Here Are 30 Actors Who Adopted Accents For Roles — Half Almost Fooled Me And The Other Half Fooled No One

BuzzFeed

Thu, April 14, 2022 at 1:46 AM UTC

7 min read

The job of an actor is to play someone that they're not, and at times, that requires them to put on an accent!

Entertainment Tonight

Now there are good accents...and not so good accents. So, although I am no expert, here's my opinion of some of the best and worst fake accents that celebrities have adopted for roles:

1.Best — Renée Zellweger's British accent in Bridget Jones's Diary.

Universal Pictures

For the LONGEST time I thought that R.Z. was British, and it wasn't until her Oscar speech when she talked about being from Texas that I learned she was, in fact, NOT British.

You can hear her British accent here:

2.Worst — Blake Lively's Boston accent in The Town

Blake Lively standing by a window looking at a man — This isn't me being mean...but it was hard for me to just pick ONE bad accent of Blake's. I think since I'm from Boston, I'm really harsh on fake Boston accents, and hers was not the best. It ALSO didn't help that she was in a film with many Boston natives, so it especially stands out.
Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection

You can hear her Bostonian accent here:

3.Best — Daniel Kaluuya's Chicago accent in Judas and the Black Messiah:

Warner Bros.

Daniel's Fred Hampton was TRULY revolutionary. We already know that Daniel can do an American accent, but his ability to capture the Chicago accent was chef's kiss. I mean, he didn't win his Oscar for NOTHING!

You can hear his Chicago accent here:

4.Worst — Jacob Elordi's American accent in Euphoria:

HBO

I have heard that American accents are hard for New Zealanders to mimic, but wow, there were times where it sounded like he wasn't even trying.

You can hear his American accent here:

5.Best — Andrew Garfield's American accent in The Social Network:

Sony Pictures

I still cannot believe this talented stud is NOT American. A true chameleon if there ever was one.

You can hear his American accent here:

6.Worst — Emma Watson's Valley girl accent in The Bling Ring:

Watson putting on lip gloss and relaxing in a chair with a fur coat on — To give Emma credit, Alexis Neiers (the character she was portraying) had an annoying voice so the blueprint wasn't ideal...but still. There were moments where Emma's British accent peeked through.
A24 / Courtesy Everett Collection

You can hear her Valley girl accent here:

7.Best — Don Cheadle's Rwandan accent in Hotel Rwanda:

Cheadle looking at a military official and a van behind him — Don should have taken home the Academy Award for his accent *alone*, but sadly, the Academy and I were not in agreement at that time.
United Artists / Courtesy Everett Collection

You can hear his Rwandan accent here:

8.Worst — Don Cheadle's Cockney accent in Ocean's Eleven:

Cheadle crouching with two other men — I hate to do this to my mans, but my god. I know he has it in him to do a good accent! This was truly deserving of a Razzie.
Warner Bros / Courtesy Everett Collection

You can hear his Cockney accent here:

9.Best — Meryl Streep's Polish accent in Sophie's Choice:

Streep holding a tray and looking at a man — The REAL Sophie's Choice was closing only *one* of Meryl's roles to include on the "best" list. But truly, Meryl's accent in this film was flawless.
Universal Pictures /Courtesy Everett Collection

You can hear her Polish accent here:

10.Worst — Anne Hathaway's Yorkshire accent in One Day:

Hathaway talking on a pay phone and holding a newspaper — What confuses me...is that her accent in *Becoming Jane* was pretty convincing? Yet, somehow, all of that went completely out the window with this role.
Focus Features/Courtesy Everett Collection

11.Best — Heath Ledger's (American) Joker voice in The Dark Knight:

Warner Bros.

Pure genius, that man was. A true artist.

You can hear his Joker voice here:

12.Worst — Dick Van Dyke's British accent in Mary Poppins:

Dick Van Dyke with a bunch of cartoon penguins — I don't know what this accent was *supposed* to be, but I can tell you what it ISN'T, and that's British.
Walt Disney / Courtesy Everett Collection

You can hear his British accent here:

13.Best — Margot Robbie's New York accent in Birds of Prey:

Warner Bros.

