"Why cant Americans do a New Zealand accent" **proceeds to use two Brits as an example**

I think Anthony Hopkins accent works a little because Burt was born in 1899 and grew up in the early 1900s when White New Zealanders still tries to speak the queens English. A lot of his generation kind of sounded like that.

Nobody can do an NZ accent, not even New Zealanders.

When Steve Guttenberg's character tried to do a New Zealand accent my reaction was "That's the worst fake Aussie accent I've ever heard".

It's like every American thinks we sound British or Australian.

Anthony Hopkins may not have hit the accent perfectly, yet his mannerisms of an old Kiwi bloke were spot on!

That last guy got the New Zealand mullet correct however.

I was in a cafe flicking through a magazine and it had a photo of Temuera Morrison. I glanced up randomly and he was sitting outside. Went over and showed him. Talked about 'Aquaman'. He said "Thought I was getting the lead eh, but they gave it to that handsome fulla". Was going to tell him he wasn't in Guatemala anymore but I chickened out lol

That didgeridoo music when Steve Gutenberg points to the Kiwi emblem on his tshirt 😂😂😂🤔🤔🤔🙄🙄🙄

Gutenberg was deliberately doing a bad accent because the character is an imposter.

" Don't tell her, it's me" they kept playing an Australian aboriginal didgeridoo while he is explaining Māori customs. Um... completely different cultures from completely different countries.

As a New Zealander who's never left the country, I can agree that these accents are horrendous and don't reflect our accent at all. I'll give these actors credit, though, a Kiwi accent is really hard unless you are a native New Zealander.

I wonder why Hollywood wouldn’t cast a New Zealander to play a New Zealander ?

Fastest Indian Anthony Hopkins just sounded english to me, back in the 50s plenty of people living in NZ were born in the UK

I always hear a bit of an aussie accent sneaking in when they try to do a NZ accent

my Asian friend who speaks Mandarin but was born here in NZ said his cousins have trouble understanding some of his words when speaking the language they can hear the kiwi influence in his voice, that cracked me up heaps.

In order to do a New Zealand accent, you need to understand our mindset, which can be defined as "She'll be right" when things are good, and "Go Hard" when things are bad. The laid back attitude and the transition to intensity manifests itself within the accent. We speak in a laid back manner, as a result our vowels shift to where they require less physical effort to actually enunciate them, there is less emphasis on pronunciation and more emphasis of efficient communication. This can also be seen is the somewhat low-key hoarse manner of speaker, which is actually more noticeable in women, because most female English speakers outside NZ do not speak in this manner. But, when a speaker wishes to indicate importance, the speed of their speech increases and tonality is emphasized. I heard you do this between 10:57 to 11:09 - both the emphasis on speed, and mid-sentence tonal inflection, is done to indicate importance to the listener. Once this is understood, emulating a general Kiwi accent would become a lot easier, it is an "easy does it" way of behaving, and this is reflected in our speech.

I lived in Germany for a few years in my late teens and when I returned to NZ I had lost my accent so much that new people I met used to ask me where I was from.

I always saw the clone trooper voice as an attempted Australian accent rather than a NZ one, like the mandolorians in KOTOR2 were.

The best Kiwi accent by an American was by Michael J Fox when he was in Wellington, when here for filming Peter Jackson's The Frighteners.

The accents in the bad batch really stood out you could tell Omega was a genuine kiwi accent

I spotted the word “fast” pronunciation straight away

americans basically have no exposure to the NZ and very little to the australian accent so that is most likely why they have such a hard time imitating it. people in OZ and NZ have tons of exposure to different american accents so it's alot easier.

E hoa, had me cracking up when you corrected the pronunciation by just saying it straight up.

The didgeridoo as back ground music for a "New Zealand" character who sounds like that is absolutely hilarious to me as an Aussie

If you watch an interview with Burt Munro I think you'll see Sir Anthony was pretty close

I'm an American who has lived in New Zealand for 38 years and I STILL can't do a Kiwi accent! Yet, when I go back to California, people ask me where I'm from.

