MovieChat Forums > Tumbleweeds (1999) Discussion > Janet McTeer

Janet McTeer

posted 16 years ago by groggo
14 replies | jump to latest

Janet McGeer is a marvel to watch in this movie. Small wonder that she received an Oscar nomination. She plays a role that is almost the polar opposite of her personal background and training.

If you didn't know anything about McTeer, you would probably assume that she's an American and perhaps even a Southerner. In fact, she was born and raised in southern England and graduated from the justly famous Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts (RADA) as a classically trained actor. For years, she was essentially a stage performer who worked in Shakespearean and other classic works in Britain. In Tumbleweeds, she emerges as a rough-around-the-edges, unsettled, flighty, oft-married, insecure, but always loving Southern gal. She sustains the Southern accent, nuances, body language and blowsy demeanour throughout, a remarkable achievement considering her background.

A lot of British actors seem to adopt American accents quite easily, but this role reversal doesn't seem to work very well the other way. Renee Zellwegger pulled it off brilliantly for the Bridget Jones movies, and Brad Pitt played a loonybird Irish gypsy in Snatch with great effectiveness. Other significant examples don't spring to mind.

Anybody know if other American actors have effectively achieved this linguistic reversal?

[–] rockinpink90 8 years ago

She was absolutely amazing in this film. It wasn't just that she pulled off the accent, her mannerisms and personality that she put in the character is very much what you would see from a typical Southern American woman. She is the first and only Non-American that I can think of that gave such a convincing performance as a South American.

A lot of British actors seem to adopt American accents quite easily, but this role reversal doesn't seem to work very well the other way. Renee Zellwegger pulled it off brilliantly for the Bridget Jones movies, and Brad Pitt played a loonybird Irish gypsy in Snatch with great effectiveness. Other significant examples don't spring to mind.

The American actors that come to mind that have pulled off British accents in moves are the ones you mentioned, Robert Downey, Jr. in Sherlock Holmes, Gwyneth Paltrow in Shakespeare in Love, Julianne Moore in End of the Affair, Meryl Streep in The Iron Lady, Natalie Portman in V for Vendetta & The Other Boleyn Girl. I also thought Angelina Jolie had a decent British accent for Tomb Raider but I know people will disagree with that haha.

You have to remember that the English are more exposed the American accent than Americans are exposed to the English accent so it is easier for the English to perfect our accent than it is for us Americans to perfect the English accent. American films and tv shows are shown all over the world so pretty much everyone hears the American accent on a consistent basis. So it makes sense that English actors can pull of American accents better.