The Best and Worst Irish Accents in CinemaMarch 13th, 2008 in Actors, Celebs, Comedy, Directors, Drama, Indie, Movies, Top 5 List, Top Ten List |
With St. Patrick’s Day preparations taking place around the world, what better time to take a look at Irish cinema? Last year I posted an article about my favourite Irish films. But, if there’s one thing that can madden an Irish person, it’s the perception that Hollywood often has about our little nation. Sure, it may be small in size, but we’ve produced some of the world’s greatest writers, not to mention Ireland has one of the strongest economies in the world at the moment, with Dublin rated as one of the world’s best cities to live in.
Which is all the more annoying when Hollywood has a history of portraying the Irish as rural and simple, with our Oirish exclamations (Bejaysus!) and our resident leprechauns. And while I didn’t enjoy the film, it was good to see Once fare so well, considering its modern depiction of Ireland’s capital city. But even still there’s numerous examples of how the old stereotype still squirms its way into representations of the Irish (the terrorists of Sin City being a good example). And of course there was Far and Away, possibly the most insulting film an Irish person could ever watch, with Tom Cruise portraying the Irishman as a rugged and passionate brute.
Below are what I consider to be some of the most convincing Irish accents made by a foreign actor, as well as a few of the worst examples that I can lure out of my memory. Enjoy. And Top O’ The Mornin to Ya.
THE GOOD
Paddy Considine- In America
Paddy Considine is a strange actor. Despite an obvious intensity he invests in his roles, he seems to keep to largely independent films, such as the understated Dead Man’s Shoes and 24-Hour Party People. Is it his choice, or has he yet to break the U.S. properly? His performance as the aspiring actor who brings his family to the slums of New York in John Sheridan’s In America was the highlight of the film. Considine’s Dublin accent is so flawless that when asked in an audition to do an English accent, it almost sounds fake. Considine is brimming with an undercurrent of sadness throughout the film, and because of the quality of his accent, he is utterly convincing.
Cate Blanchett- Veronica Guerin
Finally, a film that deals with some sort of modern Ireland. Joel Schumacher’s film was flawed, but it was an honourable attempt to tell the true story of Veronica Guerin, an Irish journalist who attempted to tell the country about its huge drug and crime problems, only to be assassinated. Cate Blanchett is one of the world’s best actress at the moment, and her performance of Guerin is commendable. Blanchett embodied the feistiness of Guerin, and she is one of the few foreign actresses to actually capture the Dublin accent well.
Daniel Day Lewis- My Left Foot
Many people don’t actually realise that Daniel Day-Lewis, despite his love of this country, is not Irish. He was born and bred in England, gradually making a name for himself in films such as My Beautiful Laundrette. In 1990 he agreed to play Christy Brown, the real-life painter who suffered from cerebral palsy so badly that he could only paint with his (yes you guessed it) left foot. Day-Lewis had the hard task of not only replicating the painter’s speech difficulties, but also trying to maintain a working-class Dublin accent. It’s no wonder he stayed in character throughout the shoot. Day-Lewis’s excellent performance was rightly rewarded with an Oscar.
THE BAD
Samantha Morton- In America
It pains me to say this, as I have the utmost respect for Samantha Morton (she’s excellent in Control, for example), but her presence in this movie represents an incredibly irritating tendency in cinema. Many people seem to think that just because you’re English, and thus geographically close to Ireland, that an Irish accent is much easier to pull off. Just look at the recent episodes of Heroes set in Cork for some atrocious examples of this. And sadly, Samantha Morton has a disappointingly shaky Irish accent in the film. In moments of stress, she leaps back to dear old Blighty and ruins the moment. Director Jim Sheridan (who’s Irish, and should have known better) should have written her as English, and solved the problem.
