Shocking Film Accents/Performances

[One Day Soon]

I'm going to offer the otherwise generally pretty good Gene Hackman. Two nominations:

1. Terrible, terrible Polish accent in 'A Bridge Too Far'

2. Unbelievably bad portrayal of a drunk man in 'The Pelican Brief'

[Dashing Bob S]

I'm going to offer the otherwise generally pretty good Gene Hackman. Two nominations:

1. Terrible, terrible Polish accent in 'A Bridge Too Far'

2. Unbelievably bad portrayal of a drunk man in 'The Pelican Brief'

Don Cheadle trying to do a Cockney accent in Ocean's Eleven had me laughing my head off. Worse than Dick Van Dyke in The Sound of Music.

[steakbake]

Alan Rickman, Die Hard. Terrible German accent.

[Sylar]

Gerard Butler - pretty much any film when he tries to mimic an American accent.

I've also heard some fairly nasty attempts at South African over the years...

[hibsbollah]

I've also heard some fairly nasty attempts at South African over the years...Yep. Joss Ackland in Lethal Weapon 2 springs to mind...'Diplomatic Immunity'.In general, as the years have passed, actors cant get away with not making an effort to make a decent stab at an accent. Classic disasters further back include Peggy Ashcroft doing a crofters daughter in Hitchcocks otherwise excellent 39 Steps, and EVERYONE in Brigadoon.

[One Day Soon]

These are all fair entries.

Everyone in 'Inglourious *******s' for mass Tarantino led self-indulgent crapness.

[One Day Soon]

Yep. Joss Ackland in Lethal Weapon 2 springs to mind...'Diplomatic Immunity'.In general, as the years have passed, actors cant get away with not making an effort to make a decent stab at an accent. Classic disasters further back include Peggy Ashcroft doing a crofters daughter in Hitchcocks otherwise excellent 39 Steps, and EVERYONE in Brigadoon.

Let's keep the politics out of this thread. :wink:

Any WWII war film where you stop being absorbed by the film and start to pay attention instead to the actors in German uniforms being Germans by completely mentally speaking English with a German accent. Once you begin to notice it, you can't stop and then it just becomes ridiculous.

[magpie1892]

Yep. Joss Ackland in Lethal Weapon 2 springs to mind...'Diplomatic Immunity'.In general, as the years have passed, actors cant get away with not making an effort to make a decent stab at an accent. Classic disasters further back include Peggy Ashcroft doing a crofters daughter in Hitchcocks otherwise excellent 39 Steps, and EVERYONE in Brigadoon.

Ackland was OK. It was Patsy Kensit's attempts which gave me a cold sweat.

Without doubt the worst film accent: Sean Connery as an 'Irish' cop in The Untouchables.

[(((Fergus)))]

Obvious one is Dick Van Dyke out of Mary Poppins - sounded like he had a mouthful of hot marbles

[Peevemor]

Alec Guinness in "Tunes of Glory"

[Mixu62]

Ackland was OK. It was Patsy Kensit's attempts which gave me a cold sweat.

Without doubt the worst film accent: Sean Connery as an 'Irish' cop in The Untouchables.

Another nomination for Sean, and for Sam Neill trying to do Russian in Hunt for Red October. "I always wanted to see Montana....". Should have had Vlad in the lead role.

[Skanko79]

the chap who elijah wood stays with in green streets attempt at a "cockney" accent was trully shocking.

[Dinkydoo]

the chap who elijah wood stays with in green streets attempt at a "cockney" accent was trully shocking.

Agreed; I thought that he was supposed to be playing an Australian, was a bit confused until someone pointed out that he actually is Australian, and he just can't do a cockney accent. :greengrin

My nomination has to be for Leonardo DiCaprio in Blood Diamond, terrible South African accent - great film though.

[GhostofBolivar]

I'm going to offer the otherwise generally pretty good Gene Hackman. Two nominations:

1. Terrible, terrible Polish accent in 'A Bridge Too Far'

2. Unbelievably bad portrayal of a drunk man in 'The Pelican Brief'

Is Gene Hackman even in The Pelican Brief?

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107798/fullcredits#cast

[magpie1892]

Is Gene Hackman even in The Pelican Brief?

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107798/fullcredits#cast

I think the OP means 'The Firm'..?

[magpie1892]

Agreed; I thought that he was supposed to be playing an Australian, was a bit confused until someone pointed out that he actually is Australian, and he just can't do a cockney accent. :greengrin

He's from Newcastle (Upon Tyne, not New South Wales).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie_Hunnam

[One Day Soon]

Is Gene Hackman even in The Pelican Brief?

