Acting and accents

In Hollywood, a common sign of great acting is the ability of an actor to imitate a foreign accent. Actors usually perfect this through exposure, which allows the brain to appreciate the subtle nuances that make the accent unique. Classic examples of this are "Gandhi," the more recent "Blood Diamond," Meryl Streep in "Out of Africa," Denzel Washington in "Cry Freedom," and Don Cheadle in "Hotel Rwanda."

Criticism of this is that the perception of an accurate foreign accent are rarely considered accurate by the speakers of this accent. The perception or sensitivity of others to accents means that generalizations are passed off as acceptable, such as Brad Pitt's Jamaican accent in "Meet Joe Black."[5] Another example of this is Denzel Washington in "Cry Freedom." Most Americans were impressed with his imitation but few South Africans would have seen it as an accurate South African accent. Another example of this is African-American imitations of Jamaican accents which are perceived as comical by actual Jamaicans. In recent cinema Angelina Jolie attempted a Greek accent in the film Alexander that was said by critics to be distracting.[6] In 2000 Pitt played the role of a Travelling Irish boxer in the gangster movie "Snatch." An accent teacher was employed purely to help Brad Pitt (Mickey) speak "Pikey." Renée Zellweger perfected her English accent so successfully for Bridget Jones Diary that even co-actor and English native Hugh Grant was surprised to hear her natural American accent.

Conversely, British actor Hugh Laurie in the starring role of television series "House" has adopted an American accent so successfully that many do not realize that he is not American-born. Hugh Jackman's American accent in the movie The Prestige was right on. Many Americans probably did not realize he is Australian because of it. Anthony LaPaglia, the Australian star of Without a Trace adopted an American accent when he was searching for work in the US and has since (to his regret) lost his Australian accent. Another example of this is Joely Richardson in the TV series, "Nip/Tuck." Gary Oldman has become known for playing eccentrics and for his mastery of accents.[7]