Sean Connery- The Untouchables
Whoever thinks Sean Connery can act really needs to think about him for a while. Being Bond consists of donning an all-knowing grin, and then an occasional grimace when the action starts. I believe there’s a scene in From Russia With Love, in which Bond tries to reason with the bad guy. It’s pretty laughable, and you just crave for the karate chops. Without doubt, Connery has charm, but one only has to watch a few minutes of The Hunt for Red October (in which Connery is supposed to be Russian) to see his acting and accent limitations. In the Untouchables Connery is supposed to be Irish, and while Connery does make some effort to do so, by adorning a cap, whistling Danny Boy and other assorted stereotypes, his accent’s attempt to swim from Scotland to Ireland gets sunk about half-way.
Kevin Spacey- Ordinary Decent Criminal
I decided against ranting about Orson Welles’ horrible Oirish accent in The Lady from Shanghai, and opted for Kevin Spacey. Because in this day and age, he should know better. Ordinary Decent Criminal is basically the “fun†and “frivolous†(and completely unenjoyable) version of The General, the excellent film about one of Dublin’s most resourceful gangsters, Martin Cahill. In Ordinary Decent Criminal, Spacey plays Michael Lynch (only one step away from Paddy O’Brady), and his accent is without doubt one of the worst I’ve heard in years. It kind of tries to sound like something out of Dublin (with a twang of Northern Ireland here, and of Oirish there), but Spacey is unable to shed his American drawl. This is further proof that Spacey is a lazy actor, powering each of his roles with a single emotive thrust (sarcasm for American Beauty, greed for Superman Returns, etc), but this role not only embarrasses himself, but this country as well.
Other worthy bad Irish accents are Julia Roberts’s performance in Michael Collins, Tommy Lee Jones in Blown Away, and Brad Pitt in The Devil’s Own.
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March 13th, 2008 at 2:40 pm
[...] | Mar 13th 2008 A pretty decent list of the best and worst Irish accents can be found here. Why Tom Cruise’s accent in ‘Far and Away’ has not been included I don’t [...]
March 14th, 2008 at 5:20 am
I think Colin Farrell belongs on the “Bad” list for Daredevil. Yes, I know he’s actually Irish. I have no idea what made it so bad, but I didn’t buy a minute of it.
March 14th, 2008 at 7:53 am
Farrell was trying to sound like an old Dublin gangster, complete with smokey voice. It was okay, but I think the falsity you sense is from the terribly-written dialogue.
March 17th, 2008 at 12:14 am
>>I believe there’s a scene in From Russia With Love, in which Bond tries to reason with the bad guy. It’s pretty laughable, and you just crave for the karate chops.
March 17th, 2008 at 12:29 am
How can anyone forget Richard Gere in The Jackal? His irish accent was so lazy, it made me laugh for most of that movie’s 2 hour runtime.
March 17th, 2008 at 1:09 am
and let’s not forget val kilmer in… well, anything where’s he required to do an accent. in “the saint”, i believe it was occasionally irish-ish. on the other hand, someone should tell alot of britain’s “leading actors” that not every american is from texas.
March 17th, 2008 at 1:22 am
Orson Welles’ Irish accent in ‘The Lady from Shanghai’ is fucking brutal. It’s a good flick (moments of genius), but it would’ve been better with him out of the starring role.
March 17th, 2008 at 1:36 am
I thought Gillian Anderson did a good job in ‘The Mighty Celt’, but am not Irish, so sorry if am wrong
March 17th, 2008 at 2:54 am
Let’s not forget Justin Theroux’s terrible (possible the worst ever on film!!!) Irish accent in Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle. It was not a serious film by any measure, but this made it 10 times worse!
March 17th, 2008 at 4:30 am
Whether Sean Connery is a good actor or not is debatable, what is not debatable is whether he can pull off any accent other than Scottish.
The reason this is a moot point is because he never attempts to do so, and from palying Russians to Egyptians he sticks to his Scottish accent.
He has made a point of stating this multiple times and I’m a bit disappointed you seem to think he was attempting an Irish accent and have criticised him for the attempt.
