English actors doing foreign accents- any good?

[qwerty]

I think a better question would be what american actors..have done a decent english accent? Haha, only ones I can really think of are Johnny depp, and James Marsters..who nailed it.

Gwynneth Paltrow and Renee Zellweger I recall both got high marks for their English accents. I can't think of any American male actors with passable British accents offhand.

[Aella]

I don't remember it ever being cringeworthy... sounds like a good excuse to go back and watch season 2. I was very surprised when I found out his accent was fake and it seemed weird when I saw him on an episode of Northern Exposure speaking with an American accent (and wearing a priest uniform). I'd gotten so used to Spike.

James Marsters actually did a full body cringe when he was quoting the "You were there? If any vampire who said he was at the crucifixion was actually there, it would have been like Woodstock" line. (Er, I might be paraphrasing slightly, it's been almost a year since I watched School Hard)

But really, any excuse to rewatch old Buffy episodes!

[Ravenna]

James Marsters actually did a full body cringe when he was quoting the "You were there? If any vampire who said he was at the crucifixion was actually there, it would have been like Woodstock" line. (Er, I might be paraphrasing slightly, it's been almost a year since I watched School Hard)

But really, any excuse to rewatch old Buffy episodes!

Lol, ok, he did lay it on a bit thick at times, but I just figured some people had thicker accents than others.

And that crucifixion line happens to be one of my all-time Buffy favourites! Along with a couple hundred other great one-liners

(Geez, you made me realize I spelled crucifixion wrong; your English is so good, it's hard to believe it's not your native tongue.)

[Aella]

Lol, ok, he did lay it on a bit thick at times, but I just figured some people had thicker accents than others.

And that crucifixion line happens to be one of my all-time Buffy favourites! Along with a couple hundred other great one-liners

(Geez, you made me realize I spelled crucifixion wrong; your English is so good, it's hard to believe it's not your native tongue.)

Aw, thank you!

I do make the occasional horrifying grammar blunder, especially since I don't have the proper grammar basis .I learned from TV and movies, and as a result, my instinctual feel for what's a correct sentence is often wrong. Also, it's left me with a weird hybridized accents that mutates depending on what show I'm currently watching (my American friend claims she can hear "Buffyspeak" in my accent sometimes) or how much I've drunk (tend to sound more Southern the drunker I get-go figure!).

[Ravenna]

^Hehe, I'd love to hear this 'Buffyspeak'.

I've never seen you make a horrifying grammar blunder here

[DitaPage*]

Kate Beckinsale does a good American accent; good enough to make me forget she's British.

[sparkly]

Kate Beckinsale, Hugh Laurie, and Jude Law have all done American accents wonderfully.

Imo, it seems to be harder for Americans to pull off the British accent. But Gwyneth Paltrow and Johnny Depp are great.

Even though Nicole Kidman is Australian, I want to point out that I don't think she does an American Accent very well, and neither does Hugh Jackman, imo.

[Honey]

I'm glad I got replies, was worried no one would reply

I do like Hugh, he is in a TV show called "Blackadder" which is hilarious and also did a comedy show with Stephen Fry, who I adore.

[WhateverLolaWants]

Oh Stephen Fry! *LOVE* him!!!

He and Laurie were PERFECT as Jeeves and Bertie Wooster

[KrisNine]

Kelly MacDonald (though I know she is Scottish) did a fantastic accent in No Country for Old Men. Bob Hoskins was great. Alfred Molina nails every accent he's done.

[olivia720]

Hugh Laurie's is great. He makes very few mistakes.

[DefyingGravity]

I think it depends. Some shows I've seen have had British actors whose accents are more American than the Americans! (if that makes any sense...) Some of them are cringe-inducingly bad. This show I love, based on the Poirot mysteries by Agatha Christie and starring David Suchet, frequently features American/Canadian characters in it, and most of the actors have HORRIBLE fake accents.

Same for American/Canadian actors doing British accents... some are just too ridiculous-sounding to be real.

[Mariesoleil]

Christian Bale is great with accents. His American accent is perfect.

[Sleuth]

renee zellweggers english accent is pretty good

[Chilly Willy]

Leo Di Caprio's South African accent in Blood Diamond was completely fictional, too.