Besides the Empeg guys, of course, ... who's yer favorite Brit superstar?

I'd have to say a couple (4) are at the top of my list...

Anthony Stewart Head
Jason Statham
Vinnie Jones
Malcolm McDowell ....

Not a superstar, but Douglas Adams is probably my favorite well-known Brit.

Mr. Methane

LOL. He is...spectacular.

I once did the sound engineering at a Uni gig that he played and there certainly weren't any special effect tricks. We weren't sure what to do with the microphone afterwards. ISTR that we left in storage until our most hated student band vocalist had their next gig.

who's yer favorite Brit superstar?

Do any of the Python gang count? For me, it'd be a toss-up between Cleese, Idle, and Palin.

Is Alan Rickman from England?

Yup

Besides the Empeg guys, of course, ... who's yer favorite Brit superstar?

Zulu. The Italian Job. Alfie. Educating Rita. The Cider House Rules. Get Carter.

It has to be Michael Caine.

"You're a big man, but you're out of shape, and I do this for a living."

Peter

I'll go along with that, in the 60's, I sold him a set top TV aerial during my sojourn in Selfridges hi-fi department! what a smashing guy, we frequently served celebrities, but not many stopped to chat and remembered the conversation, when he came in again weeks later.
I loved his recent interview where he said: "It's like being a prostitute, being paid for what you enjoy doing" (acting) - then obviously thought that it was politically incorrect and dug himself deeper with: "That's if you're a nymphomaniac, being a prostitute"

I'll second Douglas Adams.

I can only do categories:
Dead TV star - Ronnie Barker and /or Eric Morecombe
Live TV star - Joanna Lumley
Live Movie star - Gary Oldman - he never does the same role type twice

I'll second Douglas Adams.

I agree, but let's add Iain (M) Banks, Terry Gilliam...

Ronnie Barker isn't dead. He has retired, though.

Peter

I'll vote for Alan Rickman. He's so........... evil

You haven't seen enough Alan Rickman, then. He's got quite a range. (Though he does do evil quite well.)

You should check out Truly, Madly, Deeply, which is the first thing I saw him in. It's a romantic drama that shares some similarities with Ghost, but is ... well ... good.

I'll vote for Alan Rickman. He's so........... evil

But he was also a really cool good guy in both Dogma and Galaxy Quest. And he has great comedic timing.

"By Grapthar's hammer.... .... What a savings."

I have that movie and have seen it often. He does play a very selfish guy and that makes him a little evil. He's a terrific actor and does have a very wide range of roles and seems intelligent besides being hot The first time I really noticed him was in "Die Hard".

The first time I really noticed him was in "Die Hard".

I think that's the first time anyone really noticed him. I think "Die Hard" was a great movie, made so both by Willis and Rickman. It's amazing to me how different Willis's character is in that one from most action movies since (including the sequals), and Rickman made such an impression on me that afterwards I tried to see every movie I could with him in it.

I'll still take Douglas Adams, but Rickman is great, even in movies I don't really like.

brit ney spears sweet.LOL

Your Favorite Brit!

[ego] Me! [/ego]

I was going to rush in and correct you, saying don't forget "Truly Madly Deeply", being sure that it was made several years before Die Hard. But then I double checked on IMDB and discovered that Truly Madly Deeply wasn't until 1991 and Die Hard was 1988. I could have sworn Truly Madly Deeply was earlier, it feels so eighties.

I first noticed him in Robin Hood, Prince Of Thieves, which, fittingly, he completely stole. I can't remember any of that film except the bits with Rickman in.

Peter

In reply to:

---

agree, but let's add Iain (M) Banks, Terry Gilliam...

---

Gilliam's an American, isn't he?

I'll second Mr. Banks, though...

Gilliam's an American, isn't he?

Hm, strangely enough, he indeed is. I associate him with Monty Python crew so strongly that I forgot this (besides, his films are far too good for the left side of the pond ). I almost added Stanley Kubrick, too....

