Charlize Theron's accent

[David H]

How long does it take a South African to pick up an American accent? Did Charlize Theron learn the accent specially as there are few calls for a South African leading lady as she imitates it perfectly despite not being there very long (how long?).
My aunty Esther was there 60 years and never picked up a trace of an accent, so what's Charlize's excuse?

[spat]

i believe they call it acting
if you watch other american movies you will see actors from places like britain or new zealand also sound american for the part they are playing
remarkable

[spudqueen]

Just like Hugh Laurie in House

[David H]

What got me was she wasn't acting there, but simply being herself in a cosmetics ad, appearing to have a faultless American accent. Why she can't be proud of her real accent I don't know, you never hear Aussies pretending to be anything else when playing themselves. I thought it was sad.

[senna2]

I believe that she has lived in America for quite a time hence the accent but she can actually speak in a very native South African language but I cant rememb er what it is called.

[jno]

you don't just pick it up, you study it and replicate it. You listen to the sounds (vowels especially) and try to repeat them yourself; then the intonation and the sentence patterns. You may do it on your own, or with a voice coach. It's part of acting, and you do need an American accent if you want to work in Hollywood. It doesn't mean abandoning your own accent among friends, any more than playing in an 18th century period movie means you have to throw out all your jeans at home.

[David H]

I don't know about that, I just saw Summer Phoenix do an abysmal English accent as Suzie Gold, it swung between continents every few vowels. And like Renee Zelwegger and Gwyneth Paltrow they're getting far more Yanks to do British accents now, search me why...

[David H]

Patience is often rewarded. Clearly I'm not the only person who wanted to know, and here's her official answer from an interview (though the whole thing is still sad in my opinion as she has denied her identity).

"At first I found it really hard using three different English accents: South African, faking the American, faking the accent required by the job. I decided to make it easier for myself and just do one. I haven't lost my culture, just my accent."

Poor thing...