MovieChat Forums > Maggie (2015) Discussion > Surely after 20+ yrs he could've had a ...

Surely after 20+ yrs he could've had a stab at an American accent.....

posted 10 years ago by fraggle1984666
15 replies | jump to latest

He is a decent enough actor outside of Action movies but his performances are always let down by the fact he always has that strong Austrian gnarl in every movie.... after all the years he has lived in the US and been working in the industry surely he has got at least one pretty decent American Accent to put to use.... Mines i've been told is Texas Twang which comes the most naturally to me from years of Halo xbox live playing :)

[–] jenoor 10 years ago

"Maggie! GET DOWN, HURRY! GET TO THE CHOPPA!"

o/~ Farewell and adiou to you fair Spanish ladies, farewell and adiou to you ladies of Spain o/~

[–] watchkoreanmovies 10 years ago

I think it's too late for him now. Not to learn it but to use it. I reckon it will turn audiences off. It just won't be Arnie without the accent and lets face it that's why most people go to see his movies, to see him.

[–] janoroh 10 years ago

It's an open secret that he actually speaks without much of an accent (or even with an American accent) when he's not in public. Nowadays, he even uses a voice coach to freshen up his Austrian accent since it's his trademark.

And yes, it's ridiculous. I usually prefer watching the English version of movies and shows, but for Schwarzenegger films, I just have to watch the German dubbed version since the overly thick Austrian accent sounds just too silly.

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[–] teresamargit 10 years ago

The austrian accent is his trademark. It's funny 'cos when he speaks german, he pretends to have an american accent.

[–] R_Redbeard 10 years ago

He's been trying to get rid of it since the 70s. That is why no one sounds like he does... It didn't work.

[–] keithgordon 10 years ago

fraggle,

His IMDB bio says he emigrated here in 1968. That's FORTY-SEVEN years! And actors are supposed to be able to control their accents. And stop calling me Shirley.

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[–] ShinzouMoa 10 years ago

That wouldn't really be a problem if they wrote his characters as being German or Austrian immigrants, which shouldn't be that hard for many of the roles he plays.

Ironically i thought at first they did that here with the last name of "Vogel", but then his first name was "Wade", which doesn't even have a German version. If they just had called him "Walt" or some such, problem solved.

[–] keithgordon 10 years ago

ShinzouMoa,
Right! I was just about to say the same thing. Out of all his movies, I can't think of one where he is supposed to be an immigrant. Every time it is "why does this guy have such a strong foreign accent?".

[–] ShinzouMoa 10 years ago

Well, his name in Predator was "Dutch", which i always thought was at least a nod to his heritage (and yes, of course i know there is a difference, trust me, but there was a time where in Hollywood "close enough" was thing).

I also think in The Last Stand he actually was supposed to be an immigrant, although i may misremember that. Just checked and his name there was "Ray Owens" which in no shape or form could be a German name.

But i seem to remember at least one movie where it is mentioned in passing that he was not American at all.

Maybe "Hauser / Quaid" From Total Recall counts. "John Kruger" in Eraser is probably the most likely name for an immigrant, and i have not seen Escape Plan yet and his role name is "Rottmayer", which, while not a common German name, is at least "close enough".

Then again i always laugh when they cast Americans (or Brits) as Russians or some such. That must be just as grating.

[–] gbullockwpd 10 years ago

It was specifically stated in Kindergarten Cop that he was an Austrian immigrant. His partner even takes on an accent and tells a fake story about how she immigrated with him, I believe when they were children.

But to the OP's original post. I agree, I would like to see him try an American accent at least once before his career is over. It would be very interesting to see what that would sound like.

[–] keithgordon 10 years ago

ShinzouMoa,
You seem to know Arnold's movies better than me. I remember seeing quite a few WWII moves from the 60's and 70's where the American generals would of course have American accents, but the German generals would have British accents. And I can't remember any of the titles, but I've seen a lot of films that take place in the States and the actor playing the villain is American but he is given a British accent with no explanation and does it very poorly. It looks like it is done this way for the movie-goers who love to hate the British.

[–] ShinzouMoa 10 years ago

Well, i am kind of a linguist and these things always intrigue me. Yes, British accents are often used in US movies to confer a degree of villianousness (not a word, i know). Which i find amusing to no end. As i do find the use of stock accents, which usually sound nothing like what the real accents would be. "Ze German". In the 60's and 70's especially, Hollywood would play up the alien features of foreign country, most of all "they sound weird". And a posh British accent fits that perfectly. Mind you, nobody in Britain actually speaks like that either.

It is just a play on the "foreigners are evil" paradigm, which to an extent is still used. How many aliens speak perfect "American" ;)