A Conversation for Why Villains in Movies Have English Accents
A certain degree of gravitas...
Mat Lindsay (the researcher formerly known as Nylarthotep...now he has a name, all he needs is a face) Started conversation Oct 8, 2002
As an Englishman born and bred I have to say that I'm quite fond of the American tendency to cast my countrymen as the villain of the piece. He might always fall foul of the hero and/or his own devious plots at the end of the film, but he always gets the best lines and brings an impeccable style to the dance that you just can't get with a US accent. Alan Rickman, Charles Dance, Jeremy Irons and many others always steal the scene away from the likes of Kevin Costner, Bruce Willis and Tom Hanks every time.
It's not a great film, but The Last Action Hero presents a very amusing meta-fictive element that sees the characters of Hollywood fiction dealing with reality. Charles Dance's portrayal of the villain is fantastic, replete with lines like "I've just shot this man...I did it on purpose!" and after he has waited in vain for the cops to turn up (as they would in the movies) "In this world the bad guys can win!"
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A certain degree of gravitas...
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