almost British

[Carol]

Pippin Fowler wrote:
>
> I just noticed that Hermione was born in France, and Percy was born
in New Zealand, so I guess we can let Laura Linney into the cast if
she  will become a citizen of the United Kingdom. (Krum was born in
Bulgaria and Fleur was born in France.)

Carol responds:

For a second, I thought you were referring to the characters, not the
actors. (Naturally, they made exceptions to the all-British rule for
Fleur, Madame Maxime, and Viktor Krum since they're supposed to be
French or Romanian/Bulgarian, respectively, Krum's birthplace being
different from his Quidditch team.) I think they did the same for
Karkaroff even though he always struck me as a former Hogwarts student
despite his name. I'm not sure what the policy is for actors from
other parts of the former British Empire. As for Emma Watson, it's
pretty clear that she's British, not French, regardless of her
birthplace. (Mary Queen of Scots was born in France, too, which didn't
prevent her from becoming queen of Scotland at nine day old.)
> 
Pippin Fowler:
> How well do you think the UK accents fit with the characters? Were
there any that surprised you or seemed out of place?

Carol responds:

I'm American, so I'm no expert on British accents. I sometimes have
trouble understanding Emma Watson, but that may be because she's so
breathless and excitable and rushes her lines rather than because of
her accent. The only actor whose accent sounds wrong to me is Tom
Felton, who (IMO) should sound more aristocratic than he does, more
BBC-Eton-Oxford, if you know what I mean. Jason Isaacs, whatever his
accent in real life, sounds the way a Pure-Blood snob ought to sound,
and Draco ought to have the same accent, IMHO. Not that I don't like
Tom Felton in the role otherwise. (I also thought that Harry Melling,
who plays Dudley, sounded too working class and should sound more
middle class, but, again, I'm not British, so my ear could be all
wrong.)  
> 
Pippin F:
> I was surprised by Shirley Henderson (Moaning Myrtle), thinking I
would hear Scottish. 

Carol:
I had no idea that she was Scottish. What amazes me is how a woman of
her age could pass so easily as a twelve- or thirteen-year-old girl.
(BTW, I dearly love Billy Boyd, but his Scottish accent is all wrong
for Pippin in LOTR, as are his clothes. He's supposed to be a
"gentlehobbit" of the same class as Frodo--and not nearly as stupid as
they make him (even if canon!Pippin does miss out on important
information because he's not listening, hardly surprising given his
age). But he's so endearing that I just suspend disbelief/canon when I
watch him in the part. Sorry--sidetracked as usual.

Pippin F:
And I initially thought Glasgow was wrong for Hagrid, but it seems OK
now. It does make me think about how the Wizard World is layered with
the Muggle World.

Carol:
Glasgow? He has some sort of Scottish accent? (Clearly not the same
accent as the obviously and appropriately Scottish McGonagall.) I
don't know about Robbie Coltrane's background, but his accent as
Hagrid sounds to me spot on, meaning it matches the books ("yeh" for
"you," "me" for "my," "an'" for "and," etc. I can't think of a
specific line by movie!Hagrid except for "Professor Dumbledore, sir,"
but to me, he sounds working class, exactly the kind of person that
the Malfoys would dismiss as "a sort of servant."

Carol, who especially likes Fudge's accent, which is both elegant and
easy to understand