I could swear Elijah Wood isn't from England. (1 Viewer)

[NathanP]

He's been in so many American films!

I could swear he invented that phoney English accent for LOTR!

What do you think?

 

[Roby Adams]

Was there ever any doubt that he wasn't from england?
Link Removed

 

[Rob Gillespie]

I could swear he invented that phoney English accent for LOTR!

Ohhh no, people have been doing phoney English accents for years. I don't think Elijah invented it. Perhaps he did, I dunno.

 

[Chris Lynch]

Saw him on Letterman tonight, he's from Iowa, I think.

Plus, he lived in New Zealand for sixteen months, soaking up that culture, and filmed three movies with a largely British cast, so he might have picked it up instintively. You ever unconsiously imitate a friends laugh? Similar thing.

BTW, he did sound ever so slightly British tonight on Letterman.

Incidently, I thought Gwyneth Paltrow was English for a solid 4 years. :b

 

[Ben Motley]

And I thought Cate Blanchette was a hick! (that means an American of poor southern roots) The first thing I ever saw her in was The Gift. It was a real revelation to watch that, and then the interview piece on the dvd, where she let's her Aussie accent all hang out. Anyway, I grew up watching Britcoms, and quite often did my own bad impersonation of English accents.

 

[Rob Gillespie]

Gwyneth did a fine accent for Emma, as did Zelwegger in Bridget Jones.

Keanu Reeves did not do a fine accent in Dracula.

 

[Ben Motley]

"Whoah! Carfax Abbey is killer, duuuuuude!"

 

[Peter Kim]

And I thought James Earl Jones was a damn good Darth.

Then I learned David Prowse was Darth Vader, and I thought, whoaaa...Mr. Prowse does a damn fine James Earl Jones.

 

[Seth Paxton]

I thought I was English for about a year.
Turned out I was just bored.
- brought to you by Wayne's World (sort of)

 

[PhilipG]

I've said it before and I'll say it again:
The only American capable of a convincing English accent is Patrick McGoohan. There have been a few "nice try, still off" performances (cf Zelwegger, Paltrow), but many, many bad "Dick Van Dyke" attempts.
At least Kevin Costner, in RHoT, didn't insult us by trying.

 

[Mikael Soderholm]

And I thought James Earl Jones was a damn good Darth.

Then I learned David Prowse was Darth Vader, and I thought, whoaaa...Mr. Prowse does a damn fine James Earl Jones..

Well, if I remember correctly, David Prowse was Darth Vader, but James Earl Jones did his voice...(but maybe you alreday knew that...)

 

[Dave Smith]

The worst British accent I've heard in years is in theaters right now - Don Cheadle in Ocean's 11.

If Soderbergh wanted a Cockney character, why didn't he hire a real one? There's plenty of them about.

 

[Patrick Sun]

So what's Meryl Streep's real accent?

 

[Peter Kim]

Didn't think my comments needed enhancement, but this one's for you, Mikael .

 

[Brian Kidd]

McGoohan is American??? I honestly had no idea until today. I just watched some PRISONER the other night. There was an episode that took place primarily in an Old West setting. McGoohan even mastered the "Brit playing an American accent"! I'm in awe of the man. What a total badass in that series!

 

[Sean Cauley]

I'm in agreement that Wood's accent probably comes from being in New Zealand for so long. I know my accent got fairly more Southern (or, at least, more "country") when I had small-town friends and roommates in college from other parts of Kentucky and Tennessee.

Some actors, like Mel Gibson, live in different places over the years and have shifting accents. Between his time in the U.S. & Australia over his childhood and early adulthood, Gibson has a sort of combination accent that has gotten more American since he started making primarily American films and made his home in Hollywood. Anna Paquin (New Zealand/U.S./Canada) also has a weird shifting accent that leans one way or the other depending on where she's been the most lately.

 

[John Spencer]

At least Kevin Costner, in RHoT, didn't insult us by trying.

No, he chose to insult us in entirely different ways, like his acting.

 

[Matthew_S]

I actually thought of this also when i saw him on the new MTV movie show. I hate it when people fake accents in real life. Be who you are for cryin' out loud!

 

[Dan Brecher]

I believe it was a production choice to give the Hobbits british accents. You listen to Sean Astin as Sam and he seems to adopt one too, check his "back you devil!" line in the trailer. Add the fact Ian Holm is British, as are the two chaps who portray Merry and Pippin and you can sort of draw yourself away from the idea that Wood just simply picked it by accident.

Since LOTR has strong British roots (often said that the likes of Bag End drew much inspiration from Oxfordshire) the vast majority of the cast are either British, or adopt intentional accents (Liv Tyler & Viggo Mortensen are other notable examples)...

In real life Wood has always been very softly spoken. In the mass of TV stuff he did here over the weekend I didn't detect a great difference in his true voice, it's certainly very different to the one he carries in the film however.

Dan (UK)

 

[Joseph Young]

Patrick McGoohan is indeed American, although his upbringing is a little more Link Removed than that.
Now that I think about it (and believe me, I try not to), there were scenes in RHOT where Costner did affect some kind of accent. He sounded more like a good ole' boy living in NYC for a few years, though.
Speaking of Robin Hood, I always get 'Prince of Thieves' and 'Men in Tights' mixed up!!
Joseph