‘If you get it wrong, it’s sacrilegious!’ TV’s problem with Irish accents

From James Norton’s ‘terror’ at playing a Dubliner in House of Guinness to Helen Mirren doing an impersonation so atrocious it went viral – why do actors struggle to play people from Ireland?Putting on a good Irish accent is an art. In the same way that pouring Guinness is an art, actually. And as with all artistic feats, people think, “Well, anyone could do that!” before swiftly finding out that anyone could not, in fact, do that. An accurate Irish accent, for a non-Irish actor, takes dedication, research, talent. And as is the case with all art, failure invites utter brutality from the critics.In the canon of Irish TV and film, there are sadly more misses than hits when it comes to nailing the gift from God that is a true Irish accent. Bad accents become famous for being bad, remembered for reducing all Irish speech to a monolith. Brad Pitt as an IRA gunman in The Devil’s Own, for instance, was so bad that the year after it came out, the Troubles finally ended. Then there’s Gerard Butler’s bizarre broguish twang in PS I Love You. Cameron Diaz and Leonardo DiCaprio were both absolutely woeful in Gangs of New York. For every good modern example (Maxine Peake pretty much nails the notoriously tricky west Belfast accent in Disney+’s Say Nothing), there’s a terrible accent fail (Helen Mirren in Mobland is so comical it went viral earlier this year). Is it any wonder that Marian Keyes – whose novel Grown Ups is now being adapted for Netflix – recently told an audience at the Hay festival: “It would be so, so nice if they use people who can do Irish accents. I mean, the accents are just … I weep. I am corroded with pain.” Continue reading...

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