Following on from the video posted by The Sliced Pan last week showcasing the worst Irish accent in the history of TV we decided to delve further into the 'awful Irish accents vault' and see what other actors have butchered our fair accent over the years.
1. Brad Pitt - Snatch
The mere fact that this clip requires subtitles speaks volumes. Brad is a great actor, few would question that, but mother of God he sounds like a drunk leprechaun.
2. Cameron Diaz - Gangs of New York
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6o-U9CXDGQM[/embed
Ms. Diaz (Mrs. Madden now I suppose) is a mesmerizing lady and extremely talented but Irish accents clearly aren't her forté, and while we're at it, Leonardo DiCaprio's isn't great either. Constantly finishing a sentence sounding like you are asking a question doesn't make it sound more Irish.
3. Tom Cruise - Far and Away
Tom Cruise is annoying to listen to at the best of times so listening to him putting on an Irish accent is painful. His portrayal of Irish immigrant Joseph Donnelly in Far and Away was just over exaggerated and his spiel about his bloody hat, in particular the line 'I've done well' sounds like he's trying to talk without his false teeth in.
4. Sean Connery - The Untouchables
Arguably one of the best 007 agents but just because he had a licence to kill doesn't mean he should have murdered the Irish accent in role in gangster classic The Untouchables. His Scottish roots were too strong and overtook the Irishness he was trying to portray. He still got an Oscar for the best supporting actor in 1988 so some people clearly saw past the awful accent.
5. Gerard Butler - P.S. I Love You
I'm a big fan of the Scottish actor but there's no other word for his Irish accent than diabolical. The begorrah and begosh quality to his accent made for uncomfortable watching but at least he owned up to his apalling Irish accent attempt in an interview saying:
The way I see it, I made a terrible botch of the accent once, so it can’t get any worse as a leprechaun.
6. Natascha McElhone - Ronin
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0L6gQwGJds
This movie is filled with car chases and a great cast, featuring the legendary Robert DeNiro but the main thing that is engrained in people's brains after watching Ronin is the botched Northern Irish accent used by Natascha McElhone.
7. Tommy Lee Jones - Blown Away
Tommy Lee Jones' Northern Irish accent in Blown Away is actually an insult to any possible real-life Northern Irish terrorists or Northern Irish people in general. Naturally enough the reviews of the film were consistent in their criticism of his woeful accent attempt.
8. Julia Roberts - Mary Reilly
She is one of Hollywood's sweethearts and can get away with many things but her confusing attempt at an Irish accent in Mary Reilly can't be forgiven. Not only does it not sound one bit Irish, it actually sounds like she's from the deep south of America and a bit of an airhead just to add insult to injury.
9. Russell Crowe - A New York Winter's Tale
I couldn't even finish watching the trailer let alone watch the movie after hearing Russell Crowe's horrifying attempt at an Irish accent. It practically makes ears bleed. Colin Farrell looks great and the calibre of cast gave hope for the film but how much of an impact did Crowe's pathetic attempt at the Irish accent have on the overall negative reviews it received. I'm going to go with a big impact.
10. Matthew Goode - Leap Year
Matthew Goode's attempt at an Irish accent is just one of the multiple things wrong with this movie. In fairness it's so bad it should never have been made in the first place but alas, it was. Along with the rest of the things they got wrong such as a Dublin bus stop in Tipperary and the unrealistic scenario of an outdoor wedding in Ireland in February, clearly neither Matthew nor any of the production team had ever spoken to an Irish person before otherwise they would have known THAT'S NOT HOW WE TALK.
Honourable mention has to go to what is surely the worst EVER Irish accent in a play.
She got two months' speech training for her role in Broadway play 'Outside Mullingar' but not a lifetime of training could save the train-wreck that is her Irish accent. She looks like she is in pain the whole way through, and I know I certainly was watching that clip. How she got the part, I'll never know.
Here's a tip for any casting directors out there: try using ACTUAL Irish actors.
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