10 actors who sound completely different to their famous characters
We can't believe how different they sound
While many actors and actresses speak with a different accent depending on the part they are playing, we thought we'd pick out some of the best. You might be surprised at some of them!
Maggie Wheeler - Janice (Friends)
After playing the character on and off for 10 years Maggie still gets asked to say "Oh My God" by fans, but she 'never' tires of doing it, according to an interview on This Morning.
Laurie Brett - Jane Beale (Eastenders)
Having grown up in Scotland, but lived a lot of her life in England she can quickly change from an English accent to a Scottish accent as she explains in this interview.
Hugh Laurie - Dr. Gregory House (House)
Hugh Laurie adopted an American accent for his part in House. Here he talks to Graham Norton about 'losing' his British accent.
Idris Elba - Russell "Stringer" Bell (The Wire)
Idris rose to fame playing Stringer in the crime drama The Wire where he spoke with an American accent. More recently he is known for playing Detective John Luther in the British TV series Luther.
American accent
British accent
Gillian Anderson - Dana Scully (The X-Files)
Gillian was born in the US, but lived in London from the age for two til 11 before returning to America. In an interview with Jay Leno she said sometimes she just switches between American and British accents depending on who she's with.
American accent
British accent
Naveen Andrews - Sayid Jarrah (Lost)
Naveen played the former Iraqi communications officer in the hit TV series Lost for which he adopted a very different accent.
Iraqi accent
British accent
Rosamund Pike - Amy Dunne (Gone Girl)
Although not the first time Rosamund played an American character in Gone Girl, she is said to have spent many hours with a dialect coach in preparation for the part.
Tatiana Maslany - Various characters (Orphan Black)
Tatiana played so many characters in the Netflix series Orphan Black that we can't list them all. Each character has their own distinct identity and accent, here is Tatiana talking about it.
Damian Lewis - Marine Sergeant Nicholas Brody (Homeland)
British actor Damian played a lead role in the hit TV series Homeland where he spoke with an American accent. In the video below right he gets asked about his 'dodgy English accent'!
American accent
English accent