Here Are 30 Actors Who Adopted Accents For Roles — Half Almost Fooled Me And The Other Half Fooled No One

It still shocks me to this day that Renée Zellweger is from Katy, Texas.

The job of an actor is to play someone that they're not, and at times, that requires them to put on an accent!

Entertainment Tonight

Now there are good accents...and not so good accents. So, although I am no expert, here's my opinion of some of the best and worst fake accents that celebrities have adopted for roles:

1. Best — Renée Zellweger's British accent in Bridget Jones's Diary.

Universal Pictures

For the LONGEST time I thought that R.Z. was British, and it wasn't until her Oscar speech when she talked about being from Texas that I learned she was, in fact, NOT British. 

You can hear her British accent here:

Universal Pictures

2. Worst — Blake Lively's Boston accent in The Town

Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection

This isn't me being mean...but it was hard for me to just pick ONE bad accent of Blake's. I think since I'm from Boston, I'm really harsh on fake Boston accents, and hers was not the best. It ALSO didn't help that she was in a film with many Boston natives, so it especially stands out. 

You can hear her Bostonian accent here:

Warner Bros.

3. Best — Daniel Kaluuya's Chicago accent in Judas and the Black Messiah:

Warner Bros.

Daniel's Fred Hampton was TRULY revolutionary. We already know that Daniel can do an American accent, but his ability to capture the Chicago accent was chef's kiss. I mean, he didn't win his Oscar for NOTHING! 

You can hear his Chicago accent here:

Warner Bros.

4. Worst — Jacob Elordi's American accent in Euphoria:

HBO

I have heard that American accents are hard for New Zealanders to mimic, but wow, there were times where it sounded like he wasn't even trying. 

You can hear his American accent here:

HBO

5. Best — Andrew Garfield's American accent in The Social Network:

Sony Pictures

I still cannot believe this talented stud is NOT American. A true chameleon if there ever was one. 

You can hear his American accent here:

Sony Pictures

6. Worst — Emma Watson's Valley girl accent in The Bling Ring:

A24 / Courtesy Everett Collection

To give Emma credit, Alexis Neiers (the character she was portraying) had an annoying voice so the blueprint wasn't ideal...but still. There were moments where Emma's British accent peeked through. 

You can hear her Valley girl accent here:

A24

7. Best — Don Cheadle's Rwandan accent in Hotel Rwanda:

United Artists / Courtesy Everett Collection

Don should have taken home the Academy Award for his accent alone, but sadly, the Academy and I were not in agreement at that time. 

You can hear his Rwandan accent here:

MGM / United Artists

8. Worst — Don Cheadle's Cockney accent in Ocean's Eleven:

Warner Bros / Courtesy Everett Collection

I hate to do this to my mans, but my god. I know he has it in him to do a good accent! This was truly deserving of a Razzie. 

You can hear his Cockney accent here:

Warner Bros.

9. Best — Meryl Streep's Polish accent in Sophie's Choice:

Universal Pictures /Courtesy Everett Collection

The REAL Sophie's Choice was closing only one of Meryl's roles to include on the "best" list. But truly, Meryl's accent in this film was flawless. 

You can hear her Polish accent here:

Universal Pictures

10. Worst — Anne Hathaway's Yorkshire accent in One Day:

Focus Features/Courtesy Everett Collection

What confuses me...is that her accent in Becoming Jane was pretty convincing? Yet, somehow, all of that went completely out the window with this role. 

Focus Features

11. Best — Heath Ledger's (American) Joker voice in The Dark Knight:

Warner Bros.

Pure genius, that man was. A true artist. 

You can hear his Joker voice here:

Warner Bros.

12. Worst — Dick Van Dyke's British accent in Mary Poppins:

Walt Disney / Courtesy Everett Collection

I don't know what this accent was supposed to be, but I can tell you what it ISN'T, and that's British. 

You can hear his British accent here:

Walt Disney

13. Best — Margot Robbie's New York accent in Birds of Prey:

Warner Bros.

Margot sound straight outta Queens, New York, and not Queensland, Australia. 

You can hear her New York accent here:

Warner Bros.

14. Worst — Mel Gibson's Scottish accent in Braveheart:

Paramount Pictures

Methinks that Mel Gibson both starring and directing this film is the reason why there was no one on set to tell him how bad / inconsistent his Scottish accent was. 