March 17th, 2008 at 4:49 am
It’s not cinema, I know, but David Boreanaz’s Irish accent on occasional flashback episodes of ‘Buffy’ and ‘Angel’ was absurd. It’s painful to watch.
You were right on with everything here. I was especially pleased to read your comment about Kevin Spacey. I whole-heartedly agree. I think he’s terribly overrated.
March 17th, 2008 at 5:10 am
Off the topic , what about irish actors making English roles?
I’m thinking of Ciaran Hinds on Edward Rochester (Jane Eyre, with Sam Morton). In an interview, he said he could not figure out why they would want an irish man in such a role.
What is your opinion on this matter?
Greetings from Barcelona
March 17th, 2008 at 5:10 am
The lead actors (Scottish and English) did a good job in Inside I’m Dancing.
March 17th, 2008 at 5:14 am
In the “Worst Accents” category, dishonorable mention must also go to Justin Theroux, when he played crime boss Seamus O’Grady in “Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle.” His attempt at an Irish accent in that already lame movie sounded so crappy.
March 17th, 2008 at 5:15 am
Personally, I’ve always found Julia Roberts’ accent in MARY REILLY, and Chris O’Donnell in CIRCLE OF FRIENDS to be absolutely cringe-inducing.
March 17th, 2008 at 5:16 am
I agree with Rick, even though I knew James McAvoy was Scottish, his accent in Inside I’m Dancing was fantastic, as was English native Romola Garai. Fine examples of accents gone right
March 17th, 2008 at 5:28 am
I’m just disappointed that you didn’t enjoy “Once,” which was one of my favorite films from 2007.
March 17th, 2008 at 5:37 am
How about Brad Pitt’s accent in Snatch? That was fantastic.
March 17th, 2008 at 5:37 am
Untouchables or any of those sort of movies aside, if you don’t think Sean Connery can act, you’ve never seen The Hill.
March 17th, 2008 at 5:39 am
No one mentioned Leonardo DiCaprio in Gangs of New York. TERRIBLE fake accent.
March 17th, 2008 at 5:47 am
You completely miss the point with Sean Connery. He’s not trying to change his accent as was stated in an earlier comment. The point is… he’s so damn good that he doesn’t have to. That’s why he can play Scots, Irish, British, Egyptian, and, let’s not forget, Spanish, and do it without anyone caring about his accent.
Connery is king. ‘Nuff said.
March 17th, 2008 at 5:57 am
Brad Pitts accent in the Devil’s Own is actually a very good Belfast accent, which is very different than many other Irish accents. The more Belfast accents you’ve heard, the more you are likely to list him among the Good.
For bad, how has no one mentioned Tom Cruise?
March 17th, 2008 at 5:59 am
Laughably bad Irish accent: Donald Sutherland in The Eagle Has Landed.
March 17th, 2008 at 6:05 am
Sean Connery is Lithuanian in The Hunt for Red October for pete’s sake.
I also thought Once was one of the best films I saw last year.
March 17th, 2008 at 6:27 am
I thought Johnny Depp’s Irish accent in the film Chocolat was pretty convincing.
March 17th, 2008 at 6:48 am
The entire cast of BOONDOCK SAINTS.
March 17th, 2008 at 6:56 am
No one’s going to mention Cameron Diaz in Gangs of New York? Was it even meant to be an Irish accent?
March 17th, 2008 at 7:15 am
Michael J Fox in Back to the Future Part III as Marty Seamus McFly
March 17th, 2008 at 7:19 am
When I studied abroad in Ireland, I asked my Irish roommate what he thought were the worst and the best examples of Americans doing Irish accents. He said the worst example was Brad Pitt in “The Devil’s Own” and the best example was Brad Pitt in “Snatch”.
March 17th, 2008 at 7:31 am
Warwick Davis in Leprechaun. He played an Irish character but his accent was so over-the-top it was easy to tell he was really Nelwyn.
