Both are from England so why does Patrick Stewart have a a more sophisticated and less annoying accent that James MacAvoy? Can someone explain me this and English accents in general? I hate when James MacAvoy says, "I don't want your fuchahhhh!!!" in Days of Future Past. I also don't like how Rey says "Luke Skywalkaahhhh!!" Why did Obi Wan with his British accent pronounce Slywalker correctly?
shareStewart's Xavier is supposed to be much more sophisticated whereas Charles in days of future past is in a pretty bad state... mvacoys acting was great in that movie btw, as it has been in all 3 of his films... plus, it's just their natural accent...
shareCould also be because Stewart has done a lot more theatre, including classical theatre ( Shakespeare) than McAvoy? The accent is not just how words are pronounced but how the words are phrased together.
I once saw Denzel Washington on Broadway doing the role of Brutus in JULIUS CAESAR and he was terrible ( and he is a two-time Oscar winner plus he originally came from the theatre!) but it was validated when my seatmate started talking to me during intermission : "Isn't he horrible -- I cannot understand what he was saying - and he is talking too fast?!!". It was also because his co-cast members were classical theatre actors who spoke the language very elegantly and very accessibly to the audience.
Please tell me you have a YouTube video of that because never in a thousand years would I have imagined Denzel acting as Brutus! What did he say? Julius Cesar ain't got *beep* on me!!!
But I'm glad you get my sentiment on how annoying accents can be if they don't fit. Like Keanu Reeves doing Shakespeare if you haven't seen that yet.
Denzel did come from a theatre background before he became a film star and he said that he was very interested to do a Shakespearean play when he did JULIUS CAESAR. Unfortunately, his portrayal was not recognized as among the outstanding performances when he played the role of Brutus( actually JULIUS CAESAR did not get any TONY award nominations for that season).
Maybe my expectations were too high because I thought it might remind me of James Mason's portrayal in that early film adaptation ( with Brando as Antony and Calhern as Caesar).
Sorry, I could not find any clip ( even publicity videos)showing him enunciating the role. Btw, this particular revival was contemporized in a modern setting. Instead of the Senate Hall of Rome, a corporate boardroom was the setting for this production. But still some of the support actors were impressive with their classical theatre portrayals.
Btw, don't be surprised if Hugh Jackman ever does a classical play onstage. He has always called Trevor Nunn ( who directed him in Oklahoma! and Sunset Boulevard on stage) his mentor and one of his bucket list to-do's is to do a play by the Bard someday with Nunn!
Is he qualified? He did train at WAAPA in a three-year drama course, including classical theatre. He once did Romeo and Juliet when he was a drama student. Also, when he auditioned for Oklahoma! in London with the Royal National Theatre, he memorized Shakespeare's Hotspur lines...but forgot to memorize all the lyrics for the title song Oklahoma!...
Can he handle the British accent? Very likely! He did have an English accent in SCOOP and even PAN and for a few minutes as Lord Caldlow in The Prestige. In The Prestige, Hugh also played the role of Angier's double Root. As Root, Hugh spoke a few of Shakespeare's lines. His parents are English even if Hugh was raised in Australia. He even carries a dual passport, one of which is a British passport.
Sometimes we do not realize that some actors are quite versatile but their career-defining roles sometimes typecast them in our minds.
Jackman would make a great Macbeth, joining the ranks of all the Xaviers and Magnetos who have already played him. Or maybe Mark Antony in Antony and Cleopatra.
shareYou'll notice actors who trained in the theatre and early radio plays enunciate words more clearly, completely, and succinctly than ordinary film actors with little to no theatre experience. This is true for both American and English/British actors. Take Al Pacino as an example, you never hear him mumble words, he's is very pristine clear whether he whispers quietly or shouts - he is a trained Shakespearean actor to this day. It is the same for Stewart as opposed to MacAvoy.
shareMcAvoy is Scottish by the way. They have much more guttural accents.
shareThis.
So when he does an English accent, he's affecting something not his normal way of speaking, same as if an American or Australian was trying to emulate an English Accent.
If that wasn't tough enough, he's Glaswegian, and the people from Glasgow have an even thicker accent than, say, someone from Edinburgh.
..Joe
About the theater acting thing, well, their job is to be heard.... CLEARLY. Duh! It's not a superiority thing as far as I see it.
But anyhow, McAvoy's tone and accent (as Xavier and himself) is obviously very different from Stewart's. I figure he could have tried to sound more like Stewart, but at the end of the day I think it was a smart move not to have McAvoy try to emulate such an iconic character/actor. For a much younger and less controlled Xavier, McAvoy's portrayal has been worthy so far.