Minus 1 jelly tip, that's harsh.

I didnt even know d bradley baker was trying to do a new zealand accent

My father in law was a Southlander, of the same generation as Bert Munro. His speech was similar to the accent that Hopkins used in the film.

Anthony Hopkins is copying a Southland accent from last century. It’s spot on bro (I I’m from there so I know they sound completely different than the rest of NZ, especially last century when there was more of an Old English influence).

To be fair, Anthonys performance, it's very close to sounding like how Burt Munroe spoke. He didn't say fast right. But his west country vibes were spot on to how the guy actually spoke.

Clone trooper voices are perfect if you ask me, he's not trying to sound like us Kiwis.

My father from Dunedin said fast and dance in the way the USA died and he sounded quite like my father’s generation who was born in 1904. I think if you listened to recordings of men born the late 1800s and early 1900s you would find more similarities in Hopkins take on the accent.

Haha... your imitations are spot on and so funny!

Yeah, I was disappointed by Sir Anthony's attempt at a Southland accent. But I was born in Invercargill, but can't do a decent Southland accent on account of not living there for so many years, so I know how hard it can be. But there was an uncanny valley in his accent. It just didn't work. I would suggest that any actors wanting to try the Kiwi accent, watch Flight of the Conchords for 24 hours straight.

Well, I'm German, but pretty sure I could do a better Kiwi accent... I'm quite with you in your observations. Cheers bro 😉

Whenever my US friends start talking about Kiwi accents I show them that one ghost chips drink driving video. Then I have to explain that yes, we call it "drink driving". it's always a good time

I’m a kiwi. Mr Hopkins accent heavily reminded me of my grandfather who grew up in Southland. Born 1911. It’s definitely not a classic kiwi sounding accent. I thought AH nailed 1940s Southland.

I don't think Dee Bradley Baker was really going for a new Zealand accent. I think he was doing a loose interpretation of temeura Morrison and he varies it between the clones to create some individuality to make certain characters more distinct than just slight differences in appearance In fact, I swear I remember some of the clones kinda having completely different accents altogether. So I don't think nailing a certain accent was the focus but more of getting a certain sound if that makes sense. Besides it's not like these are characters actually from new Zealand since new Zealand doesn't exist in star wars(at least to my knowledge)

The New Zealand accent, or New Zealand English (NZE), is distinct due to several unique features. It includes significant vowel shifts, such as the short "i" in "fish" sounding like "fush," and the "e" in "bed" sounding like "bid." NZE also merges vowel sounds, making "beer" and "bear" sound similar. As a non-rhotic accent, the "r" at the end of words is often not pronounced unless followed by a vowel. The vocabulary of NZE incorporates many Māori words, reflecting the country’s indigenous heritage. Regional variations add further uniqueness to NZE. In the North Island, Aucklanders might have a more pronounced diphthong, while the South Island’s Otago and Southland regions exhibit a "Southland burr" due to Scottish influence. Wellington's accent is more neutral, influenced by its diverse population and bureaucratic culture. Additionally, NZE has been influenced by accents from other English-speaking countries, particularly Australia and the UK, contributing to its distinct sound within the English language.

😂😂😂 omg the commentary is hilarious! Subscribed

Love the video and your channel bro. What about Keria Knightley in Everest? Wasn't perfect but I think she got pretty damn close. Gotta respect any actor who gives it a go.

Awesome video to stumble across, love the kiwi accent. Lived in oz for 9 years , always sounded like a kiwi over there got back home and found out I had an Aussie accent 😵‍💫

"It reminds me of ham, and a man needs a bitter ham in his pocket". Oh Steve Guttenberg, you gave me a giggle!

I saw some shorts from the main actor of a handmaid's tale in a crime drama where she played a new zilder... It was respectably good from what I remember.