March 17th, 2008 at 7:53 am
Johnny Depp in Chocolat! His Irish accent was dead on. You left him out. One of the better actors who can pull off any foreign accent. I’m surprised he wasn’t included in the good ones. Surprised he wasn’t included at all.
March 17th, 2008 at 7:57 am
OMG, Warwick Davis was really a Nelwyn accent? Blimey, that bloke was quite daff! I guess it was truly blarney for lads to think he could pull one o’er me ‘ol Oirish eyes, which werent smiling that morn! Me ponders pulling the pipes o’peace instead, if you get me drift, you randy wankers ye!
March 17th, 2008 at 8:01 am
By the by, Richard Geres ‘cent in The Jackal was excruciating! The movie, tho, I actually liked, for a guilty pleasure! And where, Bejesus, is Colin Farrell supposed to be from in ol Eire, the lower East side of New York, lol? He always sounds like hes from LA trying to fool us all in doing an “authentic” brogue, yeah, HELLO! As we used to say in Belfast, “Gag me with a spoon!”
March 17th, 2008 at 8:10 am
From your opinions on Kevin Spacey and Sean Connery, it seems like you judge acting ability solely on the actor’s ability to do accents. Do you REALLY believe that Sean Connery can’t act? Also, I think you might be confusing his portrayal of Bond with Roger Moore’s.
And why no mention of Richard Gere’s horrible Irish accent in the equally-horrible ‘The Jackal’?
March 17th, 2008 at 8:17 am
Julia Roberts in “Mary Reilly”. Good movie, bad accent.
March 17th, 2008 at 8:31 am
Another is the leprechaun from those cereal commercials I see on tv. “Always after me lucky charms!” I never bought the fact Mr. Leprechaun was actually from Ireland.
March 17th, 2008 at 8:31 am
you’ve obviously forgotten about julianne moore in the shipping news. more of a newfoundland accent, but it’s so bad.
March 17th, 2008 at 8:32 am
Um, Sean Connery wasn’t playing a Russian in Hunt For Red October. Even though he commanded a Russian sub, he wasn’t a Russian. Get your facts straight.
March 17th, 2008 at 8:34 am
Robert Shaw’s accent in ‘The Sting’ is truly dreadful. Great film, great actor, but by God that accent was dire. He sounded like he was chewing the words.
March 17th, 2008 at 8:36 am
You’re confusing acting and accents. Connery’s ACCENT is terrible in “Red October”,but his acting is good.
March 17th, 2008 at 8:38 am
Cameron Diaz in Gangs of NY - horrendous!
March 17th, 2008 at 8:49 am
This one is TV, but it’s worth noting: Anthony Heald played an IRA terrorist in the first season of Law & Order, and he did a commendable brogue.
I think that, in general, it’s harder for a woman to do a faux Irish accent, mainly because, at least when they’re acting feminine (as opposed to, say, Cate’s tough journalist in Veronica Guerin), people expect a certain inflection and lilt in the voice that is tougher to achieve.
March 17th, 2008 at 9:08 am
I thought Brad Pitt’s accent in Devil’s Own was actually spot on - I know people from Belfast who sound like that. Thing is, the genuine accents often do sound odd, because people from outside have never really heard one - only the fakes on TV & film.
But Sean Connery’s attempt at being Irish was mindblowing! He even gasps in a Scottish accent! (And otherwise excellent actor Billy Connolly runs him a very close second in The Last Samurai. Why oh why couldn’t they let him be a Scot in the U.S. Cavalry? It’s not like there weren’t any…)
March 17th, 2008 at 9:09 am
what about maggie in caddyshack?!
No ya don’t!
Worst ever!
March 17th, 2008 at 9:18 am
Agree about Gillian Anderson in “The Mighty Celt”, she was fabulous.
