Some guys are great at pulling off multiple accents and some aren’t. Tim Roth unfortunately falls into that latter category. Before it goes any further let me say that’s a great actor, there’s no criticism about his ability to pull off a role, but his American accent is horrible. Maybe it’s because his native accent is so thick or maybe it’s just something he has to work on a little bit more, but really, that accent is just not that great. As an actor he’s fun to watch and can pull at your emotions one way or another, but with an American accent he’s not great.
Here are a few films in which his accent could have used a lot of work.
5. Reservoir Dogs
This scene was actually the best part of his assumed accent in the entire movie. He came off as believable for this handful of seconds and then went right back to being the English actor that could not pull off an American accent for anything. Speaking in a different accent’s got to be rough enough as it is, but making it convincing has to be extremely hard, and so far Roth just hasn’t done it.
4. Four Rooms
It’s really hard to know if he’s supposed to be speaking with his regular accent or an American one in this film. Some times it seems like he tries to slip into one without really thinking about it but then he slips right back into his native accent in the same way. The film itself is actually very hilarious, but as his accent continues to slip slide back and forth it’s really difficult to know just what’s going on and how he’s supposed to sound.
3. Hoodlum
This is another fairly believable role but you can still hear him slip multiple times throughout the movie. As Dutch Schultz he’s just ruthless and doesn’t care about what he does or who he hurts. It’s all about the money and getting rid of his enemies to be honest. But the accent, though good, could use a little bit of work. When pitted against a native New Yorker it becomes almost laughable.
2. Everyone Says I Love You
He’s not as big of a player in this film but his accent is still noticeable. The American accent is very hard to note when speaking to a born American because, surprise, we don’t often hear it. When you hear a person of a different nationality that has a completely different accent trying to speak it then you can hear without question.
1. Funny Games
As disturbing as this film was it was almost equally disturbing to wonder if Roth was trying for an American accent or if the director decided to let him just use his own accent for this role. The back and forth action that he seems to favor sometimes in trying to switch accents can be really distracting.
Tim Roth is known for being a great actor in a very large number of films and even TV shows, but one thing he is also known for is his less than perfect American accent.
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