You should check out Truly, Madly, Deeply

You know, I think Rickman's great, I first remember him as "the odious slope" in the BBC production of Trollope's Barchester Chronicles - and he's played the same menacing character ever since.
But, Truly, Madly, Deeply: If they show that, I let the wife curl up in front of the TV and don't stop 'till I'm in the next County!
I just think it's the worst in pretentious, cringing, luvvy film making, sorry - but we're all entitled!

Oops! That what I get for emigrating!

I first noticed him in Robin Hood, Prince Of Thieves, which, fittingly, he completely stole. I can't remember any of that film except the bits with Rickman in.

Agreed completely. He was fantastic in that role. Too bad the rest of the film was so unwatchable.

Hey, here's a question for you English-types:

Did Costner's awful half-assed attempt at an English accent irritate you guys as much as it did me?

Throughout the entire film, I just kept wishing he'd simply drop the accent and talk in his own voice. It took what could have (in theory) been a good film, and made it impossible to sit through.

I'm wondering if a badly-done impersonation of an English accent irritates Brits as much as it does Americans.

I don't have many examples of the reverse case to draw an inference from. Off the top of my head, I can think of only Marina Sirtis (Deanna Troi) in Star Trek: The Next Generation as an example of someone who's got an English accent and is trying to sound more American in the role. She does a pretty good job most of the time, enough to have fooled me for a long time. I had always noticed something a little "off" about her speech patterns, but couldn't quite put my finger on it. Then I saw her interviewed, and was surprised to hear her "real" English voice. Now, when I see her play the Troi role, I can hear what she's doing and see what it was I couldn't pinpoint before: She deliberately over-emphasizes her R's in an attempt to sound more American.

The thing is, hearing Marina do it, to my American ear, it just makes her sound slightly exotic and not like a person doing a bad accent. But to me, hearing Costner trying to sound English by just refusing to pronounce his R's and nothing else grates like nails on a blackboard.

Anyone else have opinions on this?

I always heard that Sirtis was doing a kinda halfway Spanish accent in order specifically to sound exotic.

And while Costner's ``accent'' was awful, his ``acting'' was worse. On the other hand, I could look at Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio for hours on end. Especially in that movie, with the hair extensions and all.

I've also been interested in how well American actors do English accents. It occurred to me again last night when I was watching Alexis Denisof being Wesley on Angel. I know I always find Englishters' attempts at American accents amusing (Peri from Doctor Who always being my prime example). Thoughts?

On one of the Star Trek DVD's Sirtis talks about her accent. She was apparently instructed to come up with something "new" to be a Betazoid accent. Then, of course, Rodenberry's wife showed up as her mother and screwed the whole thing up. But I think the point is that she wasn't trying to sound American.

It used to be common for brits to americanize thier voices for US consumption. Patrick Stewart in ST:TNG also toned down his own (very english) english for the US. Although it must be pointed out that Marina Sirtis own voice is wildly cockney and as such should not be treated as English any more than scouse.

As far as annoying goes, if you though Costner was bad, the award for the most annoying has to go to Dick Van Dyke in Mary Poppins
Or for a more modern slant, Keanu Reeves in Much Ado about Nothing.
Personally, the bad accents are more funny than annoying.
For a good accent job, check out Rene Zellwegger in Bridget Jones Diary.

The thing I find most annoying is the way Hollywood will rewrite history as pass it off as accurate. Take U571, Braveheart, etc etc even Pocohontas for goodness sake!
{edit}
BTW - Pocohontas died in Endland after being there for seven whole months, not very Disney friendly. http://www.linkline.com/personal/xymox/roh/poca.htm

I first noticed him in Robin Hood, Prince Of Thieves, which, fittingly, he completely stole.

True enough. I remember being excited about Robin Hood when I found out he was going to be in it specifically because he was so good in "Die Hard". I was really impressed at the time that that as a bad guy he'd made such a lasting impression; then he did it again in Robin Hood.

On one of the Star Trek DVD's Sirtis talks about her accent. She was apparently instructed to come up with something "new" to be a Betazoid accent.

I wasn't aware of this. After hearing her real voice, now Troi just sounds to me like a Brit trying to do an American accent. The over-emphasized R's are what makes it sound that way to me.