You can hear his Scottish accent here:

Paramount Pictures

15. Best — Idris Elba's South African accent in Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom:

20th Century Fox / Courtesy Everett Collection

Does Idris look like Mandela? Not really. But after hearing his accent, I see why they cast him! 

You can hear his South African accent here:

20th Century Fox

16. Worst — James Van Der Beek's Texan accent in Varsity Blues:

Paramount Pictures

Dare I say, this is the most egregious on this list. Dawson, you're American! It shouldn't have been THAT HARD!!!!

You can hear his Southern accent here:

Paramount Pictures

17. Best — Christian Bale's townie accent in The Fighter:

Paramount / Courtesy Everett Collection

Mark Walhberg is FROM Boston, but have no fear — Christian Bale was able to hold his own! Kudos. 

You can hear his townie accent here:

Paramount Pictures

18. Worst — Vanessa Hudgens' whatever you wanna call it accent in The Princess Switch:

Netflix / Courtesy Everett Collection

Seriously. What was that supposed to be? 

You can hear her Montenaro accent here:

Netflix

19. Best — Alfred Enoch's American accent in How to Get Away With Murder:

ABC

I didn't realize until, like, Season 2 that Alfred Enoch was Dean in Harry Potter because his American accent was that believable. 

You can hear his American accent here:

ABC

20. Worst — Scarlett Johansson's Jersey accent in Don Jon:

Relativity Media

Actually, I take it back. THIS is the most egregious example on this list because ScarJo is from NEW YORK! THE SOURCE MATERIAL WAS BUT A TRAIN RIDE AWAY!!!

You can hear her Jersey accent here:

Relativity Media

21. Best — Leo DiCaprio's Rhodesian accent in Blood Diamond:

Warner Bros / Courtesy Everett Collection

I know that this is a polarizing opinion, but I stand by Leo's accent! He did a good job! Especially since this is an accent we don't often hear in films. 

You can hear his Rhodesian accent here:

Warner Bros.

22. Worst — Tom Cruise's Irish accent in Far and Away:

Universal Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection

I'd like to apologize to the people of Ireland as a whole for Tom Cruise's accent in this movie.

You can hear his Irish accent here:

Universal Pictures

23. Best — Daisy Edgar-Jones' Irish accent in Normal People:

BBC 3 / Hulu

IF ONLY TOM CRUISE HAD D.E.J. AS HIS VOCAL COACH! But alas, she was not born yet. 

You can hear her Irish accent here:

BBC 3 / Hulu

24. Worst — Cameron Diaz's Irish accent in Gangs of New York:

Miramax / Courtesy Everett Collection

It's giving...nonexistent. 

You can hear her Irish accent here:

Miramax

25. Best — Robert Pattinson's Queens accent in Good Time:

a24 / Courtesy Everett Collection

Robert literally spent "ages" in the tattoo shop at Queens Center Mall to hear how they talk, and all that studying sure did pay off!

You can hear his Queens accent here:

a24

26. Worst — Gerard Butler's Irish accent in P.S. I Love You:

Warner Bros / Courtesy Everett Collection

I'm just confused, because Gerard is Scottish in real life, yet his Irish accent sounded like he learned it from an American trying to do an Irish accent. 

You can hear his Irish accent here:

Warner Bros.

27. Best — Kristen Stewart's British accent in Spencer:

NEON

Truly a regal transformation on K. Stew's part. 

You can hear her British accent here:

NEON

28. Worst — Halle Berry's Kenyan accent in X-Men:

20th Century Fox

Storm as a character is Maasai (Kenyan and Tanzanian), but Halle's accent was at best nonexistent and at worst borderline offensive — to the ears, at least — that they just told Halle to speak in her normal voice for the remainder of the franchise.  

You can hear her (low-key nonexistent) accent here:

20th Century Fox

29. Best — Will Poulter's American accent in We're the Millers:

Warner Bros. / Courtesy Everett Collection

Started from Eustace in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, and now we're here! 

You can hear his American accent here:

Warner Bros.

30. Worst — Jared Leto's Italian accent in House of Gucci:

MGM

*Multo, multo brutto.* 

You can hear his Italian accent here:

MGM

Did I miss any? Sound off in the comments below!