Sean Schemmel who does the voice acting for goku can do a perfect nz accent

New Zealanders: we don't have an accent you do 😂

And not a single one of them said "fush and chups"

I always pick up my ears when I hear a genuine Kiwi accent (beforehand I didnt know who was starring as Korg, but from that first line in the cinema I was obviously a kiwi). One important thing many non Kiwis miss is the regional variation between, say, Auckland and Dunedin. We notice.

steve gutenburgs accent is the best one even though like many he sounds more like an aussie lol , who makes steve gunteburg a star,we do we doo we do

Steve Gutenberg doesn't sound anything like a New Zealander... but he definitely looks like one!

Alexis Arquette's NZ accent in "Jack Be Nimble" was excellent!

And that's to say nothing of the digeridoo in the soundtrack of that Guttenberg movie...

world's fastest indian is a great movie, love it. Sir A needed more dialogue coaching for sure.

I love your rating system❤❤😂L&P best fizzy drink ever

Hollywood: New Zealanders are basically Australians right?

Brilliant video bro

11:17 Peter Archer was an Australian martial artist. He had a black belt in both Goju-ryu and Shotokan karate. He was a successful fighter in Japan where Bruce Lee was present at one of his matches during a martial arts tournament, Lee asked him after his fight if he wanted a small part in his movie "Enter the Dragon", Archer said yes. Archers voice was over dubbed by another actor as the Director didn't think his Australian accent was "New Zealand" enough. Peter Archer died of cancer in April 2000.

You should try rocket power cartoon when they visit New Zealand

As a New Zealander myself, I can rock a mean kiwi accent

I think it was pretty close for that generation.. Kiwi English has evolved over the years. I recall older family who are no longer living speaking "funny" as a kid and it was merely queen's english. I'm 50 btw.

My most hated faux accent is Ben Kingsley's "Maori" accent in Enders Game.

The guy in from Enter The Dragon was an Aussie who was taking the piss out of us,well done.

Wasn't Burt Monroe form Invercargill hench the accent?

ill give you 20 pinapple lumps out of 10 for your accent

For me it will always be LMAO as a Kiwi watching Tem as the base clone all standing in a room potentially intoning his classic Once for Warrior's line of "Cook the man some f&ckin eggs"... to which the whisper goes around the clones: "Eggs, eggs,eggs..." I could never take Star Wars seriously from that point forwards (and saved myself a lot of money and grief).

Was always fascinated with Kiwis in overseas movies. How the hell did i never hear about the Steve Guttenberg movie.

I think Steve Gutenberg desrves an academy award when you compare his attempt at a NZ accent to Karl Urban's attempt at a cockney one in "The Boys"

Haha! Knew Parsons would have to make an appearance in this.

The girl in "don't tell her it's me" is Jamie Gertz. She is the richest actress alive, being worth around $3b @ 2024.

Hopkins wasn’t too bad. My Grandads who were his generation had a little of that sound to their voice, which still had a little of that received English thing going on. As a Welshman he was probably smart to lean more into that. He had enough of an R roll going on to get the Southland accent across too. Overall I thought it worked pretty well because he didn’t try to over cook it.

Im not so offended by Anthony Hopkins attempt; since Munro was from the time when there was still a strong prevelance of the transatlantic accent and influence of the British in the way we speak. If you listen to him on his doco 'Offerings to the God of Speed'; Munro didnt have a strict "Kiwi" accent but a little muddled. Hopkins while messing up a bit of it; does actually capture some of his more British pronounciation. The rest though sound closer to Aussies than kiwis; with their hard A's and their emphasis on some of the sounds. imo one of the best in the business for doing a kiwi accents, and accents in general is Saoirse Ronan. Scottish, American, Swedish, Australian, Kiwi. She is incredible.

I've lived in NZ for over 16 years and I couldn't do the standard NZ accent if my life literally depended on it. I can kinda mimic my wife and her family sort of, but only if I repeat their exact words. I can't just speak my own words in their accent, it always turns into Australian or British. I find the Maori NZ accent to be much easier, but even that is very difficult. I use to think it was a lack of exposure. I grew up in California and NZ accents are very rarely heard while Aus/British accents are very commonly heard. After living here so long I don't think it much to do with exposure. I suspect it is partly due to the fact that the NZ accent is very mild. It doesn't have a lot of harsh exaggerated or sharp markers. I think it's easier to a thick accent than it is to do a vague one, even if it isn't perfectly accurate. The NZ standard shares so many sounds with Aus/Brit accents I still find it sometimes hard to seperate them without hearing certain words.

