MovieChat Forums > Lie to Me (2009) Discussion > Lightman's Mom is Irish

Lightman's Mom is Irish

posted 13 years ago by whereisamber
28 replies | jump to latest

Is she really supposed to be Irish or do they think us American's are too stupid to hear and know the different between a British accent and an Irish one?

[–] dogtags-1 13 years ago

He has a cockney accent like the Geico gecko.

[–] whereisamber 13 years ago

Right. Which is a type of British accent. But his mom - er, mum - had an Irish accent.

[–] em_ 13 years ago

yep. belfastian it seemed... or northern at least.

Step Into My Office, Baby

[–] tracycutie 13 years ago

Lol this. I live in the north and the accent sounded familiar
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[–] Phylum22 9 years ago

His accent is bang on, because I am from East London. He was born in Brooklyn, U.S., and his Dad is American.

[–] Pearl24 10 years ago

Tim Roth doesn't have a cockney accent. It is a London accent - there is a difference! My husband is a cockney by the way!

[–] GaelinW 13 years ago

Nah. Maybe they figured Americans were smart enough to realize that parents and their children sometimes have different accents, especially when they're born and raised in different places.

Isn't it just possible that Irish mom met some English soldier (Cal mentioned that dad was in the military at one point) and got married. They moved to, say some nice city in England, and raised a unhappy, dysfunctional family there?

Hence, the children (or child) have the accent of the location where they grew up rather than one from where mom grew up. And vice verse.

“If they let Jack do it his way the show would be just 12” – snorgtees.com

[–] suky 13 years ago

"Hence, the children (or child) have the accent of the location where they grew up rather than one from where mom grew up. And vice verse."

Exactly. I could tell his mum was Irish right away. (BTW, didn't a totally different woman play his mother in a previous episode where he was coping with her suicide, watching that video of her over and over? I thought she had dark hair!) But then remember he also confronted his dad, who had a Cockney accent, so obviously Cal was raised in London, and his mother migrated there. (Would like to know that actor's name as he looked familiar.)

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[–] whereisamber 13 years ago

Well, that was my question. Is Cal's mom in the Lie to Me world really Irish or did the casting director just figure that American's wouldn't know the difference in accents? I wasn't sure if it was ever mentioned on the show that she was from Ireland or not.

[–] suky 13 years ago

LOL, you may be right. Considering the unlikelihood of his retaining such a heavy Cockney dialect after that much time working as a professional in the U.S. and nobody seeming to question it (I can understand him reverting when talking with family and friends but not with complete strangers), there's a pretty good chance they figured we wouldn't be able to tell she didn't grow up in the same town he did. (Then again, maybe they overestimated us and assumed we would take it for granted that she was Irish and it would add depth to Cal's backstory; it's not at all uncommon for people to migrate from Ireland to England. And like I said, at least his father spoke with a Cockney accent; if *both* parents had been Irish, then, yeah, I'd have sensed a major disconnect there.)

Which reminds me: Anybody remember Daphne's brother on "Frasier"? She had a really strong Manchester accent, while her brother had a Cockney (east London) accent (totally different sides of the country), and nobody seemed to notice *that*! And in one of the last-season episodes, I remember Richard E. Grant playing another one of her brothers. I don't remember what accent he was using, but that wasn't Cockney either. I suppose it's possible they didn't grow up in the same home, but I don't remember any suggestion to that effect on the show. There may be a lot of Americans who can't tell the difference, but for the ones of us who can, it really takes you out of the story and even feels a little insulting. (Either that, or it's some kind of in-joke among the people who made the show because surely the *actors* should have spoken up and told the director that, "My character wouldn't speak with a different accent from my sibling.")

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"Of course it is happening inside your head ... but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?"

[–] GaelinW 13 years ago

In the first season his accent was no where near as heavy as it was in Seasons 2 and 3. I'm not sure it was Cockney at all. I think it was more "standard English" for lack of a better description. (At this point I don't remember.)

So sometime before season 2 was filmed a decision was made to change the character. Okay, well, the accent wasn't the only thing changed about the character. Several details in his backstory were as well.

“If they let Jack do it his way the show would be just 12” – snorgtees.com

[–] CasGomez 13 years ago

so what if one had a cockney accent and the other had a manc accent just because they are brothers doesn't mean they live together use your head mate

Tracy Jordan: I learned fried chicken at the school of hard knocks

[–] actionmanrandell 11 years ago

my aunts husband has been living in america for a good 30 years and still has a very very very thick Mexican accent
studies show that are accent depends on how strong of a patriotic emotion you have toward your nation. ie a person who hates the nation they are from who moves away will likely loose there accent over time.
someone with a deep seeted emotional connection with there home country are less likely to loose it

[–] GaelinW 13 years ago

I don't recall earlier mention of whether his mom is Irish or not. But given that the actress is capable of not doing an Irish accent, my guess is that it was intentional for his Mother to be portrayed as Irish.

