5 ms·

Why does all Star Wars movies use aristocratic British accent?

ajlburke 10y ago
The original Star Wars movies were largely shot in Britain, and used British actors for many of the roles, especially the Imperial officers and officials. Carrie Fisher's family had worked in Hollywood during the "golden age" of the mid-Atlantic accent and she had been sent to an elocution school in the U.K. just before being cast for Star Wars - although she admits that her accent changed a lot in the first Star Wars movie.
- ajeet_dhaliwal 10y ago
  The latest one too.
- dmreedy 10y ago
  This is true, but there was also a significant amount of ADR/Overdubbing work with american actors, especially for the minor roles. One of the most notable exceptions, of course, being Red Leader, a British actor doing a fantastic rendition of a midwestern american cowboy
pavlov 10y ago
Maybe thanks to Sir Alec Guinness? (Who supposedly disliked the Star Wars experience so much that he gave Lucas the idea that Obi-Wan should die, just so that he would be rid of the role... This could be a myth.)
joshvm 10y ago
It's not just Star Wars, the Evil Brit is a fairly common trope: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/EvilBrit http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/EvilBrit
jomamaxx 10y ago
Star Wars villains in the first series use such accents. A) The Imperial Navy is a euphimism for the British Navy / Empire. B) It was filmed in the UK with almost all UK actors. The new Star Wars - none of the accents are posh really. Just English accents, again actors, filming etc. - although - I think there was some attempt by JJ to keep it UK-ish in that manner, though I'm not sure.
- stonogo 10y ago
  Ah, yes, the notable villain Obi Wan Kenobi.
  - arethuza 10y ago
    Played by Guinness who was half Scottish and educated in Edinburgh and Mcregor who seems completely Scottish. Do we Scots get an exemption from the "evil Brit" trope - (OK apart from Begby or Fred the Shred, but there aren't really people like that in Scotland, honest). ;-)
    - BellsOnSunday 10y ago
      It doesn't matter where Alec Guinness was born, he sounded about as Scottish as the Queen. Ewan McGregor's English accent OTOH sounds fake.
      - arethuza 10y ago
        I was probably thinking of Guinness as Charles I in Cromwell.
  - amyjess 10y ago
    It makes a bit more sense when you realize that the Empire saw themselves as the continuation of the Republic (the Senate wasn't abolished until partway through A New Hope, for example), and Obi-Wan was very much a part of the Republic's leadership, being a sitting member of the Jedi Council and all. So it's not so much a "villain accent" as it is a "Republic leadership accent", where the Empire is just a corrupted Republic.
deleted 10y ago
[deleted]

The original Star Wars movies were largely shot in Britain, and used British actors for many of the roles, especially the Imperial officers and officials. Carrie Fisher's family had worked in Hollywood during the "golden age" of the mid-Atlantic accent and she had been sent to an elocution school in the U.K. just before being cast for Star Wars - although she admits that her accent changed a lot in the first Star Wars movie.

ajeet_dhaliwal 10y ago
The latest one too.
dmreedy 10y ago
This is true, but there was also a significant amount of ADR/Overdubbing work with american actors, especially for the minor roles. One of the most notable exceptions, of course, being Red Leader, a British actor doing a fantastic rendition of a midwestern american cowboy

pavlov 10y ago

Maybe thanks to Sir Alec Guinness? (Who supposedly disliked the Star Wars experience so much that he gave Lucas the idea that Obi-Wan should die, just so that he would be rid of the role... This could be a myth.)

joshvm 10y ago

It's not just Star Wars, the Evil Brit is a fairly common trope: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/EvilBrit http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/EvilBrit

jomamaxx 10y ago

Star Wars villains in the first series use such accents. A) The Imperial Navy is a euphimism for the British Navy / Empire. B) It was filmed in the UK with almost all UK actors. The new Star Wars - none of the accents are posh really. Just English accents, again actors, filming etc. - although - I think there was some attempt by JJ to keep it UK-ish in that manner, though I'm not sure.

stonogo 10y ago
Ah, yes, the notable villain Obi Wan Kenobi.
- arethuza 10y ago
  Played by Guinness who was half Scottish and educated in Edinburgh and Mcregor who seems completely Scottish. Do we Scots get an exemption from the "evil Brit" trope - (OK apart from Begby or Fred the Shred, but there aren't really people like that in Scotland, honest). ;-)
  - BellsOnSunday 10y ago
    It doesn't matter where Alec Guinness was born, he sounded about as Scottish as the Queen. Ewan McGregor's English accent OTOH sounds fake.
    - arethuza 10y ago
      I was probably thinking of Guinness as Charles I in Cromwell.
- amyjess 10y ago
  It makes a bit more sense when you realize that the Empire saw themselves as the continuation of the Republic (the Senate wasn't abolished until partway through A New Hope, for example), and Obi-Wan was very much a part of the Republic's leadership, being a sitting member of the Jedi Council and all. So it's not so much a "villain accent" as it is a "Republic leadership accent", where the Empire is just a corrupted Republic.

deleted 10y ago

[deleted]