Does this drive anybody else nuts?

Question

I'm talking about the way movie makers use northern actors to play Southern parts? That gripes me royally. There are plenty of people on this planet with REAL Southern accents, but casters still use Northern actors and actresses. Does this drive anybody but me crazy?

I'm from Alabama, so I know what a Southern accent should sound like!! Josh Lucas in Sweet Home Alabama did good, but his accent was a little forced. Reese Witherspoon, on the other hand, nailed it!

Answer 1

Yes! There are few things more obviously fake than a Yankee trying to imitate a Southern accent. I guess they can't tell the difference, but Southerners can.

Answer 2

Actually Josh is from the South too. He was born in Arkansas and raised all over the South. He worked very hard to "lose" his Southern accent as a young actor. I do admit there were a few words that sounded "forced" by the two of them. The only other accent botched as much as a Southern accent is that of a Brit. While Reese and Josh did well with the Southern accent she horribly botched the British accent in Vanity Fair. I hope he never trys it.

Answer 3

I agree with you. For example I think the worst impression of a Southern Accent was applied by Susan Sarrandon in the film "Bull Durham". The fake accent was spoken so poorly it irritated me enough to stop watching the movie. For real! I rented it on video then returned it after having seen less than half of it. You are correct in your beliefs that Southerners should play the parts of Southerners so the characters are more convincing since the accents are real. Good question by the way.

Answer 4

Well, Reese is a Southern Belle. She's admitted it many times, especially when "Walk the Line", a film about Johnny Cash's life, was released. So any Southern role fits her perfectly, as she has said many times.

Reese Witherspoon was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. Because her father worked for the US military in Wiesbaden, Germany, she lived there for four years as a small child. After returning to the United States, Witherspoon spent much of her childhood and adolescence in Nashville, Tennessee.

Answer 5

Over here in the UK, the differences are even more pronounced, pun unintended. And yet good actors do seem to be able to manage to affect decent accents for regions not their own.

A prize example is the Scottish David Tennant, who convincingly played Doctor Who this year with a slightly cheeky London accent. David just picked up a National Television Award yesterday for Best Actor in that role.

Not bad going.

Answer 6

Yeah, this bugs me too man. There are plenty of southern actors that display their accents well. And, to go on with this, I don't like when people try to force ANY accents that they can't pull off, for example I just saw Catch Me If You Can, and coming from a kid from Boston, Tom Hanks couldn't pull of a Southie accent for his life.
This bugs me

Answer 7

It does drive me nuts...but it also drives me nuts when people try to use a New York or New Jersey accent and get it wrong.

Madonna's use of an English accent - long before she married Guy Richie - was incredibly annoying as well.

Everyone think's they're Meryl Streep.

Answer 8

yes it really does.alot of southerners dont't have a really HEAVY twang like everyone seems to think we do. another thing that pisses me off is when American's portray irish rolls and fake thier accent! It's just wrong because it gives people the wrong idea about things

Answer 9

I can see where your coming from. I'm from West Texas and for the most part...are accents aren't as strong as most actors/actresses make them sound!

Answer 10

no and yes