Actor Learns a Cockney Accent in 6 Hours | Vanity Fair

Ever wonder how difficult it would be to master a Cockney English accent? With an audition less than a day away, actor Marty is up to the challenge! Watch as dialect coach Page Clements teaches him a Cockney accent in six hours.
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Actor Learns a Cockney Accent in 6 Hours | Vanity Fair

[@ritvik9489]

Toxic comments. He had 6 hours to learn something people spend months to alter. Chill out.

[@Koooo4]

The title says he learns it in 6 hours. Clearly he didnt.

[@cwg73160]

What’s toxic is suggesting to people that they can learn something like this in only six hours.

[@DesignGuy17]

Ritvik agree! Everyone criticising from their sofa.

[@thepubquiz3198]

I suppose the title could say "actor spends 6 hours trying to learn a cockney accent" ha

[@ritvik9489]

@@thepubquiz3198 the actor probably had nothing to do with the production, release, and naming of this video. It's really hard to grasp that idea, but it's almost certainly true.

[@ProfessionalBob]

One thing she got totally wrong is the voiced 'th' sound. You'd only replace it with a 'v' in the middle or end of words, like "bother", "mother", "with" etc. When it's at the start like with "that", "there", and "then" a strong cockney accent would see it pronounced as a 'd'

[@pjincho]

“This maths thing’s a bother” “Dis mafs fing’s a bovah”

[@ElvinMensah]

Very good point!

[@LindsayDaly]

I think he did reasonably well in the final readthrough with the coach, and then the "audition" portion he reverted to a lot of the old vocal habits....

[@OnlyMichaelJackson]

No he got them right but it didn't flow well

[@basilrodericks7791]

It's called rehearsal.

[@theodorevegh6030]

Watch the Charlie Brown Cartoon about Fear of Public Speaking. He learned all the techniques of Public Speaking, but when he got up in front of the class he forgot everything he learned. LOL

[@NoddyMaccy]

A lot of people struggle with Cockney, but us that have the accent are blessed!

[@yahoo3388]

this woman is amazing, props to her

[@queen6256]

and years later …. She is spectacular!

[@redasailh7048]

which one???

[@basilrodericks7791]

@@redasailh7048 trolls have to troll huh? karma has to karma.

[@EpicAndMore]

I really want to see a version of this for an Australian accent, because I swear to god I’ve never seen an American pull it off

[@MilA-eh3gf]

Watch Vanity Fair's new vid of accent expert analysing movie accents with Amy Walker, she pulled it off :D (The Aussies were in the last 1/4 of video)

[@harveythepooka]

It goes both ways. There are only a handful of Aussies with perfect American accents, even people like Nicole Kidman messes up saying "no" with an American accent sometimes, never mind the 20 somethings on US tv.

[@pratofundo]

Props for the Editor… all the angles and different cuts.

[@yoheslinc]

i read this and then looked up at the video and laughed so hard

[@JugglerBradley]

With the cockney accent, I swear he could pass for an Essex boy

[@nox6948]

you avin a laugh son?

[@curtiswatson4192]

he looks like Ray Gillete from Archer

[@TheRichardSilver]

That's a lot of progress in six hours. Gives you ope.

[@fairlyagile]

Life this series! He did better than I could in 6 hours! They should do a series where they do one month or a couple weeks and see the different.

[@nox6948]

lol "sounds like an eastern european with a good english accent". so true.

[@b00i00d]

Best Cockney coverage I've seen in a short video - coach knows what she's talking about and the guy did pretty well considering the time constraint (though I'm not sure about the A+...)

[@justintime5021]

Can't really speak to the accuracy much as there's not a lot of cockneys in California but this video was actually pretty good for getting the basic sound transformations. I was able to to do the accent in a d&d npc well enough to not get beer cans thrown at me by other Americans. For me that's good enough

[@archerpool]

“Standard British” only spoken by less than 1% of the entire country. Also they were both shockingly bad.

[@uehal]

Archerpool it is called "recieved pronounce"

[@archerpool]

Anatoli Sergejev I know what it’s called. I put it in quotations because I’m quoting the woman in the video.

[@zulkiflijamil4033]

Received pronunciation accounts for only 2 % approximately. Accent or dialect is interesting topic. But the main thing which really stressed is clarity in speech and understood in conversation irrespective of regional variations. That is my two cents worth view.

[@basilrodericks7791]

Page Clements teaches at T. Schreiber studio in Manhattan and she is spectacular. Frfr

[@DJMizzy]

I love Marty and this series. Yay

[@kaylaback8234]

This is really fantastic. SAVED for my annual RenFest prep.

[@JustThinking04]

Me clicking on this video: how far do I have to go before someone mentions Dick Van Dyke...

[@shuu7524]

His accent was a bit off at the end😅

[@GoofRebelMusic]

Not at all surprised Marget Martindale is a master dialect coach.

[@futuresuperstar4life]

Who is she?

[@12345robjohn]

This woman is a qualified accent coach.

