Q&A

Q: Alan Rickman was able to "turn off" his accent for a scene in "Die Hard." Did he do any other roles where he didn't have his British accent?

« Back to Q & A

 
Author: 
Adam Thomlison / TV Media

When the whole entertainment world (fans included) mourned the death of Alan Rickman ("Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," 2001) in 2016, one of the things many pointed to was his voice. Vox.com writer Caroline Framke called it "one of the best voices ever to appear on film."

And while most, when they imagine it, will think of a very posh and polished English accent, that wasn't the only one he could do. It's just the only one most directors wanted of him.

"Die Hard" (1988) is certainly the most famous example of him doing a different one, but there are more.

See, for example (because not many did), his turn in the forgotten 1998 crime drama "Judas Kiss," in which he did a New Orleans accent (or tried to — reviews were not great).

He also did an even more particular kind of American accent when he played Ronald Reagan in the 2013 prestige drama "The Butler."

And a few years earlier, he seemed to have a hoot doing a Texas accent in a 2002 episode of the animated sitcom "King of the Hill."

Miles away from that, both artistically and geographically, he spoke some pretty believable Russian-accented English in "Rasputin" (1996).

Before we spend too much time praising his accent work, it's worth pointing out that his "Die Hard" performance had some detractors — namely, folks who question why his German-terrorist character only sometimes sounded German. Aside from the one pivotal scene you point to when he pretends to be someone else, he mostly just sounds like he's English, the way Rickman usually did.

 

Have a question? Email us at questions@tvtabloid.com. Please include your name and town. Personal replies will not be provided.