In Hollywood, a common sign of great acting is the ability of an actor to imitate a foreign accent. The ability to master regional dialects is also very important, but what it really does is separate the actors and actresses that are masters of phonology from the one who are not. Actors usually perfect this through exposure, which allows the brain to appreciate the subtle nuances that make the accent unique. Classic examples of this are Gandhi, Leonardo DiCaprio in the more recent Blood Diamond, Denzel Washington in Cry Freedom, and Don Cheadle in Hotel Rwanda. Gandhi ( 1982) is a Biographical film about Mohandas ("Mahatma" Gandhi, who was a leader of the Nonviolent resistance movement Blood Diamond is an Academy Award nominated 2006 adventure Drama film co-produced and directed by Edward Zwick and Cry Freedom is a 1987 feature film directed by Richard Attenborough, set in the late 1970s during the Apartheid era of South Africa Donald Frank "Don" Cheadle (born November 29, 1964) is an Academy Award -nominated and Golden Globe Award -winning American Hotel Rwanda is a Historical drama film about the hotelier Paul Rusesabagina (played by Don Cheadle) during the Rwandan Genocide Also, Robert Knepper, who is best known as Theodore Bagwell in TV Drama Prison Break, has been widely praised for an accurate Southern accent he adopted for the aforementioned role, as well as a Russian accent as Yuri in the 2007 movie Hitman. Robert Lyle Knepper (born July 8, 1959) is an American actor He currently has a starring role as T-Bag in the Fox network's drama Prison Break is an American action / Serial drama television series that premiered on the Fox Broadcasting Company on August 29 2005 For other uses of this term see Hitman (disambiguation A hitman usually is an Assassin who is hired to assassinate a target via

Criticism of this is that the perception of an accurate foreign accent are rarely considered accurate by the speakers of this accent. The perception or sensitivity of others to accents means that generalizations are passed off as acceptable, such as Brad Pitt's Jamaican accent in Meet Joe Black. William Bradley "Brad" Pitt Pitt received a Golden Globe Award and an Academy Award nomination for his role in the 1995 film Twelve Monkeys Meet Joe Black is a 1998 Remake of the 1934 film Death Takes a Holiday, originally having been remade in 1971 under the same name as the ^[1] Another example of this is Denzel Washington in Cry Freedom. Denzel Hayes Washington Jr (born December 28 1954) is an American Actor and director. Cry Freedom is a 1987 feature film directed by Richard Attenborough, set in the late 1970s during the Apartheid era of South Africa Most Americans were impressed with his imitation but few South Africans would have seen it as an accurate South African accent. The Republic of South Africa (also known by other official names) is a country located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa Another example of this is African-American imitations of Jamaican accents which are perceived as comical by actual Jamaicans. In recent cinema Angelina Jolie attempted a Greek accent in the film Alexander that was said by critics to be distracting. Angelina Jolie (born Angelina Jolie Voight on June 4 1975 is an American film actor Greek (el ελληνική γλώσσα or simply el ελληνικά — "Hellenic" is an Indo-European language, spoken today by 15-22 million people mainly ^[2] In 2000 Pitt played the role of a Travelling Irish boxer in the gangster movie Snatch. The Irish people ( Irish: Muintir na hÉireann, na hÉireannaigh, na Gaeil) are a Western European Ethnic group who originate Boxing (sometimes also known as English boxing or pugilism) is a Combat sport in which two participants generally of similar weight, Snatch is a 2000 Film by British writer - director Guy Ritchie. An accent teacher was employed purely to help Brad Pitt (Mickey) speak "Pikey". Renée Zellweger perfected her English accent so successfully for Bridget Jones' Diary that even co-actor, and English native, Hugh Grant was surprised to hear her natural American accent. Renée Kathleen Zellweger (born April 25, 1969) is an Academy Award - BAFTA - SAG Award - and Golden Globe -winning Bridget Jones' Diary is a 1996 novel by Helen Fielding. It chronicles the life of Bridget Jones, a thirty-something single woman Hugh John Mungo Grant (born 9 September 1960 is a British Actor and Film producer.

