Have you ever noticed how British actors regularly come to America and start booking roles that would normally go to Americans? 

Like their American counterparts, British actors possess stellar training, a disciplined, serious approach to the work, and a keen handle on the English language. They also happen to be crushing it in the States, producing an authentic American accent that lands them stateside acting gigs. 

Examples of British Actors Who Play American Roles

For example, Daniel Kaluuya skyrocketed to fame with his performance in Jordan Peele’s horror thriller Get Out. Kaluuya, however, is a British speaker originally from London. 

Other examples of famous British actors who can pull off flawless American accents include Bane and Venom actor Tom Hardy, American Psycho‘s Christian Bale, Will Poulter, Andrew Garfield (born in Los Angeles, raised in Epsom, England), and Daniel Day-Lewis. Their American dialects are so convincing, you’d think they were born in the States!

Can American Actors Do British Accents?

These are phenomenal actors who’ve contributed to many notable American films and TV shows over the years in American roles, but it makes you wonder if Americans can flip the switch and book roles that would traditionally go to English actors.

However, to audition for the next Withnail & I, Blow-Up or Trainspotting, you’ll have to master a regional accent of English.

Here are several American acting greats who have convincingly played British roles despite being non-native speakers.

Michael C. Hall

Netflix’s British detective series Safe stars Dexter‘s Michael C. Hall. Hall was born in Raleigh, North Carolina, and was educated at New York University’s Fine Arts program for acting. Hall pulls off an authentic British accent in the Harlan Coben mystery thriller, impressing many in the United Kingdom. 

“I wanted to sound like a contemporary British person, not a Monty Python character,” he says, noting that to master a British accent, he “worked with the dialect guy on The Crown and we were just making sure the accent was consistent. That the sounds I was making would plausibly be coming from the same mouth.”

Johnny Depp

Johnny Depp has also been tasked with a British dialect in quite a few projects over the years. The most well-known is his drunken warbling as Captain Jack Sparrow in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise.

According to Masters of Accents, Depp’s English accent as the pirate rogue is based on Keith Richards, generating an impressive result. “The British accent is almost meant to be slurred, and Depp pulls it off admirably in four films.”

Depp also lent his British accent skills to the Hughes Brothers horror-thriller From Hell. In the movie, Depp delivers a tough cockney accent as Fred Abberline, a drug-addled detective in search of Jack the Ripper.

In the Tim Burton musical Sweeney Todd, Depp again affects a tough Londoner’s cockney accent to compelling effect. He even sings the macabre songs of anguish and revenge with such passion and dark commitment tends to empower the historical Victorian-era accent.

Angelina Jolie

Angelina Jolie has also taken on the challenge of an English accent in the Lara Croft movies and the Maleficent franchise, among other films. Jolie’s mastered the accent so well that she’s admitted to sliding into it now and then. 

The Academy Award-winning actress has flexed her English accent playing the vengeful Maleficent in Disney’s dark fairytale. Given her talent and erudite nature, Jolie manages to carry out a credible British dialect and make it her own. 

“As Americans, we don’t have such a gift with language and so I tried to study and listen to a lot of tapes of British theater actors,” she says.

Although it is less common to see American actors playing British roles, it’s more than possible. Actors interested in learning a British accent will want to look into working with a dialect coach or a voice & speech coach to master British speech and British pronunciation.

Once you’ve got confidence in your abilities, be sure to make note of it on your acting resume and profiles so you can start going after those roles to get cast in a British film or TV production!

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