“If they let Jack do it his way the show would be just 12” – snorgtees.com

[–] squeakyfingers 13 years ago

Paula Malcomson (the actress who played his mother) is from Ireland. I'm not sure if I've seen her do a British accent, but she's does a near flawless American accent - its quite remarkable. I'm guessing the director just asked her to play the character with her natural accent - I don't think the director thought he could fool the audience. Most people I know can recognize the differences between british and irish accents fairly easily.

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"Every battle heads toward surrender on both sides."

[–] halfaperson80 13 years ago

why didn't they get the actress form the movie Cal used to watch??? It's like if Emily had showed up in only one episode in season one and then in season 2 they bring her back played by a different actress with different accent...

Make sure to check it out: http://www.brendanhines.net

[–] suky 13 years ago

That's exactly how I felt. Not only does his mother have a different accent, but she looks completely different as well. I know you can change your accent depending on whom you're with or where you are, but that's just carelessness on the part of the producers/writers/director/casting director, whomever. I mean, Cal's accent becoming *more* Cockney rather than less the more time he spends in the States among Americans is evidence of that. Not to mention, I know a lot of admittedly insular Americans who have trouble understanding a *posh* English accent. I like the idea of his being English in a time when most of the leads on popular TV shows here are casting foreigners faking an American accent (e.g., The Mentalist, True Blood), but why would they make Cal even *harder* for the average American to understand, not only with his accent but also with the vocabulary he used? (Even the Harry Potter books were partially "translated" in the American versions!) I suspect that was the show's death sentence in the ratings. (I can understand a London accent pretty well, but even I found him challenging at times. Thank goodness for rewind.)

It's a shame the show was cancelled because it had so much potential, and I really liked Cal and the relationship that was developing with his daughter. Apart from the unexplained changes, I thought the show was finally hitting its stride in the third season. I miss it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Of course it is happening inside your head...but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?"

[–] IcedLemonSquash 13 years ago

Nah. Maybe they figured Americans were smart enough to realize that parents and their children sometimes have different accents, especially when they're born and raised in different places.

I think they're referring to the fact his mum had a decidely British accent in Season 1 episode "Depraved Heart" versus whatever accent she had last night.

[–] suky 13 years ago

I think they're referring to the fact his mum had a decidely British accent in Season 1 episode "Depraved Heart"

Ah, thanks for confirming that I'm not imagining things and also for the episode title.

And yes, I noticed that his accent has taken a decidedly more Cockney turn, especially if you just go on YouTube and look at some of the early clips/ads for the series, in which Roth is pretty much talking in his normal accent.

Then again ... could this be part of the storyline? Cal descending into genuine madness to the point where his accent is reverting to his younger years and he's misremembering his own mother? (Or are they pulling a "Bewitched" on us thinking we won't notice, like when they switched Darrens? I guess I can't blame them for retooling the show after last season, but how oblivious do they think we are?)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Of course it is happening inside your head ... but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?"

[–] 13 years ago

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[–] halfaperson80 13 years ago

Yes, I remember, I just watched the video of his mom in season 1 that he used to watch... Nothing like the one they presented now... But, it doesn't surprise me a bit. They have always been sloppy, so there's no reason for them to actually take the trouble of actually watching previous episodes to know what happened so far...

Make sure to check it out: http://www.brendanhines.net

[–] demoncleaner28 13 years ago

Yeah I was a bit surprised by that. I remember his mother being english in season 1.

however it's possible. My parents are scottish, glaswegian, however my sisters and I are english. to all intents and purposes my parenst sound english however wheneveer they meet any scots, glaswegians in particular thay nail their origins in half a sentence!! It's uncanny really.
Although my mind is breaking my existence makes a channel for the pain

[–] scpllb 13 years ago

In the episode Depraved Heart (Season 1, Episode 8) it shows a video, the one of Cal's mother, and she is English, or at least, sounds English. No hint of an Irish accent at all when she speaks. They have obviously messed it up.

Plus, as someone said, Cal's cockney accent sounds softer than recent episodes.

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[–] Leepal 11 years ago

As an Englishman reading this thread has been quite amusing. Do some Americans really think that nobody from England could have an Irish parent? lol!

If you grow up in London (for example) it's unlikely you are going to have an Irish accent even if both parents are from Ireland. You are more likely to talk like the other kids in London that you grew up with, as the Cal Lightman character does.

[–] mackay254 11 years ago

Read the whole thread mate. The problem was that the mother switched accents. She had been introduced, in the past, as having a standard English accent. Then, reintroduced as having a Northern Irish Accent.

I can't remember this happening. But, then again, there is such an array of accents in my own family, I wouldn't bat an eyelid:
Geordie, Manc, Essex, Yorkshire, Scots, Irish and Standard English.
(No Mackems as yet, thank heavens!)

My mother had a 'telephone voice', which was Standard English, but then switched back to Geordie if it was 'Wor Rita/Mary/Ann'etc. If she knew she was being filmed/taped, my mother would have adopted a Standard English accent. Perhaps that's what Cal's mam did?