Moviefone's Top 15 Worst Movie Accents *Cont. With Picks From The Readers*

[JamesG]

In Inglourious Basterds, Brad Pitt plays up his Nazi hunter's Southern accent for laughs. He's gotten unintentional laughs for an accent before, though, when he played an Austrian explorer in Seven Years in Tibet. (Kudos on the vocal work since then, Brad.)

Thinking back on Pitt's varied brogues over the years, we were inspired to compile our 15 favorite bad movie accents -- linguistic atrocities committed by some of the most esteemed actors of our time. (Oh, Sir Sean!) Along the way, we learned some interesting lessons: 1) consistency is key; 2) everyone thinks they can do a British accent, but they pretty much think wrong; and 3) if you're an actor who wants to keep your self-respect intact, don't ever, ever play Irish.




Sean Connery - The Untouchables (1987)
Accent - Irish

Yes, the Scottish Sir Sean won an Oscar with his portrayal of an Irish-American cop -- but for his acting, not his accent, which proved once and for all that Scottish and Irish accents aren't quite the same thing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7g0RLyxP13o




Kevin Costner - Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991)
Accent - British

Bad movie accents come and go, but Costner's "now you hear it, now you don't" attempts at a British accent will stand the test of time. Who needs two Oscars when you've earned a distinction like that?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvPb_0P6mu8




Tom Cruise - Far and Away (1992)
Accent - Irish

We'd say that Cruise's accent reminds us of the Lucky Charms leprechaun ... but to be honest, that seems disrespectful to the leprechaun. (Nicole Kidman did an, um, interesting job as well -- where the heck was this movie's voice coach?)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKhdf0aHmPw




Harrison Ford - K-19: The Widowmaker (2002)
Accent - Russian

Maybe we've been watching too much Rocky and Bullwinkle, but Ford's accent as Capt. Alexei Vostrikov is so over-the-top, you'd almost think he was playing the villain. Not so. Apparently even heroes can sound like cartoons.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhTHS7sjTls




Tom Hanks - The Terminal (2004)
Accent - Krakozhian (fictional)

Krakozhia is a fictional country. But if Krakozhians actually existed, they'd be outraged -- outraged! -- by the way Hanks has mangled their made-up mother tongue.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQjnr1bvNI0




Charlton Heston - Touch of Evil (1958)
Accent - Mexican

Heston subscribes to the Kevin Costner school of intermittent accents. In fact, if it weren't for the fabulous tan and his pencil mustache, you might not know he's supposed to be Mexican at all.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WyNrgfBXWjQ




Angelina Jolie - Alexander (2004)
Accent - ?

It didn't seem possible, but watching Jolie's performance as the mother of Alexander the Great, our first thought -- for once! -- isn't how gorgeous she is. It's "What the heck accent IS that?" (For the record, she's supposed to be Greek.)

http://www.moviefone.com/movie/alexa...philip/1210352




Nicole Kidman and Renée Zellwegger - Cold Mountain (2003)
Accent - Southern

Yet another Oscar winner makes our list (Sean Connery); but Zellweger has company in the weird Southern accents department. She goes harsh and twangy while Kidman goes soft and vague ... So different, yet both so very wrong.

http://www.moviefone.com/movie/cold-...clip-1/1117552




Demi Moore - Flawless (2007)
Accent - British

It's an obvious joke, but we'll make it anyway: What certainly isn't Flawless about this movie? Moore's British accent. (Rimshot!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDEqMo79lr0




Brad Pitt - The Devil's Own (1997)
Accent - Irish

We'll give Pitt this: He tries hard. And he even sounds sort of authentic ... when all he's saying is "aye." To put it kindly, maybe he should have left the accents to his ex-girlfriend Gwyneth.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eup9BlYvVIY




Brad Pitt - Seven Years in Tibet (1997)
Accent - Austrian

Umm ... Austrians are supposed to sound like Germans, right? Forgive us if we're confused, but Pitt's accent here is so appallingly bad, he sounds more like his Irish character in The Devil's Own than any Austrian we've ever heard.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mAlSb3EjqmQ




Keanu Reeves - Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992)
Accent - British

Not only did Reeves bring this film to a near-standstill with his travesty against the British people, he did it again a year later, in Much Ado About Nothing. If we were the British government, we'd consider barring him from entering the country ever again.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDdY6dh5dJc