March 17th, 2008 at 9:50 am
Day Lewis’ accent in My Left Foot was fine but it was his Belfast accent in In The Name of the Father that was the masterclass…..Pitt in Devil’s Own wasn’t that bad, but agree entirely with Gere in Jackal…makes you wonder why they choose to embarass themselves on screen
March 17th, 2008 at 10:03 am
Nrad Pitt in “Snatch” - surely a shoe-in for both worst and best, since no-one can understand what he’s saying.
March 17th, 2008 at 10:14 am
James Cromwell in LA Confidential stands out for me as being a terrible accent. I’m hardly surprised though as I don’t consider him a very good actor. I’m sure that except for 6 feet under he’s been the same in everything I’ve seen him in. He’s pretty much the same whether he’s playing an old crown green bowler or sinister bent copper. Actually maybe one scene in blackball he played fed up pretty well.
March 17th, 2008 at 10:23 am
I am ASTOUNDED that nobody has mentioned Gerard Butler in PS I Love You. He is only from across the water, but still managed to sound like a Swedish leprechaun. Oh, and nobody who recommended Johnny Depp in Chocolat can be Irish (or sane). His accent is hopeless.
March 17th, 2008 at 10:28 am
No one mentione Meryl Streep in Dancing at Lughnasa. As usually she nailed it. Brad Pitt’s Ulster accent in Tne Devil’s Own was very good. It’s probaly among the most difficult accent to get right and for the most part he hit it.
March 17th, 2008 at 10:45 am
What about Harrison Ford dissing Brad Pitt’s Irish accent in The Devil’s Own?
March 17th, 2008 at 1:09 pm
I was very impressed with Marion Davies’ Irish accent in “Peg o’ My Heart.” At a time when you could get away with a lot in the movies, her brogue not only sounded believable to me, I noticed that it wasn’t “prettified” at all. The character simply sounded the way she sounded. Davies was very gifted, despite the limitations of her vehicles (including this one) and she deserves to be better rememberd.
March 17th, 2008 at 1:22 pm
I’m afraid I have to disagree with most of you about Sean Connery. So what if he admits his accents are bad? He’s still a bad actor. He is not good in The Hunt for Red October, just shouty and sweaty. He has never stretched himself, he’s just plain dull. His skill is that he usually picks half decent roles, but I would never consider him to be a good actor.
A gree about McEvoy in Inside I’m Dancing. When I saw it years ago I thought he was Irish!
As for Richard gere, I think my consciousness was trying to repress that accent.
March 17th, 2008 at 1:27 pm
Johnny Depp in Chocolat is SPOT ON. He always does a great job with accents. Even my Irish math teacher said so.
March 17th, 2008 at 2:00 pm
Could be worse- they could be trying to do a Maine accent. NOBODY gets that right.
Not a movie, but I saw an episode of Mission:Impossible (the 80s version) in which Jane Badler’s character was supposed to play an Irish barmaid. You could tell she knew how bad it was and was plowing through out of sheer determination. (She did a much better banshee later on in the episode)
March 17th, 2008 at 2:05 pm
Brad Pitt is The Devil’s Own is so rotten I wouldn’t go see Snatch in the theatre on principle. I can’t figure it out. How can he be so bad in Devil’s Own and fuckin’ brilliant in Snatch?
March 17th, 2008 at 2:33 pm
What about Mick Jagger in Ned Kelly? Absolutely appalling stuff! Has to be heard to be believed. Director Tony Richardson should have known better. Good work Eoin, enjoyed the list. Agree whole-heartedly with you about messrs Connery, Spacey and Considine.
March 17th, 2008 at 2:36 pm
Tom Cruise’s acccent in Far and Away
March 17th, 2008 at 3:35 pm
what about Daniel Day Lewis in THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. AWFUL ACCENT
March 17th, 2008 at 4:09 pm
Ross:
Know any people from Belfast? If you did, odds are you’d know quite a few people who sound like him. Pitt’s Belfast accent is about perfect in The Devil’s Own?