L&P ranking system is something i never thought i needed XD

My accent changes depending on who I'm speaking with personally. It becomes more lazy/Maori sounding around workmates but more posh/Aucklandish around family

Its quite easy. Kiwis speak from their chests. From the heart. We South Africans know.

New Zealanders use something that us North Americans just don't use. It's like the back of the throat and a crazy tongue-throat movement that I don't think we have any experience in whatsoever. I can do other accents relatively well, but the New Zealand accent alludes me still.

Gutenberg’s accent is supposed to be bad. The whole point is that he’s pretending to be a romance novel hero come to life in order to get the girl. It’s part of the plot of the story 🤣

Kiwi here. I once saw an Agatha Christie movie on youtube. The main female character was played by an English actor. When she first spoke, I thought "Oh she's Australian." Turned out she was meant to be a New Zealander. I couldn't get over the comments on how "good" her NZ accent was. I cringed all the way through.

i forgot about the enter the dragon bit!

I figured one of the main reasons is because here we speak more in the "front" of our mouths while americans and alot of other places speak at the "back". A good example is "How are you?" If you say it in an American accent your tounge will lift at the back of your mouth for the "are" but if you say it in a kiwi accent you can say the whole thing without moving your tongue at all

Cue - "Who made Steve Guttenburg a Star?"

What about Patrick Duffy on Love Boat, from a sheep station in New Zealand

A slightly better example is Elizabeth Moss in Top of The Lake. You can tell she did her homework! Ultimately though, I wish they would just hire New Zealand actors for these roles.

It almost seems like a universal truth that any attempt to pull of a Kiwi accent is going to be a bad Australian accent, or vaguely English accent, instead

If you've ever heard recordings of the real Bert you'd know that Hopkins got his accent pretty perfect. It's Bert's accent, not your average Kiwi accent. Possibly not even the typical Southland accent. My wife's dad was from Invercargill, and she reckons it's pretty close to his accent.

I'm just happy they made a big budget movie about a guy from southland 😁 with Hopkins of all people! Pretty cool! (I'm from Invercargill).🎉

Best NZ accent I've heard was a chap on the red chair on Graham Norton. There was a while there, a few years ago, where heaps of NZers were getting on the red chair. Dude was amazingly good at the accent and had everyone fooled, but you could just hear a touch of exaggeration which gave it away.

It comes off Australian not kiwi and I think it's because Americans don't seem to be aware that there is a difference

I have seen a lot of your videos by now and you make great content. It's fun to watch. However, the irony is not lost on me because you don't sound like a typical kiwi yourself ( not a broad speaker but just a general one which seems to be your background). To me, you sound more british whose had influences from Australia/ Newzealand dialect because none of your short vowels that 'shift' in an nz dialect have shifted, if you know what I mean. But your tone and rhythm of speech does sound kiwi.... Just something I noticed or maybe I am wrong.

Laughing cos, l had no idea any of them WERE attempting a kiwi accent. Sir Anthony, at least gave it a proper crack. Edited cos, bugger, now l want a jelly tip. 😊

Harvey Keitel from "The Piano" woukd have been an interesting addition :-)

Pretty sure the only person who could do it is Leonardo, his South African accent in Blood Diamonds is good

In fairness to Anthony Hopkins, he isn't trying to achieve a 'kiwi' accent. He is imitating the way the Burt Munro himself spoke.

anthony hopkins justs sounds himself in the movie - I never thought as a kiwi he was putting on an accent at all - just slight deviations from his normal accent

The actor who played a kiwi in the Lamborghini film was horrendous as well

It's even worse when they try to use words like 'bloody' and 'mate'

i am scarred from that 'lobo marunga' accent

I think I’ve figured it out.