You just reminded me of the Angel/Buffy folks,
Anthony Head - cockney doing a Queens English
James Marsters- californian doing cockney
Both doing a pretty good job too.

Did Costner's awful half-assed attempt at an English accent irritate you guys as much as it did me?

Yes.

I think that Brits have a better chance of doing a US accent than the other way around for a few reasons;

Britain is a small place. If the actor is doing a regional accent then chances are that most Brits will have heard the original at some point, and will be able to hear blatent flaws. The US on the other hand is a huge place with many more accent variations. It's going to be easier to find a middle of the road US accent that cannot be regionally pin-pointed. Obviously if the role calls for a specific accent then this doesn't apply, but I would guess that the majority of roles do not.

Many of the 'upper class' UK accents are often quietly spoken, sometimes with a very stiff upper lip, eg 'Sandhurst' (Army Officers). This isn't second nature to most USians who tend to speak louder in everyday life, and the stiff upper lip thing is just unnatural. I suppose that Botox might help

There is more US content on British television and movie screens than the other way around. Admittedly many of the accents there are probably CA or NY, but Brits are exposed to more US accents in the media.

That all being said, I couldn't do a US accent if my life depended on it.

Anthony Head - cockney doing a Queens English

That reminds me of another funny one: In Frasier, Jane Leeves, from Sussex, affects a Mancunian accent after being helped with it by John Mahoney, who is actually from Manchester, but speaks in a totally natural American accent, which is his normal speaking voice these days.

Also, Head's ``American'' accent in the first episode of Jonathan Creek is pretty amusing. You'd think he'd have been better, having lived in LA for quite a while at that point.

Hey, speaking of favorite brits...

A number of years ago, our local PBS station ran an old situation comedy from England. I do not remember its title or the names of the actors. But the premise was that it was a nice couple who lived in a rural area out in the country, and their new neighbors were formerly filthy-rich city folk suddenly "caste down", who now had to cope with doing mundane day-to-day living tasks that they'd never had to do before.

An example of one of the show's gags: The neighbor wife wants to know why her vacuum cleaner started whistling all of a sudden, and needs to have it explained that the bag must be emptied once in a while. Sub-gag: The male predilection for trying to find the most complicated possible thing wrong with a gadget in order to fix it, when a simple "empty the bag" will do.

Anyone got the name of the series and the actors? Reason: The leading lady might get my vote for favorite British superstar. I thought she was just so cute. And I don't necessarily mean attractive or sexy (although I think she had those qualities as well), I mean she had one of those faces that makes you go "awwwwww, she's so CUTE".

Hmm...Felicty Kendal in The Good Life?

Someone else as a nomination for favorite Brit...

Rowan Atkinson.

Hmm...Felicty Kendal in The Good Life?

That's the one. Although the photos available at that link don't do her justice. I think this one best captures the way she looked when she was working on that series.

I think Madonna's is the most irritating, affectatious (if that is a word - Bitt?) accent ever. She should be shot for it.

-Zeke

affectatious (if that is a word - Bitt?)

I believe that the word you're looking for is ``affected''. But we unambiguously knew what you meant, so that's not so bad.

Madonna has an accent? What's that like? I thought she was from Jersey or something.

Rowan Atkinson

...but only for Blackadder, not Mr. Bean, surely?!

Ah, finally! Someone else who doesn't find Mr. Bean funny!

I don't know many people who do... (or, at least, who admit to it!)

I always regarded it as rather feeble slapstick at best. My parents seem to like it, though. Mind you, their taste in comedy is something I seem to have been able to use as an inverse measure of my own preferences for many years now...

I've never found Mr Bean funny. I have a friend who can't believe I feel that way, but the humor of it never struck me.

Anyway, currently my favorite Brit is the tech support at my web host. I was having problems with the PHP safe mode on my subdomains, and after a several very quick email responses, he asked me for my phone number and gave me a call. Very good support.

Mr Bean is hilarious. I can't understand how people don't think that way.