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107798/fullcredits#cast

Oops. No, but he is in The Firm.:embarrass

[Peevemor]

Oops. No, but he is in The Firm.:embarrass

Easy mistake to make with anything written by John Grisham. :agree:

[ballengeich]

Stephen Graham in The Damned United. He described Billy Bremner as coming from a small place near Glasgow. Even if he'd succeeded in sounding like a weegie, he'd have been nowhere near Bremner's Stirling accent.

[Hibrandenburg]

The all time winner must be Scotty in star trek. Makes me cringe everytime I hear it. Followed by the janitor from the Simpsons.

[stu in nottingham]

Albert Finney in Saturday Night and Sunday Morning.

Great actor and an otherwise superb piece of acting but so help me, he doesn't sound at all like the Nottingham lad he is supposed to be in the film.

[Dinkydoo]

He's from Newcastle (Upon Tyne, not New South Wales).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie_Hunnam

That makes his attempt at a cockney accent even worse!

I was convinced that he was Austrailian:greengrin

[(((Fergus)))]

Agreed; I thought that he was supposed to be playing an Australian, was a bit confused until someone pointed out that he actually is Australian, and he just can't do a cockney accent. :greengrin

My nomination has to be for Leonardo DiCaprio in Blood Diamond, terrible South African accent - great film though.

He got slagged a bit in the US press but I think his SA/Rhodesian accent was very successful - according to Africans too. He put a lot of work into it and it seems to have paid off. What might have confused the US press is the scene where he's trying to get payment off that black rebel commander and *his character* adopts the guy's funky patois with mixed results - but then that was part of the character. Most people aren't too good at accents and why should that character have been?

You did remind me though of one shocking performance that ruins an otherwise decent film: Keanu Reeves in Bram stoker's Dracula.

And not a film but you can see clips on YouTube: Alan Cumming as the MC in Cabaret: his German is crap, his French isn't the best and his English suggests that he is supposed to be German. This mess is compounded by a shouty, aggressive and pseudo-sexy performance that lacks all the subtlety, wit and linguistic accomplishment of the film.

[heretoday]

The all time winner must be Scotty in star trek. Makes me cringe everytime I hear it. Followed by the janitor from the Simpsons.

I think the Jimmy accent in The Simpsons is meant to be bad. Something to do with irony. I don't mind that so much. It's when UK productions get it wrong that really gets my goat.

[Brizo]

The Bill Forsyth film Restless Natives set in Embra every actor had a weedgie accent. My pet hate films and TV dramas set in Embra where the accents are all pure weedgie by the way. The only thing which saved the film from being total gash was iirc a scene on the Mound with guys wearing Hibs strips or waving HIbs :flag:

[Godsahibby]

Christopher "I am Connor MacLeod from the Clan MacLeod" Lambert's attempt at being Scottish in Highlander.

[Greentinted]

The Bill Forsyth film Restless Natives set in Embra every actor had a weedgie accent. My pet hate films and TV dramas set in Embra where the accents are all pure weedgie by the way. The only thing which saved the film from being total gash was iirc a scene on the Mound with guys wearing Hibs strips or waving HIbs :flag:

:agree: The over-rated one dimensional Robert Carlyle's woeful attempt at an Edinburgh accent in Trainspotting still irritates ("wahnt it"). As it goes the best Edinburgh accent from a non-Embra punter is Johnny Lee Miller who sounds more local than Carlyle and McGregor.

[Dinkydoo]

He got slagged a bit in the US press but I think his SA/Rhodesian accent was very successful - according to Africans too. He put a lot of work into it and it seems to have paid off. What might have confused the US press is the scene where he's trying to get payment off that black rebel commander and *his character* adopts the guy's funky patois with mixed results - but then that was part of the character. Most people aren't too good at accents and why should that character have been?

Maybe posting Blood Diamond in a thread about "Terrible film accents/performances" is being unfair on him. His accent didn't impress me however I'm beginning to think that I'm the one who is terrible with accents :faf:



You did remind me though of one shocking performance that ruins an otherwise decent film: Keanu Reeves in Bram stoker's Dracula.

We agree on this one at least - it was an awful performance by KR.

Fwiw, I do have a lot of time for Keanu Reeves and rate him quite highly as an actor. The Watcher is a particularly good film where he plays a serial killer who watches his victims (funnily enough), studying them and establishing what kind of 'day to day' pattern they follow before killing them.

His earlier stuff was pretty crap in general; Bill and Ted anyone?

[magpie1892]

His earlier stuff was pretty crap in general; Bill and Ted anyone?

