Acting is hardly a simple thing to do. It's rare to see one actor jump from one genre to another with such easy. Acting requires hours and hours of practice and years of dedication. Sometimes, an actor's accent or maternal language may hinder their career.
These A-list actors and actresses, however, are an exception. Not only do they deliver top-notch performances in their respective movies and series, but they also successfully fake their maternal accents, as the icing on top. From KJ Apa in Riverdale to Sacha Baron Cohen in the Borat series, here are the top ten actors who faked accents on-screen.
10 KJ Apa – 'Riverdale'
Before making it big with the CW's Riverdale as Archie Andrews, KJ Apa starred as Kane Jenkins in Shortland Street, a primetime soap opera in his home country of New Zealand. He faked his accent so flawlessly in Riverdale that no one noticed he speaks with a heavy kiwi accent in real life. He recently played the leading role in a sci-fi thriller Songbird about two lovebirds amidst the ongoing COVID pandemic.
9 Tom Holland – 'The Spider-Man' Series
Born in London, England, young Tom Holland graduated from the BRIT School in the capital and started his career as a theatre actor. Later on, he rose to stardom for playing Spider-Man in 2016, replacing Andrew Garfield, and he's now set to reprise his role as the super-hero in the upcoming Spider-Man: No Way Home.
8 Isla Fisher – 'Now You See Me'
It wasn't until 2002 when Aussie-born actress Isla Fisher made her debut foray into Hollywood with the live-action adaptation of Scooby-Doo as Mary Jane. Although her true Aussie accent has been fading thanks to her work in Hollywood over the years, she also mastered a posh English accent for her latest movie, Blithe Spirit, which was released last year.
7 Sacha Baron Cohen – 'The Borat Series'
Isla Fisher's husband, Sacha Baron Cohen, is one of the best when it comes to faking an accent. The English comedian is never afraid of pushing the envelope when it comes to his craft. He's best known for portraying satirical characters, like the infamous Kazakh journalist Borat, the rapper Ali G, the flamboyant fashion reporter Brüno Gehard, and the "supreme" leader General Aladdin. Each character has their own accent, which makes it even more impressive.
6 Katherine Langford – '13 Reasons Why'
After years of making noise in the independent film scene, Perth-born Katherine Langford made her big breakthrough with Netflix's controversial series 13 Reasons Why as Hannah Baker. The character herself was an American, and the actress admitted to having learned the regular American accent through other TV series and movies. Her portrayal of the character was tragic and beautiful, which landed her a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in a TV Series Drama.
5 Chiwetel Ejiofor – '12 Years A Slave'
Many may have not known about this, but Chiwetel Ejiofor is actually British with Nigerian roots. He gained notorious attention after his portrayal of an unfairly marginalized abolitionist in Steve McQueen-directed 12 Years a Slave.
In fact, Ejiofor wasn't the only British on the set. Many actors who were born in the British Isles, like Benedict Cumberbatch and Michael Fassbender, joined the star-studded cast.
4 Meryl Streep – 'Sophie’s Choice'
Meryl Streep is a versatile actress. In 1982's Sophie's Choice, she spent some time learning the Polish language on set from one of the film's assistants to gain a proper accent of her character, who is a Polish refugee. No wonder Streep's been regarded as one of the best in the game, and her record of 21 Academy Awards nominations speaks for itself.
3 Margot Robbie – 'Suicide Squad'
Population-wise, Australia is a small country. However, the Land Down Under has generated some of the most prominent Hollywood actors and actresses, including Margot Robbie. Her accent was so strong that the Suicide Squad actress hired a dialect coach to make her sound "less Australian."
"About six months in I made the decision (to move) and started saving money and learning the American dialect," she said.
2 Christian Bale – 'American Hustle'
Christian Bale uses accents as his playground. Many may not believe that he's not American due to his large involvement in American movies, but he's not. The Batman actor is a proud Welsh who can freely speak in a Cockney accent.
"So it was lovely to see them getting surprised by that," the actor said when he found out that many were surprised by his original accent, as noted by Sky. "But what was interesting was a lot of them got it very wrong and they go, 'listen to his Welsh accent'."
1 Millie Bobby Brown – 'Stranger Things'
Millie Bobby Brown shot to stardom at the age of 12 thanks to her portrayal of Eleven in Stranger Things. Since a very young age, she's been exposed to American media and people, hence it was easy for her to switch accents from her original British. However, she did admit that it was "challenging" for her to speak with a British accent again during the production of Enola Holmes. The Sherlock Holmes spin-off took place in Victorian London.