Hi Guys!
I just read an article and it was all about the different accents and dialects used in Hollywood. I find it very interesting how many actors and actresses have to go to a dialect/accent coach to be able to play a part in these roles. I remember in high school I was obsessed with the show House. I was never really into celebrities or kept up with who was born where and their personal lives, or even their names. I would refer to people as, “you know that person that plays …..”. When I first heard Hugh Laurie (the guy that plays House) speak in an interview, I was shocked! I never put two and two together, that people can just be trained for different accents and dialects and just play all these different characters. I always thought that you had to try out for a part that you were naturally able to do (clearly I don’t get out much). The funny thing about the show was that House had an American English accent but was played by a British man, and another doctor on the show (I can’t remember his name) played a British character but was an American man.
The article spoke about all the different celebrities and how many different actors come from all over the world, and the different type of training they receive in order to portray the character the best that they can. They also spoke a little bit about the different dialects within the U.S. For example, many people say “cot” for caught” in the midwest region. I had a professor that pronounced it that way, and we had a class on different examples of how people can pronounce different things all different ways. The article made a very good point to international actors/actresses that spelling is irrelevant when it comes to pronunciation. English is extremely complicated when it comes to spelling and pronunciation as we can all remember being beyond confused in Kindergarten and the first grade.
There aren’t many professional dialect/accent coaches out there and many of the stars in Hollywood use the same one. Lessons can go any where from $100 to more than $400 an hour. I will definitely be looking into this as my new career (just kidding… maybe). It is something to look into though!
-Lissette