[@teruphoto]

With only 6 hours a better approach would be to go light on the theory and just tell the guy what the lines should sound like. It's not like he's being asked for a coversation; he just needs to recite the fixed script. BTW Erik Singer's accent series on Wired is so much more entertaining and informative.

[@bobmanhunter]

I agree. Six hours is enough time to give some pointers, help get the shape.

[@MrWho1995]

Can we get videos of his progress from when he auditioned

[@jess3318]

I feel like it would be easier for us Australians to learn this than americans because i noticed we already say some words in the cockney accent

[@courtneyboulds]

This comes in handy! I’m playing Mrs. Cratchit in A Christmas Carol so I’m using this to practice.

[@Peleski]

Anyone who's learnt French knows how really, really hard it is, both to learn and unlearn.

[@eliteinventor]

I think anyone would have a tough time speaking that accent for the first time

[@MikeHaywood]

I skipped to 15:00 and thought this was a parody. That sounded tragic

[@OnlyMichaelJackson]

He's only had 6 hours.

[@steaktacobeats783]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/aZPbcqalps2prLc

[@PaolaEnergya]

Much betta! Baga Chips would be proud!

[@llynsadhbh8434]

the way once i learned a french accent in the 10 min cold read time i had before an audition

[@wil_panic8463]

"I can, honestly, barley understand what their saying." I understood it perfectly...xD

[@subtitlesonplease]

Because is pronounced ‘BE CUZ’ (like cousin) not ‘BE CORRS’ 😬 Though he did a really decent job for the time had.

[@wheelman1324]

I try to emulate Michael Caine. Low tone and fast speaking. I wouldn’t pass for it in London, of course.

[@peterwickendon258]

Nailed it!

[@bobmanhunter]

With this series, I really feel like the accent coach should be talking in the goal accent the entire time. It would allow the student to be more comfortable trying it out and give them a constant target. Generally speaking, I can tell Vanity Fair is trying to capitalize on the popularity of Wired's series with Erik Singer with this series and the Amy Walker video. It doesn't match up. The people just aren't as knowledgeable, and it's a cheap way to steal views.

[@pinup60]

I didnt mean to come across as Simon Cowell 🤣🤣🤣

[@GenerationLex]

Lived in yorkshire all my life, never picked up the stereotypical "broad yorkshire" accent - some would say it's a blessing to have it, some would say it's a blessing to avoid it, it's the same as the cockney accent, it's all preference. Personally I think it sounds ugly most of the time, and I'd feel blessed if I avoided having it. This language coach is amazing at helping people learn it though! Props to her!

[@clairehewitt3381]

He sounds like Frank Spencer! 😂

[@OCUBOX]

Maybe I can get some pointers, imagine the taunting in school when you speak RP in East London...

[@TheRolexseller]

Wow her speaking voice is so nice. No wonder I guess

[@belenfdz3179]

HAHAHAHAHA love the moment: "Am I... cockney?"😌

[@analeguina9477]

I am Latina and my English sound cockney. I am in the wrong country. London is my goal now.

[@Alusnovalotus]

So this is what it looks like to be optimistic in the face of reality.......?🤔

[@VultureClone]

I mean...it's a start.

[@JonathanCapistrano]

lockstock and snatch. good references in my opinion :)

[@PoissonVisageStudios]

"Because" is pronounced as "biccuz" in English accents, potentially a bit closer to "biccaz" in strong Cockney, but certainly not how she taught it.

[@andrewmussio]

Idris Elba will be a great coach

[@davidjames3858]

Although terrible cockney accent, even if he was spot on he still would have not gotten the part. Bob a married man with children, would not have the mannerisms and voice of Marty. Good actor, but the role would not have suited him.

[@Alusnovalotus]

David James I could see him as the spirit of Christmas future or even Christmas past.

[@mattym8038]

Great coach👍 But this is painful to listen too. He genuinely keeps saying footfall, instead of foughtfall. Americans do tend to turn the accent into more of a caricature, by leaning too much into those otherwise subtle quirks of the cockney accent.

[@futuresuperstar4life]

That's everyone with accents goes the other way around I can almost ALWAYS tell when an actor playing an American is actually british!

[@CockneyRebel1979]

Nah! He sounds more like a Brummy than a Cockney.

[@munkittytunkitty]

I think the accent coach was teaching him something like Estuary English rather than Cockney. A Cockney wouldn't pronounce "round" like that - they'd say "raand the aases" for "round the houses" and "I'm in the bahthroom - I've bin wai'in a good ahf aa-a fo the paa-a shaa-a naa" for "I'm in the bathroom - I've been waiting a good half hour for the power shower now". I've come to the conclusion that it's best to get Cockneys to play Cockneys. It's the hardest accent to imitate convincingly. I live in London and know loads of people who speak like that yet I can imitate other accents so much more convincingly than I can imitate Cockney! Anytime I hear an accent on TV or in the cinema that hasn't quite worked, it's always that one. My favourite is in the TV series "The Boys" where Billy Butcher and his entire family all have hilarious Cockney-gone-wrong accents! Mind you the fellow here literally just had six hours and probably did a darn site better job than some people who've been learning for a lot longer than that!

