Sarah Valentine reveals Northern Irish, Scouse, Geordie and Scottish are the toughest accents to impersonate
Actors trying out new accents continue to dominate our screens, with audiences more attuned than ever to what sounds authentic and what doesn’t. Across modern films, viewers are increasingly quick to spot when a performance feels off.
Speaking to Heart Bingo Online, celebrity accent coach Sarah Valentine has lifted the lid on the voices that separate convincing performances from cringe-worthy ones, revealing which accents consistently trip up even the most seasoned stars.
Sarah explains that Northern Irish, Scouse, Geordie and Scottish accents are among the most difficult for both Brits and Americans to master – making them some of the hardest to impersonate convincingly on screen.
She also shares her take on the celebrity accents we’ve seen in recent films, calling out common mistakes and naming the star whose accent work she believes is seriously underrated.
While many actors focus on pronunciation, Sarah reveals the single biggest giveaway of a fake accent.
Speaking to Heart Bingo Online, accent coach Sarah Valentine reveals:
What is the process like with teaching an actor an accent for a film or TV part?
It really varies. Not all productions will pay for the actors to have vocal coaching, so they’ll have to arrange it themselves. I’ve worked with actors who have been given a week to pick up a dialect, and that is so tough! But I’ve worked with actors who have been given six months to prepare, and that is amazing. Some actors, who I won’t name, don’t like to say they’ve worked with dialect coaches as they may be embarrassed to admit they needed help and then want to take the credit. But I don’t like that, as I believe in credit where credit is due. It’s always nice to be acknowledged for your work.
Do you think it’s possible for anyone to pick up any accent?
They can certainly try! Singers tend to be the best at picking up accents as they have amazing hearing, and the way they differentiate a note is the same way you differentiate a vowel sound or a placement of something. It’s about time and patience, though.
Is there an example of an accent in film or TV that you think is bad?
I was watching the thriller series Absentia on Netflix recently, and I kept thinking how many of the actors sounded British. I assumed they must be English, because several of the lead performances dropped out of their American sounds and leaned into something that felt distinctly British. Those rhotic R’s are always a give away. I don’t rate Idris Elba’s American accent either. I love him, he’s amazing, but I was watching him in something the other day, and I thought, ‘Oh Idris you need my help!
What about an amazing accent that you don’t think gets enough credit?
I do think she gets credit, but still, Jodie Comer in Killing Eve is phenomenal as she really did the range. When I found out she was a scouser, I couldn’t believe it!
What about Dick Van Dyke’s accent in Mary Poppins? That is famously criticised.
Let me ask you this – if Dick Van Dyke hadn’t done the accent the way he did, do you think the film would be better or worse? I actually think his performance makes it perfect. It’s a fantasy, a fairytale, and that exaggerated accent is part of the magic. Like many people, I used to criticise his Cockney, but when I rewatched it at Christmas, I realised that if it had been done differently, the film wouldn’t feel nearly as fantastical.
As an acting accent coach, what would be the toughest accent for you to get someone to master?
It’s hard to say as it would depend on the person. But say I had an American who couldn’t sing and was notoriously terrible at accents, I would then dread having to teach them a Scouse, Geordie, or Scottish accent. They are tricky accents.
What is a tough accent for most Brits to master?
Northern Irish is very hard. It’s a nasal accent, but there’s also a distinct rhythm to it.
Which country tends to nail accents better than others?
Australians tend to be great, as do the Brits. Both are generally better than Americans. With Brits, you drive 20 minutes, and you get a new accent, so I think they’re used to picking up on small changes. But my advice to any actor is to nail the following five accents. Standard British, British RP, an East London accent, a New York accent and maybe a German or Russian one. Those should have you covered for a lot of things!
How did you become an accent coach?
I moved around a lot as a child, so I had to learn pretty quickly how to blend in. That made me really aware of accents early on, and I became completely fascinated by them. At school, I was surrounded by people with very different ways of speaking, and I found myself picking them up naturally. That obsession carried into acting. Friends and classmates would ask me to help them with different accents for roles, and I realised I was doing it constantly. Eventually, it got to the point where I thought, I should probably start charging for this. That’s when I began creating courses and teaching accents professionally.
What is your teaching method?
If I have enough time, I’ll go through the script and pull all of the actor’s lines, then sit down with them to talk through how they want to approach the delivery. In heightened scenes, especially when emotions run high, actors can drop out of an accent, so that’s something we watch closely. I may record lines and run drills, but I usually have actors learn their lines in their natural accent first. At the end of the day, they need to be able to fully act the scene and then layer the accent on top.
I came up with my Valentine Method. The way I teach is tailored to the actor’s native accent. For example, if you’re Southern British and need to learn an American accent, I write the words phonetically in a way that guides you to sound American. If you’re Southern British and need an Australian accent, I do the same, just adjusted for the target accent. For Americans learning British, I write it in American so they can sound convincingly British. The method is all about using the student’s natural speech as the foundation for the new accent.
Do you think men or women are better at nailing accents?
I think women are better, if I’m honest. When I think of actors who excel at accents, I can name lots of female actors, but not as many men.