Margot sound straight outta Queens, New York, and not Queensland, Australia.

You can hear her New York accent here:

14.Worst — Mel Gibson's Scottish accent in Braveheart:

Paramount Pictures

Methinks that Mel Gibson both starring and directing this film is the reason why there was no one on set to tell him how bad / inconsistent his Scottish accent was.

You can hear his Scottish accent here:

15.Best — Idris Elba's South African accent in Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom:

Elba raising his fist as he gets out of a car with a crowd of people behind him — Does Idris look like Mandela? Not really. But after hearing his accent, I see why they cast him!
20th Century Fox / Courtesy Everett Collection

You can hear his South African accent here:

16.Worst — James Van Der Beek's Texan accent in Varsity Blues:

Paramount Pictures

Dare I say, this is the most egregious on this list. Dawson, you're American! It shouldn't have been THAT HARD!!!!

You can hear his Southern accent here:

17.Best — Christian Bale's townie accent in The Fighter:

Bale standing outside — Mark Walhberg is FROM Boston, but have no fear — Christian Bale was able to hold his own! Kudos.
Paramount / Courtesy Everett Collection

You can hear his townie accent here:

18.Worst — Vanessa Hudgens' whatever you wanna call it accent in The Princess Switch:

Hudgens in an apron and Hudgets in a suit looking at a mirror — Seriously. What was that supposed to be?
Netflix / Courtesy Everett Collection

You can hear her Montenaro accent here:

19.Best — Alfred Enoch's American accent in How to Get Away With Murder:

ABC

I didn't realize until, like, Season 2 that Alfred Enoch was Dean in Harry Potter because his American accent was that believable.

You can hear his American accent here:

20.Worst — Scarlett Johansson's Jersey accent in Don Jon:

Relativity Media

Actually, I take it back. THIS is the most egregious example on this list because ScarJo is from NEW YORK! THE SOURCE MATERIAL WAS BUT A TRAIN RIDE AWAY!!!

You can hear her Jersey accent here:

21.Best — Leo DiCaprio's Rhodesian accent in Blood Diamond:

DiCaprio running with a gun — I know that this is a polarizing opinion, but I stand by Leo's accent! He did a good job! Especially since this is an accent we don't often hear in films.
Warner Bros / Courtesy Everett Collection

You can hear his Rhodesian accent here:

22.Worst — Tom Cruise's Irish accent in Far and Away:

Cruise in a newsboy cap and vest with Kidman behind him and a boy in front — I'd like to apologize to the people of Ireland as a whole for Tom Cruise's accent in this movie.
Universal Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection

You can hear his Irish accent here:

23.Best — Daisy Edgar-Jones' Irish accent in Normal People:

BBC 3 / Hulu

IF ONLY TOM CRUISE HAD D.E.J. AS HIS VOCAL COACH! But alas, she was not born yet.

You can hear her Irish accent here:

24.Worst — Cameron Diaz's Irish accent in Gangs of New York:

Diaz smiling and holding a parasol — It's giving...nonexistent.
Miramax / Courtesy Everett Collection

You can hear her Irish accent here:

25.Best — Robert Pattinson's Queens accent in Good Time:

Pattinson in a hallway — Robert literally spent "ages" in the tattoo shop at Queens Center Mall to hear how they talk, and all that studying sure did pay off!
a24 / Courtesy Everett Collection

You can hear his Queens accent here:

26.Worst — Gerard Butler's Irish accent in P.S. I Love You:

Butler reaching out his hand for a shake and smiling — I'm just confused, because Gerard is Scottish in real life, yet his Irish accent sounded like he learned it from an American *trying* to do an Irish accent.
Warner Bros / Courtesy Everett Collection

You can hear his Irish accent here:

27.Best — Kristen Stewart's British accent in Spencer:

NEON

Truly a regal transformation on K. Stew's part.

You can hear her British accent here:

28.Worst — Halle Berry's Kenyan accent in X-Men:

20th Century Fox

Storm as a character is Maasai (Kenyan and Tanzanian), but Halle's accent was at best nonexistent and at worst borderline offensive — to the ears, at least — that they just told Halle to speak in her normal voice for the remainder of the franchise.

