Accents - Hugh Laurie

Question

Anyone seen Hugh Laurie in the new(-ish) TV series "House"? I've only seen clips and can't judge, but those who've seen whole episodes are suggesting on a UK TV group that he does a good American accent. Ayes to the right, noes to the left SVP. (I just typed "Aues to the right". What am I like?)

John Dean
Oxford

Usenet · Accepted Answer

[nq:1]Anyone seen Hugh Laurie in the new(-ish) TV series "House"? I've only seen clips and can't judge, but those who've seen whole episodes are suggesting on a UK TV group that he does a good American accent.[/nq]
I've only seen it a few times but I think he sounds fine.

"What do you value in your bulldogs? Gripping, is it not? It's their nature? It's why you breed them? It's so with men. I will not give in because I oppose it. Not my pride, not my spleen, nor any other of my appetites, but *I* do. Is there in the midst of all this muscle no single sinew that serves no appetite of Norfolk's but is just Norfolk? Give that some exercise. Because, as you stand, you'll go before your Maker ill-conditioned. He'll think that somewhere along your pedigree, a *** got over the wall."
-, "A Man For All Seasons"

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]Anyone seen Hugh Laurie in the new(-ish) TV series "House"? I've only seen clips and can't judge, but those who've ... Ayes to the right, noes to the left SVP. (I just typed "Aues to the right". What am I like?)[/nq]
I've seen only a bit of it, but I thought his accent wasn't that great. He over-emphasizes r's, a common fault of British actors playing Amerricans.

SML

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]Anyone seen Hugh Laurie in the new(-ish) TV series "House"? I've only seen clips and can't judge, but those who've seen whole episodes are suggesting on a UK TV group that he does a good American accent.[/nq]
He doesn't do a bad American accent ... for a Brit. That's not quite the same thing as saying he does a good American accent, but it is at least non-jarring enough that you can forget about it completely once you've gotten involved in the plot of the episode.

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]Anyone seen Hugh Laurie in the new(-ish) TV series "House"? I've only seen clips and can't judge, but those who've ... Ayes to the right, noes to the left SVP. (I just typed "Aues to the right". What am I like?)[/nq]
Don't ask, dearie.

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]Anyone seen Hugh Laurie in the new(-ish) TV series "House"? I've only seen clips and can't judge, but those who've ... noes to the left SVP. (I just typed "Aues to the right". What am I like?) John Dean Oxford[/nq]
In the mini series Band of Brothers half the cast was British and their accents were fine.
I think its that we've been so conditioned by toy hollywood accents that we don't know the difference.
Funny with movies, we expect romans to talk like sir john gielgud and french to have pepe le peu accents. A few years back the British made some Maigret mysteries about a french detective. They actors spoke with thier natural english stage accent and it was very off-putting, I could believe they were french.

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]In the mini series Band of Brothers half the cast was British and their accents were fine.[/nq]
I was surprised that Damian Lewis, that all-American Major Winters, could do such a good English accent when I later saw him in The Forsyte Saga.

SML

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]In the mini series Band of Brothers half the cast was British and their accents were fine.[/nq]
[nq:1]I was surprised that Damian Lewis, that all-American Major Winters, could do such a good English accent when I later saw him in The Forsyte Saga. SML[/nq]
I watched that just to hear him speak naturally .

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ray o'hara filted:
[nq:2]Anyone seen Hugh Laurie in the new(-ish) TV series "House"? ... just typed "Aues to the right". What am I like?)[/nq]
[nq:1]In the mini series Band of Brothers half the cast was British and their accents were fine. I think its that we've been so conditioned by toy hollywood accents that we don't know the difference.[/nq]
Best British actors at doing believable American accents, in chronological order:
Peter Ustinov
Robert Hoskins
Tracey Ullman
Alan ******* (I know he's a Scot; that makes up for Sean Connery)

Most of the others that the British audience rave about are so far off the mark it's hard to believe they've even heard an American speak..

I'll leave it to the other side to come up with a corresponding list in the other direction...we already know Van is hopeless; does David Hyde Pierce (in "Spamalot") measure up?...r

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]Anyone seen Hugh Laurie in the new(-ish) TV series "House"? I've only seen clips and can't judge, but those who've ... Ayes to the right, noes to the left SVP. (I just typed "Aues to the right". What am I like?)[/nq]
He does alright from what I heard. I wouldn't have known he was a Brit, if I hadn't heard him speak with his natural accent. One word that is usually a dead giveaway from a Brit speaking with an American accent is the word "Kenya". Pronounced "Keen-ya". The American version rhymes with "Ken".

I was almost convinced in a scene of the old Judy Dench series "As Time Goes By" (I think that's the title) during a scene where she vacations in America. I believed that most of the actors were Americans (or Canadians) until one of them uttered the word "Kenya". Also, there's usually an hyper "r"-ization involved.
But the "House" actor does pretty good from what I've heard.

Larry

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]He does alright from what I heard. I wouldn't have known he was a Brit, if I hadn't heard him ... from a Brit speaking with an American accent is the word "Kenya". Pronounced "Keen-ya". The American version rhymes with "Ken".[/nq]
So it has done in BrE since independence (1964-ish). There may still be some old colonials* who may still have a problem with that, but I don't think there are many of them at all.
*It's occurred to me that this is misinterpretable. I mean those who "ran" countries like Kenya before independence.
Philip Eden

Accents - Hugh Laurie

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