March 17th, 2008 at 4:21 pm
Daniel Day Lewis in TLOM was not remotely trying for Irish. He was trying for a pre-Revolutionary War-born “American” with parents of European origin who was adopted by Indians as a young child. And NO ONE can say he didn’t pull it off because whatever that dialect was, it died out a long time ago. I found it charming and believable.
March 17th, 2008 at 4:28 pm
What about Richard Gere in The Jackal, now that was baaad!!!
March 17th, 2008 at 4:38 pm
“thought Brad Pitt’s accent in Devil’s Own was actually spot on - I know people from Belfast who sound like that. Thing is, the genuine accents often do sound odd, because people from outside have never really heard one - only the fakes on TV & film.
But Sean Connery’s attempt at being Irish was mindblowing! He even gasps in a Scottish accent! (And otherwise excellent actor Billy Connolly runs him a very close second in The Last Samurai. Why oh why couldn’t they let him be a Scot in the U.S. Cavalry? It’s not like there weren’t any…)”
“Ross:
Know any people from Belfast? If you did, odds are you’d know quite a few people who sound like him. Pitt’s Belfast accent is about perfect in The Devil’s Own?”
Haha yeah right mate, I’m from Belfast, and his accent is hopeless. That puts the pitt argument to rest, its a terrible cookstown accent.
March 17th, 2008 at 4:48 pm
Anyone here watch Buffy? Remember Angel’s terrible brogue?
March 17th, 2008 at 7:13 pm
There’s a good reason why there were so few Angel flashbacks…
March 17th, 2008 at 9:03 pm
I remember a lot of people mentioning Richard Gere’s bad Irish accent in “The Jackal” (1997) at the time. It came and went like Kevin Costner’s English accent in “Robin Hood.”
March 17th, 2008 at 9:09 pm
I agree with the above poster, though. “The Jackal” was very entertaining in spite of Gere’s lousy brogue.
March 17th, 2008 at 9:13 pm
Sean Connery won an Oscar for The Untouchables.
March 17th, 2008 at 9:54 pm
No mention of Ryan O’Neal in “Barry Lyndon” as one of the worst?
March 17th, 2008 at 10:03 pm
What about John Mills in “Ryan’s Daughter?”
He did the almost impossible: His portrayal of a mute was clearly the kind of character that would have had a bad accent if he had been able to speak.
March 18th, 2008 at 2:49 am
Gillian Anderson did a good Irish accent in the Mighty Celt, IMO.
and loved Johnny Depps accent in Chocolat
March 18th, 2008 at 5:01 am
[...] 2. While Screenhead muses upon The Best And Worst Irish Accents On Film… [...]
March 18th, 2008 at 5:56 am
Julia Roberts’ accent in “Michael Collins” was dreadful. As far as the Northern Irish accents, if they sound like pirates, they usually sound accurate to me. LOL I spent some time living in Beal Feirste and I always thought that everyone sounded like pirates. — I’d say Day-Lewis’ roles in “In The Name of the Father” and “My Left Foot” were very good.
March 18th, 2008 at 10:53 am
Hey not this has anything to do with accents, but what is the movie called from the picture at the top of this page with the little Irish man? I’ve seen it long ago, but can’t remember the name
March 18th, 2008 at 1:01 pm
Hi Justin, it’s Darby O Gill and the Little People.
March 18th, 2008 at 3:49 pm
Hey Eoin,
Did you get this email or message:
We are very interested in your blog on “The Best and Worst Irish Accents in Cinema” and are interested in talking about it on our morning talk programme tomorrow morning.
Paul Rowley, presenter of “Morning Mix” on South East Radio is interested in chatting about what the listeners think are the worst/best accents in cinema and would like to chat to you for a few minutes, on the programme if possible?
The show runs from 10am-12pm - would you be available at 11.35am to take a call to talk about the topic and the type of feedback you’ve received, and also about the website http://www.screenhead.com?
I can be contacted on the above email or on 053-9145200 ext.212.