Best and Worst accents by an actor in a film or tv role

[caj]

Sometimes actors/actresses nail an accent in a film or tv role. They practice, take professional lessons, or just imitate a person they know.

Other times, it's hard not to laugh at how horrible the accent is.

What is the best and worst accents you can remember by an actor or actress in a film or tv role?

[AndrewCrossett]

Everybody says Dick Van Dyke in Mary Poppins, but I don't know a genuine Cockney accent well enough to say what was wrong with his.

David Boreanaz did a pretty dreadful Irish accent on Angel, when he was in flashback scenes of his former mortal self (an 18th century Irishman). He would have done a better job if he'd imitated the leprechaun from the Lucky Charms commercials.

Best accent is any American accent done by Tracey Ullman.

Also in Angel, Alexis Denisof's British accent was pretty great... I've heard British people say they were surprised to find out he was American. James Marsters' was good too (in Buffy)... he got coached by Anthony Head.

[chicago_bastard]

So many to choose from but in terms of worst I guess Tom Cruise's attempt at an Irish accent in Far and Away takes the cake. I've seen school plays where the actors put more effort into it.

As a more recent example Affleck and Damon seemed to try to outdo each other for the worst British accent in The Last Duel. Actually they were so bad at it I'm not even sure if they were even trying a British accent (the other actors like Driver and Comer did though so one has to assume they did) or rather something else but what that something else was supposed to be is impossible to tell.

As far as the good ones go DDL nails pretty much every accent. Idris Elba's American accent is great. A not so obvious pick would be Andy Serkis' South African accent in Black Panther.

[chicago_bastard]

How could I forget RDJ playing an Australian dude playing an African American dude and nailing it.

Margot Robbie's American accents are also pretty good, well I guess Brooklyn and Jersey do sound the same for most people.^^

[ChrisIII]

Nicola Bryant's "american" accent as Peri in mid 80's Doctor Who. She's actually not a bad actress in other roles and with her real voice.

Funny thing is, in her 'death' scene (Later retconned) she gets to use her real voice, although it's pitched down as she's possessed.


Not sure if it counts as they do it in 'real life' but Gillian Anderson, Lauren Cohan and Kim Cattrall often switch between British and American accents.

[Robotman]

I recall Michael Caine saying that Forrest Whitaker's accent in The Crying Game was the best English cockney accent that he had ever heard an American do in a movie. Pretty high praise.