Similarly, James Marsters first gained mainstream exposure portraying the British vampire Spike on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, a role he continued for over seven years. James Wesley Marsters (born August 20, 1962) is an American actor and musician best known for playing the popular platinum-blond character Spike Spike (aka William "the Bloody") played by James Marsters, is a Fictional character Fictional narratives (and works of art exist beyond their completion e His accent became so accurate (Marsters based it upon the accent of British co-star Anthony Stewart Head) that many people, even fans, are surprised to hear him speak out of character in his natural, Californian accent. Anthony Stewart Head (born 20 February, 1954) is an English Actor and Musician who has appeared in Theatre, Television This is also true for Oregon-born David Anders, whose english accents as Julian Sark on Alias and Adam Monroe on Heroes were so accurate that many fans did not know he was born and raised in America. David Anders (born David Anders Holt on March 11, 1981) is an American Television and stage Actor. Julian Sark, played by David Anders, was the co-leader of the North American branch of The Covenant on the Television series Alias. Alias is an American " Spy-fi " television series created by J Adam Monroe, also known as in feudal Japan, is a Fictional character portrayed by David Anders in the NBC Science fiction Heroes is an American Science fiction television drama series created by Tim Kring, which premiered on NBC on September

On the other hand, to the average Dane, Meryl Streep's accent when playing the role of Danish author Karen Blixen in Out of Africa may, or may not, be heard as a that of a person speaking English with a foreign accent. The term Dane may refer to People with a Danish ancestral or ethnic identity whether living in Denmark, emigrants or the descendants of emigrants Mary Louise "Meryl" Streep (born June 22, 1949) is an award-winning American Actress who has worked in Theatre, Baroness Karen von Blixen-Finecke ( April 17, 1885 &ndash September 7, 1962) Née Karen Dinesen, was a Out of Africa is a 1985 Film based loosely on the autobiographical book by Isak Dinesen (pseudonym of Karen Blixen) published But to an English speaker familiar with the very specific accent of Danish speakers when they speak English, her accent does not even remotely resemble a Danish person's.

Conversely, British actor Hugh Laurie in the starring role of television series House has adopted an American accent so successfully that many do not realize that he is not American-born. James Hugh Calum Laurie, OBE (born June 11, 1959) is an English Actor, Comedian, Writer and Musician House, also known as House MD, is an American Medical drama, which debuted on the FOX network on November 16 2004 Hugh Jackman's American accent in the movie The Prestige was very realistic and may have led American viewers to believe that he is in fact American-born himself rather than his true Australian heritage. Hugh Michael Jackman (born 12 October, 1968) is an Tony Award -winning and Emmy Award -winning Australian Actor The Prestige is a 2006 period film directed by Christopher Nolan, with a screenplay adapted from Christopher Priest 's 1995 For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. Anthony LaPaglia, the Australian star of Without a Trace adopted an American accent when he was searching for work in the US and has since (to his regret) lost his Australian accent. Anthony M LaPaglia (ləˈpɑːljə born 31 January 1959 is an Australian actor best known for his role as FBI agent Jack Malone on the American TV series Without a Trace is an American television show set in New York City. Another example of this is Joely Richardson in the TV series Nip/Tuck. Joely Kim Richardson (born January 9, 1965) is an English[[ actress]] Nip/Tuck is an American television Medical drama series created by Ryan Murphy for FX Networks. Gary Oldman has become known for playing eccentrics and for his mastery of accents. Gary Leonard Oldman (born 21 March 1958 is an English actor writer director, producer, Voice-over artist and occasional Musician who ^[3]

The problem with accents being integrated into Hollywood the way that they are is it is a hit or miss with most actors. As mentioned by H Ottenheimer, the most authentic way to learn a culture is to immerse yourself in it. Coaches and tapes can start you in the right direction, but more often that not a forced accent is noticeable on film and can detract from the film's authenticity. Unfortunately, most actors and actresses cannot just immerse themselves into a regional or foreign culture because of their popularity, so this is an issue that will be very difficult to fix.

Stereotypes of accents in films

Notably, in Disney films from the 1990s onward, English accents are generally employed to serve one of two purposes: slapstick comedy or evil genius. ^[4] Examples include Aladdin (the Sultan and Jafar, respectively), The Lion King (Zazu and Scar, respectively), The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Victor the Gargoyle and Frollo, respectively), and Pocahontas (Wiggins and Ratcliffe, respectively - both of whom happen to be played by the same actor, American David Ogden Stiers). Zazu is a fictional Red-billed Hornbill who first appeared in the Walt Disney Pictures animated film The Lion King. The Hunchback of Notre Dame is a 1996 Animated feature produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released to theaters on June 21, 1996 Pocahontas is the thirty-third Animated feature in the Disney animated features canon. David Ogden Stiers (born October 31, 1942) is an American Actor, Voice actor and Musician, noted for his role in the

Notes

Events 588 BC - Nebuchadrezzar II of Babylon lays siege to Jerusalem under Zedekiah 's reign Year 2003 ( MMIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar.

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