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Nothing is more jarring than to finish watching a movie, go to IMDB, and discover that the actor you've just spent 90 minutes with doesn't actually sound like that. In a flash, good actors become even better actors once you realize they had to pretend they were from a whole different continent. It's a light bulb moment I've had over and over again, like when I heard Riz Ahmed talk during a red carpet interview, or Reneé Zellweger appear on a late night show, or stumbled upon a list just like this one (but this list is the best one, right?).
As an anglophile, I was pretty up to date on who was from across the pond, but it turns out a huge chunk actors with accents are also from down under. Like, an incredible amount. It's not just the Hemsworth brothers who made their way into American cinema — it turns out a lot of Aussies have a knack for Hollywood, and the convincing accents that come with it. However, that's just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to accents, and the surprising number of celebrities who have them.
When you think about it, actually, it's not surprising at all. Of course the people whose very livelihood relies on their talent for assuming new and varied identities would be particularly good at playing people from all different walks of life, so much so that you totally forget where they really come from. At least, that's certainly the case for the over 30 actors ahead, whose natural accents aren't at all what we pictured thanks to their work in iconic American roles.
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