Because we just have different tastes

Over the past few years I've been really interested in what people find funny. It's really amazing how subjective it is, and how much it varies from person to person. It usually doesn't even have much to do with the type of humor it is. In all cases it seems that the humor either really clicks or doesn't do anything for you.

In freshman year of college, I had a roommate with the opposite taste in comedy I had. I would watch the Kids In the Hall hour block every day, which he thought was the weirdest thing ever. He, on the other hand, did impressions of the SNL cheerleaders. Needless to say, we didn't get along that great

Which brings me to my question: does anyone here find the cheerleader sketches funny? If so, WHY??

Madonna has an accent? What's that like?

Well, since she's been living in London with Guy Ritchie, I think she's effectively turned into a Brit -- goes to the pub, drinks real ale, that kind of thing. Her accent's still (mostly) American, but she uses exclusively British words like "bollocks" these days.

My trouble with Madonna's accent is that it began seemingly overnight after moving to London. It feels like she changed her accent for the same reasons she changes her hair - to get attention and manipulate the public. She simply rubs me the wrong way.

Don't get me wrong, I think everyone adapts their speech(intentionally or not) when surrounded by people with an different accent. Hers, however seems to me a bit of a con job.
-Zeke

Hers, however seems to me a bit of a con job.

Yeah, but you gotta understand that her whole life has been a con job. From the very start of her career. So she's just doing what comes naturally. She's a product of a public that needed a female icon, and she's just used to being a chameleon and evolving with whatever the public wants. Occasionally, she's been very good at being one or two steps ahead of the public, but nowadays, she's just trying to raise a family and still remain relevant (so the checks keep coming in.)

Can't blame her.

"Yeah, but you gotta understand that her whole life has been a con job."

I don't really feel that's been the case, but at this point I don't believe her music or performances are really inspired, rather they are just milking the cash cow - so basically we agree about that part.

If she still really feels the need (at this point - after having been so enormously influential) to remain 'relevant', it casts her as a bit insecure. It may be that I'm totally wrong, and her awful accent is perfectly normal and not at all a put-on, but I still hate it!

-Zeke

If I were a World-famous Brit with a career in the performing arts looking to go out for a quiet pint in NY then I'm sure that I'd do my best to put on a NY accent too!

What amazes me is these reports suggest that she can do a British accent fairly well - something that her previous acting performances wouldn't have predicted.

It may be that I'm totally wrong, and her awful accent is perfectly normal and not at all a put-on, but I still hate it!

Is anyone else picturing the scenes in "Rockstar" with Mark Wahlberg trying to do a brit accent and then slipping?

Or better yet, Ghostbusters 2, with Peter MacNicol as Janosz Poha... Where he's got that outrageous transylvanian accent, and when asked where he's from, he answers matter-of-factly... "Ze upper vest side."

I depise Bean and soak up Blackadder
Bean is pathetic, but Blackadder is real, twisted, sadist humor
Wonderful!

Of course!

My new favo(u)rite Brit is the guy who came up with this hoax:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2003/05/12/financial0014EDT0002.DTL

And, my least favo(u)rite Brit is this douchebag who wants to put an end to the best snack food ever invented.

For nostalgia purposes, here's an old thread extolling the virtues of Oreo cookies.

Another of my favorite Brits. Someone who is very easy to overlook because he seems to avoid the glitzy side of showbusiness;

Robert Carlyle.

Trainspotting
The Full Monty
Angela's Ashes
The World Is Not Enough
Formula 51

...and currently showing on US TV; "Hitler: The Rise of Evil"

Very true. Phenomenal actor. Speaking of The Full Monty, Tom Wilkinson is an excellent actor, too. And, unrelatedly, Miranda Richardson.

How about Clive Owen? Jeremy Northam? Stephen Fry? Kristin Scott Thomas? Colin Firth? Helena Bonham-Carter? Jim Broadbent? Ben Kingsley? Edward Fox? Richard Attenborough? Stanley Kubrick (oops, no, he's American)? Malcolm McDowell? Peter Sellers? Arthur C. Clarke? Alan Moore? Neil Gaiman? Grant Morrison? Rik Mayall?

I think I'm out for now.