Acting & Accents: Top Accents that Actors Can Use For Their CV

​To be an actor of success, the talent and looks are not enough. In fact, one of the most important and distinguishing features that agents look at on a performer’s curriculum is the ability to speak accents. As banal as it might seem, it is something that could be decisive when the director needs to choose between two actors for a role.
Within the film & television industry, performers have won huge awards for playing a character with  an accent. Some iconic instances are Meryl Streep playing the British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in Iron Lady, Florence Pugh and Saoirse Ronan with a Southern American in Little Women. Of course many of our beloved characters like Idris Elba in The Wire and Benedict Cumberbatch's Dr. Strange brought the British performers' skills of accents to beloved hits.

​A recent and strong, example in the television industry is the amazing Jodie Comer, playing Villanelle in the multi-awarded BBC tv series Killing Eve. Her incredible performance of this peculiar character is also made by her incredible skills with accents: Villanelle, born as Oksana, is a Russian assassin who impersonates many identities and speaks different languages. Her ability to switch from a Russian accent to British Cockney one has made her character iconic and was worth many awards included a BAFTA for Best Actress and an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series.

BBC (2019) reports that, those who hear the actress speak for the first time after seeing her in the series, are shocked by her strong native Liverpool accent: ‘fans were shocked to hear Jodie Comer’s Liverpudlian accent in real-life after getting to know her as that show’s vocally chameleonic assassin Villanelle, who switches between Russian, French, Italian and German’. In an interview for Grazia Magazine (2019), after being asked how she is so talented with accents, Jodie explains that switching up accents was a game she used to play with her dad, and that it is essential in order to bring to life authentic roles: ‘when I’m doing my own accent I find it harder to separate myself from the character’.

What do casting & production need for accents?

Even when auditions do not call for a specific accent, the actor must be ready as they might be asked to improvise one. From the casting team here at IPM and recent interviews with industry professionals, the top accents to know in order to be successful in the acting industry are as follows:

• ​English RP,
• Cockney / London
• Standard American

After learning those, other popular requests are for Southern American, Working Class British and Irish. Finally, Russian, Italian and French accents are always good additions to the list for those international castings.

Accents are skills that take time and practice, but now is the time to get started! With the world on hold, actors have the chance to develop their skills and update their CVs with new experiences even at home! Pick which accent you want to learn and get started! 

Need help in starting Your Acting Career? Or need Advice in getting to the next step in your Career? Join IPM Acting Academy today on the button below and work with our Industry Professional Team today! 

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