Julia Roberts - Mary Reilly (1996)
Accent - Irish

OK, we get it. Irish accents are hard. But talking in your normal voice and then saying, "Sahrr... you said you had an AILness," does not an Irishwoman make.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jb87JTGoMg




John Malkovich - Rounders (1998)
Accent - Russian

Is Malkovich awesome as Teddy KGB? Yes. And even if that's because of his outrageously hammy accent, we can't lay down the fact that it sounds as if he's auditioning to play Chekov on Star Trek. "Meester son of a beetch! Let's play some carrrds!"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qPgrCFcwFk




Dick Van Dyke - Mary Poppins (1964)
Accent - Cockney

Without a doubt, Van Dyke's Bert is one of the most beloved characters of all time (well, at least one of the most beloved chimney sweeps). But there's also no doubt that the sound of his Cockney accent is, as Mary would say, "something quite atrocious." Um-diddle-diddle, um-diddle-eye, guvnah.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=te_Nv3lMUnA




Bonus

Nicolas Cage - Captain Corelli's Mandolin (2001)
Accent - Italian

Reader Michelle astutely pointed out that we'd committed the terrible sin of omitting Nicolas Cage's atrocious Italian accent ("Bambina!") -- though in the end, our sin wasn't nearly as great as his. In our defense, we were so traumatized by his performance that we'd expunged it from our memories. Or we tried, anyway.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l345WSCfzts


http://insidemovies.moviefone.com/20...movie-accents/

[dawsongirl]

I didn't think DVD's cockney was that bad. *shrugs*

[Liza]

And if they'd go back just a bit further, they'd have noticed Marlon Brando's god-awful Southern accent in Sayonara. Yes, the Godfather totally hammed it up with "Well hey there, hot dog!" Despite the fact that his character was supposed to be from Lancaster, Pennsylvania! There's a reason the Oscars went to the supporting actors in that movie.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kxoa_...eature=related

[Liza]

Janet Munroe did a beautiful Irish accent in Darby O'Gill. I was shocked to discover she was English. Sean Connery on the other hand... well, he was cast for his looks, not his accent

[JamesG]

When we launched our feature on worst movie accents, we were hoping our list of 15 offenders would resonate with readers. But we were overwhelmed (in a good way) by the responses we got -- and many of them were even civil.

In fact, the suggestions from readers were so good, we decided to publish the ones we liked best. So welcome to the list, Rosanna Arquette, Nick Nolte and Al Pacino! And welcome back, Kevin Costner, Nicolas Cage and Sean Connery (twice!). We hereby present Worst Movie Accents: The Sequel.

Kudos to all the readers who made us think, reconsider, and laugh our faces off with your snarky comments.



Rosanna Arquette - The Whole Nine Yards (2000)
Accent - French-Canadian

I'm an Anglophone living in Quebec and to my ear, the worst of ALL time has to have been Rosanna Arquette's French Canadian accent. Arquette delivered her first line and a silence as thick and heavy as a wet, wool sweater fell over the audience. A beat later -- a collective groan -- funnier than anything in the movie. - Brett




Drew Barrymore - Ever After (1998)
Accent - English

My, how we forget Drew Barrymore in Ever After. That was downright uncomfortable to watch -- and hear. - Jo




Halle Berry - X-Men (2000)
Accent - African

Where is Halle Berry for her atrocious accent in X-Men???? I figured that she would top the list. Even the creators of X-Men knew it was so bad, that they dropped her accent completely in the 2nd X-Men to just normal speech. - Garren




Nicolas Cage - Con-Air (1997)
Accent - Southern

Nic Cage's deep South accent is as laughably bad as the movie itself, and that says a lot. The worst and most painful scenes are the narrations he does as he writes letters from jail to his daughter, "Mah Deeyrist Jenneyh." Thanks Nic Cage for the accidental comedy. - Jason




Sean Connery and Christopher Lambert - Highlander (1986)
Accent:
Connery - Spanish
Lambert - Scottish


Hell, Sean Connery doing a Spanish accent while Christopher Lambert does a Scots accent is a twofer in the original Highlander. - Kathie




Sean Connery - The Hunt For Red October (1990)
Accent - Russian

I think you got the wrong film for Sean, it should have been The Hunt for Red October, seriously, a Russian with a Scottish brogue? - Barbara




