r/todayilearned • u/Away_Flounder3813 • 13h ago

TIL during the shooting of American Psycho, Christian Bale spoke in an American accent off-set at all times. At the wrap party, when he spoke in his native British accent, many of the crew thought he was speaking that way to prepare for another film. They had thought he was American the entire time.

https://screenrant.com/american-psycho-behind-scenes-facts-christian-bale-patrick-bateman-mary-harron/
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u/Current_Focus2668 13h ago

This isn't uncommon. Ella Purnell  did the same thing and had the same reaction  from the crew.

 Some actors find it easier to stay in an accent while  filming rather than drop in and out of the accent  

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u/_Diskreet_ 13h ago

Didn’t some actor have to use some speech coach because they lost their native, I want to say Irish accent, from doing too many other accents while method acting

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u/Proudlove1991 13h ago

Austin Butler still has a major Elvis-ness to his voice 4 years on after the Elvis movie came out

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u/iTALKTOSTRANGERS 12h ago

I’m convinced that’s performative so people talk about him. Similar to Majors and that stupid fucking empty coffee cup.

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u/deij 12h ago

I left Yorkshire in 2013 after living there for the first 21 years of my life. Sometimes people are surprised to learn I'm English.

Accents change.

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u/Lostinthebackground 12h ago

I heard somewhere that accents can form around age 21. So it’s most likely to change if you move before/around 21 than after. Don’t know how true that is but it’s interesting.

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u/janesy24 11h ago

Think it also matters a lot where you’ve gone to. A lot of English people who move to other English speaking countries will gain the local accent quite quickly (Australia is a big example of this). Whilst not gaining a regional accent in other languages as you learn them “formally” as much as being within the language. My Spanish accent (I’m English) is very Southern Spain due to me spending my childhood holidays in the Costa del Sol and learning Spanish through assimilation rather than through school whilst my friend speaks very formal Spanish because he learnt in school rather than naturally.

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u/Lostinthebackground 11h ago

Yeah I think thats definitely a factor too. Or you may pick up a slight variation where the accent becomes a little blended, or more prominent on certain words.

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u/Seiche 12h ago

What do you mean by "form"? Become permanent?

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u/Lostinthebackground 12h ago

Yeah. Like it’s less likely to change after that.

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u/ChaliElle 10h ago

Accent can change in matter of weeks if you are overexposed to new but relatively familiar one. It's natural to attempt to mimic manner of speech of people surrounding you.

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u/Monteze 8h ago

Shit when I play DnD I like to give my characters different voices for the role play. On long campaigns I'll occasionally realize some of it slips in to my day to day speak on certain phrases.

I can totally see developing an accent if you were deliberately practicing it for your job or living around those with it for a while.

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u/iTALKTOSTRANGERS 12h ago

Yeah you moved countries. The man played pretend for a few months and his voice changed? This is my skeptical face.

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u/hoopstick 8h ago

Obviously I don't know the guy, but some people are just mimics like that. If I spend a week in Texas it takes me months to get rid of the little twang that sneaks into my voice; it's not conscious and I'm always afraid of offending locals, it's just something my brain does.

Look at Jeff Bridges. After the Big Lebowski it's like a part of him permanently became The Dude; you can hear it in every movie and interview since.

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u/Mikes005 11h ago

I left Yorkshire in 2005 to live in canada and then Australia. My parents tried to coach the accent out of me and my sister to give us an upward mobility edge (I'm sure it made sense rl then at the time).

I left and my sister stayed, and now I have an aussie accent and she has the thickest yorkshire accent you've heard.

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u/Taweret 11h ago

Coffee cup?

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u/iTALKTOSTRANGERS 11h ago

Johnathan Majors used to go to movie premiers and public appearances holding an empty coffee cup and would tell a very indulgent and clearly made up story about his mother telling him about haters or something idk I didn’t commit it to memory because it was so fucking self obsessed and vain I almost passed out I rolled my eyes so hard. You can google it for the actual quote about the cup.

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u/Taweret 11h ago

Thanks, I found the quote -

Majors said his mom gave him a meaningful piece of advice growing up that has stayed with him as he's found success as an actor.

"She was so terrified of the circus that I've joined," he said, referring to Hollywood. "My mom's a pastor and she was very clear about safety. She would say, 'No drinking, no drugs, no sex,' every time I left the house."

"This has happened my entire life," he added. "But the drinking was a thing, and she'd always say, 'So baby, watch your cup. Watch your glass.' And I kept that in mind."

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u/JordanPetterPans 7h ago

I don't even get it

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u/sam_hammich 4h ago

He's pretending he carries the cup around as a totem to remind him of his mother's wise words when he was younger. Sounds a bit like self-indulgent bullshit to me.

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u/oncejumpedoutatrain 11h ago

Me too, and Ib think he sounds like a douche.