That role was, IMHO, Reeves' calling. i.e., he didn't actually have to act.

Bit like Cybill Shepherd in 'Taxi Driver' - just be yourself...

[LancashireHibby]

Stephen Graham in The Damned United. He described Billy Bremner as coming from a small place near Glasgow. Even if he'd succeeded in sounding like a weegie, he'd have been nowhere near Bremner's Stirling accent.

Couldn't take him seriously in that. Don't know if it's just me or not, but Graham just has the look of a Scouser, so it seems weird to hear him try any other accent (which in fairness according to Wiki he's tried a hatful in different roles).

[Steve-O]

Agreed; I thought that he was supposed to be playing an Australian, was a bit confused until someone pointed out that he actually is Australian, and he just can't do a cockney accent. :greengrin

My nomination has to be for Leonardo DiCaprio in Blood Diamond, terrible South African accent - great film though.

Fairly sure I heard/read that the people from the area DiCaprio's character was from said that he absolutely nailed the accent? :confused:

[Steve-O]

:agree: The over-rated one dimensional Robert Carlyle's woeful attempt at an Edinburgh accent in Trainspotting still irritates ("wahnt it"). As it goes the best Edinburgh accent from a non-Embra punter is Johnny Lee Miller who sounds more local than Carlyle and McGregor.

I thought Jonny Lee Miller WAS Scottish for many years :agree:

[lapsedhibee]

Don Cheadle trying to do a Cockney accent in Ocean's Eleven had me laughing my head off. Worse than Dick Van Dyke in The Sound of Music.

:agree: Couldn't take van Dyke in a nun's costume seriously at all at all.

[heretoday]

:agree: Couldn't take van Dyke in a nun's costume seriously at all at all.

Ha Ha no wonder he took to the drink eventually!

[Peevemor]

Ha Ha no wonder he took to the drink eventually!

He was already on the drink in his "cockney" days.

[Posh Swanny]

I thought Jonny Lee Miller WAS Scottish for many years :agree:

Me too! And that his English accent was very good for a Scottish guy!

Conversely, Christian Bale's gruff English accent in The Prestige annoyed me until I watched the extras and realised that's his real accent!!

[frazeHFC]

Agreed; I thought that he was supposed to be playing an Australian, was a bit confused until someone pointed out that he actually is Australian, and he just can't do a cockney accent. :greengrin

My nomination has to be for Leonardo DiCaprio in Blood Diamond, terrible South African accent - great film though.

Isn't meant to be South African. He is meant to be Zimbawean.......:duck:

[TheEastTerrace]

Natascha McElhone trying to do an Irish accent in Ronin

[Wilson]

Fairly sure I heard/read that the people from the area DiCaprio's character was from said that he absolutely nailed the accent? :confused:

I wonder if there is some confusion caused by the fact that the South African accent is just irritating anyway. I worked with a South African and I found his accent irritating. I watched Blood Diamond and found Leo's accent irritating. In that regard he nailed it as far as I am concerned.

Sorry Johan.

[Baw Baggio]

Forest Whitaker's attempt at an English accent in The Crying game is absolutely abysmal.

"Why didya sting me Mista Scorpion?" :tee hee:

[Dinkydoo]

Fairly sure I heard/read that the people from the area DiCaprio's character was from said that he absolutely nailed the accent? :confused:


Isn't meant to be South African. He is meant to be Zimbawean.......:duck:

Yea, I think it's been made abundantly clear that I'm crap with accents. :big grin:

As I said earlier, I wasn't impressed by his accent at the time of watching Blood Diamond (a few years ago now) but then again I'm not entirely sure why; I don't really have anything to compare it against.:idiot:

[Dashing Bob S]

An absolutely wonderful piece of miscasting was the attempt to recreate lovable spacey Californian stoner Owen Wilson as an action hero in the straight-to-vid Behind Enemy Lines. (Based on a true story!)

If you haven't already seen this film, do yourself a big favor and rent/download it. It really is so unintentionally funny, as we watch Wilson run, climb, absail, drive his way through war-torn Croatia to get to his departing USMC unit, pursued by a deadly sniper. All the time you can see him wishing for a joint and a couch or even a surfboard. 'Like, what the *uck, dude?'

[thekaratekid]

Morgan Freeman as Nelson Mandela in Invictus

[frazeHFC]

An absolutely wonderful piece of miscasting was the attempt to recreate lovable spacey Californian stoner Owen Wilson as an action hero in the straight-to-vid Behind Enemy Lines. (Based on a true story!)

