauren from American Idol and Melanie from SYTYCD were both from Georgia. Is there *that* much of a difference from region to region or was Lauren just raised by a Southern family that’s been there for generations? Melanie didn’t have any drawl at all (hey, I rhymed!). In Gone With the Wind, I think both Olivia deHaviland and Vivien Leigh have pretty good Southern accents (although Leigh’s British does show through on specific words in certain scenes). I’ve realized that somehow, British and Southern accents have similar attributes to them… not sure how or why. I’ve studied accents and the key is in getting the placement of the voice right in a certain part of your mouth. It sounds weird but it’s so true. I thought it was all nonsense when I had to learn an Irish accent… but the pronunciation of specific words comes after you get that placement right. It’s really weird. But fun!!
You’re right Squishmar, there is a similarity between British & Southern accent. One of my professors attributed it to the high concentration of British immigrants in the 19th century especially!
Hi, Ames. Fair question. I think Lyndsey puts it very well when saying that if it’s irritating then it’s probably not real. It seems to me that when someone does a bad accent most of the time it sounds like you should add Goofy’s “Yuk yuk yuk” laugh after everything they say. There’s a whole idea that if you’re southern you should sound like Larry the Cable Guy, even IN the south (recently, I mean). It’s like people want to prove just how southern they are and do so by going from a bit of a twang to sounding absolutely ignorant. Also, keep in mind that different regions have different effects. The Appalachians had a strong Scott-Irish influence while areas in Louisiana were influenced by the French including those that came down from Canada to get away from the British that took over French colonial areas in Canada. Some speak slower, some faster and the accent placement on the words change from place to place too. My father’s family (From Kentucky and Virginia) sounds very different from my mother’s side (Georgia and Florida, pre-New York). This is why someone from Alabama would have an issue with someone from Eastern Georgia doing what’s suppose to be a regional accent. Dolly Parton sounds a lot more like someone from Tennessee than someone from Alabama simply because that’s where she’s from! If someone’s accent makes them sound stupid or like they have a house on blocks it’s most likely a deliberate overexaggerating or a bad accent all together.
What about Sean Connery in Highlander? With his Spanish Accent in Scotland?
I love the show but Kyra Sedgwick on The Closer. She supposed to be from Atlanta, which is where I’m from, but no one here speaks that way. It’s a little grating…
I could never watch that show because her accent was so bad.
Absolutely agree. The accent is cringeworthy.
Even the commercials for The Closer make me change the channel. Sedgwick’s fake accent is like nails on a chalkboard.
But I have a friend from Birmingham, AL, who does sound just like that!
I live in Alabama and compared to most Hollywood “Southern” accents, hers really isn’t that bad. There are definitely women here who can make a “thank you” sound like a “go screw yourself” like she does. Yes, it’s a touch over-exaggerated & overly gracious but I do know people who do that. I had a professor from Georgia who did that when he was excited or trying to make a point.
Brenda’s “over-exaggerated & overly gracious” accent, along with her floral prints and pink coat, are used to disarm people into underestimating Brenda. It’s a persona developed by the character. No matter who played the role, Brenda would have that over done accent.
Yes Rose. I realized that from the first episode. It’s a big part of why I love the show (the other being Flynn & Provenza). I’m lost as to why you’re trying to prove your point to someone who already agreed with you.
My post about a certain actor mentioned in your article was removed. It’s the guy’s name, EW. Get over it and let us post about him. He’s a legendary actor. And I don’t care if his accent was terrible. I love him as Bert. His sweet gentility is crystal clear.
I agree. I can forgive his accent because he is so good as Bert. And he acknowledges the accent problem in his commentary on the DVD.
And this was before any real attempt was made by most movie actors to do realistic accents.
I might suggest that you post his name as “Richard Van Lesbian”.
I agree with you about D.V.D in Mary Poppins. It’s a disney movie, for heaven’s sake.
Oh no, he was awful! I can not get through Mary Popping without wanting to shove his chimney broom up his ar$e,
Maybe it’s because you thought the movie was about Mary Popping.
I totally 100% AGREE WITH YOU! It is the only flippin actor I can think of that you can not type his full name without being censored! It drives me insane. An actor that never hurt anyone, that has brought joy to so many people on television and the movies. Never had a reality show. Is famous for having talent not because of a sex tape, being a son/daughter of someone famous or singing on a karaoke show. He is a legend YET YOU CAN NOT SAY HIS FULL NAME!! There are so many spams dating sites that are allowed. I seen some horrific homophobic, anti-semitism, ugly racist crap in comments that are not censored but Mr. B(D)ick Van B(D)yke is not!! What gives!!!
Tell that to British movie fans. His accent is THE symbol of bad Hollywood English accents. If someone from London did a US Southern or Queens accent as bad as that, we’d notice!
I’m a southerner currently living in London, and when brits try to do any sort of American accent it is like nails on a chalkboard for me. I intentionally do not put on a british accent because i would mangle it. I wish brits would do the same!
Ewan McGregor’s American accents always sound awful to me.
Gerard Butler is incapable of doing an American accent. Just watch The Ugly Truth (or don’t – the movie was god awful) to see what I’m talking about!
@Jeremy DC
Ewan McGregor’s accent is at it’s all time worst when he’s trying to do southern, like in Big Fish.
I watch a lot of British television (Masterpiece, BBC America) and many, many British actors do horrible American accents.
@Rose – I do too, and there are British actors who can’t do American accents. It seems like, if they’re uncomfortable with the accent, they overshoot and go too Southern.