You can hear her (low-key nonexistent) accent here:

29.Best — Will Poulter's American accent in We're the Millers:

Poulter as a kid — Started from Eustace in *The Voyage of the Dawn Treader*, and now we're here!
Warner Bros. / Courtesy Everett Collection

You can hear his American accent here:

30.Worst — Jared Leto's Italian accent in House of Gucci:

Leto standing at a table with many designs — *Multo, multo brutto.*
MGM

You can hear his Italian accent here:

Did I miss any? Sound off in the comments below!

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Entertainment News

The job of an actor is to play someone that they're not, and at times, that requires them to put on an accent!

Now there are good accents...and not so good accents. So, although I am no expert, here's my opinion of some of the best and worst fake accents that celebrities have adopted for roles:

1.Best — Renée Zellweger's British accent in Bridget Jones's Diary.

You can hear her British accent here:

2.Worst — Blake Lively's Boston accent in The Town

You can hear her Bostonian accent here:

3.Best — Daniel Kaluuya's Chicago accent in Judas and the Black Messiah:

You can hear his Chicago accent here:

4.Worst — Jacob Elordi's American accent in Euphoria:

You can hear his American accent here:

5.Best — Andrew Garfield's American accent in The Social Network:

You can hear his American accent here:

6.Worst — Emma Watson's Valley girl accent in The Bling Ring:

You can hear her Valley girl accent here:

7.Best — Don Cheadle's Rwandan accent in Hotel Rwanda:

You can hear his Rwandan accent here:

8.Worst — Don Cheadle's Cockney accent in Ocean's Eleven:

You can hear his Cockney accent here:

9.Best — Meryl Streep's Polish accent in Sophie's Choice:

You can hear her Polish accent here:

10.Worst — Anne Hathaway's Yorkshire accent in One Day:

11.Best — Heath Ledger's (American) Joker voice in The Dark Knight:

You can hear his Joker voice here:

12.Worst — Dick Van Dyke's British accent in Mary Poppins:

You can hear his British accent here:

13.Best — Margot Robbie's New York accent in Birds of Prey:

You can hear her New York accent here:

14.Worst — Mel Gibson's Scottish accent in Braveheart:

You can hear his Scottish accent here:

15.Best — Idris Elba's South African accent in Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom:

You can hear his South African accent here:

16.Worst — James Van Der Beek's Texan accent in Varsity Blues:

You can hear his Southern accent here:

17.Best — Christian Bale's townie accent in The Fighter:

You can hear his townie accent here:

18.Worst — Vanessa Hudgens' whatever you wanna call it accent in The Princess Switch:

You can hear her Montenaro accent here:

19.Best — Alfred Enoch's American accent in How to Get Away With Murder:

You can hear his American accent here:

20.Worst — Scarlett Johansson's Jersey accent in Don Jon:

You can hear her Jersey accent here:

21.Best — Leo DiCaprio's Rhodesian accent in Blood Diamond:

You can hear his Rhodesian accent here:

22.Worst — Tom Cruise's Irish accent in Far and Away:

You can hear his Irish accent here:

23.Best — Daisy Edgar-Jones' Irish accent in Normal People:

You can hear her Irish accent here:

24.Worst — Cameron Diaz's Irish accent in Gangs of New York:

You can hear her Irish accent here:

25.Best — Robert Pattinson's Queens accent in Good Time:

You can hear his Queens accent here:

26.Worst — Gerard Butler's Irish accent in P.S. I Love You:

You can hear his Irish accent here:

27.Best — Kristen Stewart's British accent in Spencer:

You can hear her British accent here:

28.Worst — Halle Berry's Kenyan accent in X-Men:

You can hear her (low-key nonexistent) accent here:

29.Best — Will Poulter's American accent in We're the Millers:

You can hear his American accent here:

30.Worst — Jared Leto's Italian accent in House of Gucci:

You can hear his Italian accent here:

Did I miss any? Sound off in the comments below!

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