If you haven't already seen this film, do yourself a big favor and rent/download it. It really is so unintentionally funny, as we watch Wilson run, climb, absail, drive his way through war-torn Croatia to get to his departing USMC unit, pursued by a deadly sniper. All the time you can see him wishing for a joint and a couch or even a surfboard. 'Like, what the *uck, dude?'

Quality film :top marks

[brianmc]

Shirley anything done by embra's most famous milkman deserves the award(I know some of his work had already been highlighted).

English spy= Scottish accent
Irish cop= Scottish accent
Russian submariner= Scottish accent etcetc
Am I alone in thinking "oor sean" has made a very well paid career out of not being able to act wortha ****?
Dinnae get me wrong,I like a lot of his movies, but mostly I watch them thinking-how in the name o'the wee man how that ****er managed to become a multi millionaire

[TrickyNicky]

Richard Gere in First Knight ( the one that Sean Connery played The English King with a Scottish accent )

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KeH6mLVQQE

[hibsbollah]

An absolutely wonderful piece of miscasting was the attempt to recreate lovable spacey Californian stoner Owen Wilson as an action hero in the straight-to-vid Behind Enemy Lines. (Based on a true story!)If you haven't already seen this film, do yourself a big favor and rent/download it. It really is so unintentionally funny, as we watch Wilson run, climb, absail, drive his way through war-torn Croatia to get to his departing USMC unit, pursued by a deadly sniper. All the time you can see him wishing for a joint and a couch or even a surfboard. 'Like, what the *uck, dude?'I went to see the new Woody Allen movie Midnight in Paris with mrs bollah last night. Owen Wilson, to my amazement, was absolutely superb in it, clearly recreating Woody Allens' neurotic characters from all those 1970s classics down to a tee. But, as you say, he still has that ****gy from scooby doo, half a bong for breakfast in your pasadena beach hut kind of look about him.Great film, great performances, no dodgy accents. Adrian Brody also stood out doing Salvador Dali, although i thought they missed a trick by not casting yogi hughes in the role. He would have nailed that Dali Leith brogue all day long.

[Gus]

An absolutely wonderful piece of miscasting was the attempt to recreate lovable spacey Californian stoner Owen Wilson as an action hero in the straight-to-vid Behind Enemy Lines. (Based on a true story!)

If you haven't already seen this film, do yourself a big favor and rent/download it. It really is so unintentionally funny, as we watch Wilson run, climb, absail, drive his way through war-torn Croatia to get to his departing USMC unit, pursued by a deadly sniper. All the time you can see him wishing for a joint and a couch or even a surfboard. 'Like, what the *uck, dude?'

I am pretty sure this film is on channel 5 this saturday coming..........

Cannae believe no one has mentioned Mel Gibson in Braveheart

[Dashing Bob S]

I went to see the new Woody Allen movie Midnight in Paris with mrs bollah last night. Owen Wilson, to my amazement, was absolutely superb in it, clearly recreating Woody Allens' neurotic characters from all those 1970s classics down to a tee. But, as you say, he still has that ****gy from scooby doo, half a bong for breakfast in your pasadena beach hut kind of look about him.Great film, great performances, no dodgy accents. Adrian Brody also stood out doing Salvador Dali, although i thought they missed a trick by not casting yogi hughes in the role. He would have nailed that Dali Leith brogue all day long.

Yes, Midnight in Paris is terrific, plays to Wilson's sweet, kooky endearing side rather than the spoiled petulant frat-boy surfer one. Check out Behind Enemy Lines though - you won't regret it.

[One Day Soon]

Sting in Dune. Woeful.

If only he really had been eaten by a giant worm on the sands of Arrakis

[Steve-O]

Me too! And that his English accent was very good for a Scottish guy!

Conversely, Christian Bale's gruff English accent in The Prestige annoyed me until I watched the extras and realised that's his real accent!!

Nah I don't think that's right - Bale tends to be a bit of a method actor and seems to keep his accent going off-screen, and even after the film has wrapped. I've heard him without about 5 completely different accents in various interviews and am not actually sure what the real one is!

[Steve-O]

Shirley anything done by embra's most famous milkman deserves the award(I know some of his work had already been highlighted).

English spy= Scottish accent
Irish cop= Scottish accent
Russian submariner= Scottish accent etcetc
Am I alone in thinking "oor sean" has made a very well paid career out of not being able to act wortha ****?
Dinnae get me wrong,I like a lot of his movies, but mostly I watch them thinking-how in the name o'the wee man how that ****er managed to become a multi millionaire

Don't forget he got a best supporting actor Oscar for that Irish Cop performance. Despite the accent, I think he can act.