@ ruby – gerard butler is practically incapable of speaking. it’s as if speaking is a new thing and he has to masticate every word before it comes out. Talk about chewing through dialogue. Talk about hitting a wall though – he’s looking like a lesbian meth head these days!
Jude Law’s accent in Cold Mountain was perfection to me. I grew up in the same area. I thought it was the best immitation I’ve ever heard.
Emma Thompson doesn’t do a great American accent either… in “Primary Colors” it’s pretty bad.
Yeah, like those Brits, one Canadian (by way of New Zealand), and several east coasters on True Blood. Their Louisiana accents are laughable. Only the two southerners (from Texas and West Virginia) come even close.
That atrocious irish thing Kevin Costner did in Thirteen Days. Seriously, cant we pass a law against that type of thing?
I agree, this was the worst ever.
Thank you! His Robin Hood accent wasn’t great but OMG his “Bawston” accent in 13 Days was so so so so so bad.
I don’t think he even tried to do an accent in Robin Hood though.
Gerard Butler in The Ugly Truth, The Bounty Hunter, and every other movie where he does an American accent. It is nails-on-a-chalkboard horrible and fake.
Maggie Gyllenhal in Nanny McPhee Returns, her accent was horrible that it was one reason why I didn’t like the film. The first one with Colin Firth was way better because that was his original accent but Gyllenhal had no justice….
He actually apologies in a video interview on YouTube for a bad Irish accent in “PS I Love You.”
Edward Norton’s Brit accent drives me nuts. The Painted Veil, The Illusionist and Kingdom of Heaven.
Edward Norton wasn’t doing a British accent in The Illusionist. He was doing a vaguely Austrian one (and sounded like the Austrians I know who have lived in the US for a long time).
So, how do vague Austrians sound?
Except, oddly enough…. Arnold Schwarzenegger. I still can’t get over how un-diluted his Austrian accent is after living in the U.S. for what, 40 years? Or close to it?
And very cute, Brett.
Leonardo DiCaprio in Blood Diamond
Really? I read on many message boards from a lot of people from South Africa that his accent was one of the better ones.
I work with 2 South Africans & Leo’s accent was almost perfect.
Also, Leo’s irish accent in Gangs of New York was pretty bad.
I think Cameron Diaz’s Irish accent was worse than Leo’s in Gangs of NY. And Angelina Jolie’s Alexander and Beowulf. I shudder to think she’ll prob use it again in Cleopatra.
AGREE!!! Horrible!!!
LEO’s accent was HORRIBLE.
Yeah, Leo’s South African was pretty much dead on.
I’ve spent a lot of time in South Africa – Leo’s accent was spot on. I was really impressed, in fact.
Disagree, especially after I heard how several real people from South Africa speak. His was very well done.
I’ve heard nothing but praise for his South African accent. Reminded me of what I remember the white South Africans I’ve met sound ljike.
Are you from South Africa? Do you know people from there? I only heard of praise for Leo from people who are actually familiar with the accent. Sometimes I think people like Faris and other people in this comment section (and there are a few) who think Leo’s accent in Blood Diamond is horrible do not actually know how a South African accent sounds like, it just sounds “weird” to them, but it doesn’t mean it’s not real.
I totally agree. It’s just an unfamiliar accent so it sounds “off” but it’s very accurate. And, I might add a very tough one to pull off. He gets points for degree of difficulty. Like, Meryl Streep was probably impressed. And it’s weird because Leo has such a distinctive voice and way of speaking. (I just watched “Inception” for the first (and second and third) time this week and I was noticing his rhythm and tone and pronunciation.
DiCaprio’s accent in Blood Diamond was nothing short of genius. Period.
Robert Pattinson’s American accent in Twilight.
Part of that is training. You could tell that no one invested in having him spend a lot of time with coach. Compared to say Christian Bale who many forget isn’t an American.
The other part was this idea that he was born at the turn of the century when a slight British twinge still existed in many “American” accents. ANd like his old world notions of staying a virgin until marriage, a woman’s place etc, the accent stuck (cause he is basically frozen in time). Which I think was a terrible way to play it. Because it comes off like an excuse to not invest in a vocal coach (and likely was).
Brad Pitt’s Lucky the Leprechaun in The Devil’s Own belongs there, and THANK YOU for mentioning Helen Hunt. I’ve tried to tell people how horrible she is in that.
Good one! We still mock Brad Pitt’s accent. (“I need that munny, Tawm.”
For whatever reason, when Brad Pitt was promoting The Devil’s Own, he still had the freaking accent. Totally unbearable!
I will never understand why she won the Oscar…it made no sense to me
I remember not being terribly impressed by that movie, at all. Oh, she dyed her hair brown – that makes it so obvious that she’s “old!” Her and Jack Nicholson’s relationship in that movie makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.
I always thought Helena Bonham Carter should have won Best Actrees for The Wings of the Dove that year.
*Actress
brad pitt is too stupid to pull off an accent. and santa angelie is to in love with herself to get out of whatever accent is going on her mind.
As much as I love the movie, Jack Nicholson’s Boston accent in The Departed was so half-assed. “When I tell ya to dump a body in the maash, you dump it…in the maaash!!!”
Yeah…he seemed to give up a quarter of the way into the movie.
George W. Bush’s cowboy accent was terrible and destructive.
Destructive?
I found Vera Farmiga’s to be pretty distracting. At first, I didn’t even notice that she was supposed to be doing an accent. It would come and go spontaneously, like she just couldn’t hold onto it for more than a minute.