Kevin Costner - Thirteen Days (2000)
Accent - Bostonian

I am from Massachusetts and we watched that movie in my History class, we all laughed at his attempt at a Boston accent. It pretty much made my ears bleed and ruined the whole movie for me. - Bri




Tony Curtis - The Black Shield of Falworth (1954)
Accent - English

Oh, come now. Who could possibly forget Tony Curtis in The Black Shield of Falworth? The Brooklyn Brit. "Yondah is the castle of my Faddah." - Marc




Leonardo DiCaprio - Blood Diamond (2006)
Accent - South African

I was living overseas when it came out on DVD and I watched it with several friends who actually grew up in South Africa, one being from Ethiopia. We made it five mins into the movie. My friends stated that he sounded like a mix of Australia, Austria and backwoods South (in America). They couldn't think of a single place in Africa that sounded like that. - Reg




Daryl Hannah - Steel Magnolias (1989)
Accent - Southern

I'm not saying I saw the movie ... But Daryl Hannah's accent in Steel Magnolias could knock the bark off the trees. - Rewdy




Demi Moore - The Butcher's Wife (1991)
Accent - Southern

Don't forget Demi Moore in The Butcher's Wife ... the movie was terrible and her accent made it even more unbearable! - Barb




Jack Nicholson - The Departed (2006)
Accent - Bostonian

I'd have to add that Jack Nicholson's "Boston" accent in The Departed was absurd. In fact, it looked like HE thought it was absurd and was just screwing around because he's Jack and he can do whatever he wants. - Damon




Nick Nolte - Lorenzo's Oil (1992)
Accent - Italian

If you want to hear a truly horrible Italian accent, listen to Nick Nolte in Lorenzo's Oil. The rest of the movie was well done, but every time Nolte spoke, his god-awful "Mama Mia, dat's a speecy spicy meet-boll" would-be Italian dialect took me right out of the movie. He made Nicolas Cage in Corelli sound like James Gandolfini by comparison. - Jim M.




Al Pacino - Scarface (1983)
Accent - Cuban

The worst accent was Al Pacino in Scarface. It was bad enough that he was not able to pull off an Italian accent in The Godfather, but his so-called Spanish or Cuban accent was awful. I cringed every time he opened his mouth. - Elia Lopez




Dennis Quaid - The Big Easy (1987)
Accent - New Orleans

I'm surprised Dennis Quaid didn't make the list. In The Big Easy he sounded like a cross between a New Yorker and somebody with a speech impediment. Hot actor but bad accent! - June




Winona Ryder - Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992)
Accent - English

Keanu Reeves in Bram Stoker's Dracula wasn't the only god awful British accent. What about Winona Ryder? Talk about jarringly bad. Scene killer nearly every time she opened her mouth. - Green Is Good




Jon Voight - Anaconda (1997)
Accent - Paraguay

What about Jon Voight in Anaconda? "Das a pretty biga snake"!!!! - Stacy LeMay




John Wayne - The Conqueror (1956)
Accent - Mongolian

John Wayne once played Ghengis Khan, and I believe it qualified as the absolute worst accent in cinematic history. - Kurt


http://insidemovies.moviefone.com/20...readers-picks/

[browneyes106]

Nicolas Cage's accent in Con-Air was extremely annoying.

[Marvo301]

We'd sat that Cruise's accent reminds us of the Lucky Charms leprechaun...but to be honest, that seems disrespectful to the leprechaun.

I'll take Lucky over Tom Cruise any day!

[JamesG]

Originally Posted by browneyes106

Nicolas Cage's accent in Con-Air was extremely annoying.

I have to agree. However I must say that I loved the movie.

[JamesG]

One that I have to add that hasn't been mentioned is Tom Cruise's French accent as the vampire Lestat in Interview with the Vampire.

I love the movie but I don't know about Cruise's accent here...

[JT]

Originally Posted by JamesG

Dennis Quaid - The Big Easy (1987)
Accent - New Orleans

I'm surprised Dennis Quaid didn't make the list. In The Big Easy he sounded like a cross between a New Yorker and somebody with a speech impediment. Hot actor but bad accent! - June

YES. YES. YES. YES. YES. YES. It was HIDEOUS. I wanted to slap the **** out of him every time he said something in that movie.

[spunkygirl]

I didn't think Daryl Hannah's accent in Steel Magnolias was all that bad