Hugh tops American accent poll
- Published by David Knox
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- Filed under News
House’s Hugh Laurie fakes the best American accent according to a British survey, but Michelle Ryan on Bionic Woman had the worst.
3,000 readers of RadioTimes voted Laurie’s accent as the most authentic.
It’s a shame that no Aussie actors were included in the list. For my money, Rachel Griffiths would have to sit high on the list, for her work in Brothers and Sisters. Rose Byrne was pretty convincing in Damages too. Judy Davis is always good, and Anthony La Paglia. And of course Jesse Spencer has the best of both worlds.
Here’s what the Brits chose:
Who has the best American accent?
Hugh Laurie in House
1. Hugh Laurie (House)
2. Anna Friel (Pushing Daisies)
3. Michelle Ryan (Bionic Woman)
4. Damian Lewis (Band of Brothers)
5. Minnie Driver (The Riches)
6. Eddie Izzard (The Riches)
7. Joely Richardson (Nip/Tuck)
8. Ian McShane (Deadwood)
9. Louise Lombard (CSI: Crime Scene Investigation)
10. Marianne Jean-Baptiste (Without a Trace)
11. Lena Headey (Terminator : The Sarah Connor Chronicles)
12. Jamie Bamber (Battlestar Galactica)
13. Matthew Rhys (Brothers and Sisters)
14. Dominic West (The Wire)
15. Lennie James (Jericho)
16. Sean Maguire (The Class)
17. Idris Elba (The Wire)
18. Sophia Myles (Moonlight)
19. Other
20. Kevin McKidd (Journeyman)
Who has the worst American accent?
1. Michelle Ryan (Bionic Woman)
2. Eddie Izzard (The Riches)
3. Anna Friel (Pushing Daisies)
4. Hugh Laurie (House)
5. Ian McShane (Deadwood)
6. Sean Maguire (The Class)
7. Minnie Driver (The Riches)
8. Joely Richardson (Nip/Tuck)
9. Louise Lombard (CSI: Crime Scene Investigation)
10. Dominic West (The Wire)
11. Jamie Bamber (Battlestar Galactica)
12. Lena Headey (Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles)
13. Sophia Myles (Moonlight)
14. Damian Lewis (Band of Brothers)
15. Lennie James (Jericho)
16. Marianne Jean-Baptiste (Without a Trace)
17. Matthew Rhys (Brothers and Sisters)
18. Other
19. Kevin McKidd (Journeyman)
20. Idris Elba (The Wire)
If you want to hear samples of all these actors doing British and American accents RadioTimes has some great comparison links.
Source: radiotimes
4 Responses
Defiantly agree that Hugh Laurie has a great American accent, not only does he do it well he has managed to craft a memorable character from it.
I know its a bit outdated and It maybe just because I’m having a homemade Arrested Development marathon at home right now but Portia de Rossi makes a very convincing American, but then again your last article about her said she grew up in Geelong but is she a native of Ozland??
And neon! Can you suggest a better way to obtain ratings? The Music Industry has the same system as well and its pretty accurate (except for the whole Christian Hillsong debacle) 90% accurate is not to bad and cost effective. It may not show your favorite shows being huge hits but its designed to represent mainstream viewing not ultra left wing anti commercialism viewers! hehe
🙂 🙂 🙂
“just goes to show that polling a small subset of people doesn’t prove anything except how people will pay for useless information,” says Trendy – inadvertently describing EXACTLY why the current ratings system in this country is worthless 🙂
Well I guess it doesn’t count that Scotland-born John Barrowman does such a good American accent as he moved to the US at the age of five! 😛
As for worst accents, Lloyd Owen of Viva Laughlin had what I’d consider the worst American accent ever (leaving aside all the Aussie actors in Time Trax, that is). Saffron Burrows’ midwestern accent tends to slip regularly on Boston Legal as well.
What a useful poll that turned out to be
* Hugh Laurie has the best and the 4th worst.
* Anna Friel has the 2nd best and 3rd worst.
* Michelle Ryan had the 3rd best and the worst.
just goes to show that polling a small subset of people doesn’t prove anything except how people will pay for useless information.