It’s become more uncomfortable to see English actors put on accents and tell the world they’re German, Russian, Swedish or Italian. But is the trend for ‘keeping it real’ – a movement that is creating more work for disabled actors, ethnic minorities or transgender performers – hindering artistic growth? Vanessa Thorpe weighs in.
When Scottish film star Sean Connery delivered his lines in the 1987 hit The Untouchables in a ripe Irish brogue, not all the cinema audience was convinced. Yet his right to have a go at a different accent was not questioned.
If it happened today, however, Connery might feel the need to make it clear from the get-go that his paternal grandparents were of Irish descent. An actor’s automatic licence to fake an accent is now increasingly in doubt... Keep reading on The Guardian