[@nurikko]

Question for native Cockney speakers, did the two cockney speakers in the end both day that the usual way is to say “better” is to pronounce the /t/ rather than using a glottal stop?? I got confused.

[@umerahmujahid445]

Lol, I love this

[@williamhall1873]

He sounds more Essex than Cockney

[@marcoferay5751]

Wow!

[@Angels-3xist]

Everything I know about cockney accents comes from Mighty Boosh characters, Guy Richie movies and uk music stars/celebrities. Yes or no? Seems to me alot of people in the UK can't even fake the accents. Seems odd.

[@foyble]

No cockney has ever sounded like that

[@Kari_B61ex]

Who would av realised afta watchin this clip that the American accent derived from English - Mind you, I'm British and I'm totally useless at mimicking regional accents. I can just abou't do a London (Cockney) as it's lazy... if you think (fink) Cockney is bad, try the Geordie (South-East) or Brummie (Birmingham/Midlands). The 'problem' is, is that regional accents can and do change all over our fantastic small island - i.e. My grandchildren were born and are being raised 45 miles away from where I live and we still *sound* different.

[@tomjohnson3927]

Wanna learn cockney, just become Del Boy.

[@ygtcv7675]

thoughtful begins with an F

[@alicial4857]

That was pretty decent for 6 hours... says an American. I'd love to see what Marty can accomplish accent-wise if he spends thirty days on an accent instead of cramming on the day of the audition!

[@missjul8]

Where's Eric

[@IsaacSemple]

For the record 7:38 because.....a cockney would ACC just say "coz" loool

[@jarrenlumpkin5178]

cool.

[@kirke148]

as estonian, i was taught british cockney english. i speak english as half american, half british hahah

[@mariaricht9268]

This video is the BEST among the other cockney videos ever

[@erichbrough6097]

Rawvah briwyan', dis! 👍

[@sacred1827]

Sorry but 13:47 I don't know what she's doing here lol

[@paulgilson2347]

Yeah I can't really understand what they're saying......lol as a cockney/estuary speaker I get that a lot. Mike Reid, the actor comedian is the best example of a proper cockney accent in my opinion.

[@jarrenlumpkin5178]

nice

[@JakTheLad]

Still better than green street. Edit: Actually no I regret saying that, he sounds a right plum

[@lazlow9640]

Christ above that an Englishman would do a worse Cockney accent than an American is a shame unmanagable.

[@tonysirawid]

How do you say “thoughtful “ ?

[@HayStellEm]

FortFull. :)

[@milly4556]

Americans doing a cockney sound like really drunk Australians 😭

[@OCUBOX]

Final Mark - C+ Can't believe the coach missed so many obvious cockups :)

[@-HRH]

That woman is taw-ally briw-yunt! 👏👏👏

[@FoiMal123]

Mate she described cockney and didn't include Jason Statham in the vid.. wtf..

[@WilliamBarker]

Everyone's a critic. I would suggest he got much deeper down in the chest below the diaphragm, (all the way down). Really go for more glottal stopping on that schwa, like, "UH" "UG", get those knuckles dragging on the floor, and throw in a nice aggressive "Oi, wot'you looking aht?". Check out Papa English. kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z4jZeqqhgZ2igsU

[@luanodonoghue1150]

Should have shown him green street

[@ProfessionalBob]

Hope you're referring to the supporting characters because Charlie Hunnam's accent sounded like he'd also only had a few hours to prepare.

[@hm14uk]

Watch "The Sweeney"

[@martymccrudden6542]

"... And we 'aven't ʼad any dinna!"

[@christophernicolson5086]

i do actually think a Cockney accent isn't unlike standard American.

[@anthonytajonar9488]

He never played the game "the getaway" and it shows

[@pinkyman5155]

Somehow ... sum owl , Something ... Sumink, Thoughtful ... Fortfool, Threaten ... Fret ern, Governer ... Guv na, Watch it Wo chit, Nothing ... Nufink, Hav'nt ... Aint,

[@PooMonkeyMan]

I wonder if it's morally wrong to hire an accent coach to learn a Cockney and RP accent, mainly as a lifestyle change than for an acting gig... And then have them help you maitain it throughout your life.

[@IshanAli]

Why would you wanna learn the cockney accent when you can just learn a new accent

[@mrmushin1]

Watch the start of the video, he is learning it for a role

[@bl00dhoney]

🤣🤣🤣😂🤣😂

[@Firenzell01]

God, the accent was terrible

[@Romus011]

Really ? I think it's quite unique and I wish to learn to speak well for it . 😂😄👍

[@mattk6719]

Now if only I could completely mute him and only listen to the coach... He's so dainty he ends up just sounding like Frodo.

[@kalki3060]

He looks cute.

[@dsholt]

Definitely picked this one up quicker than the Boston accent.

[@At9m]

ive lived in london all my life and honestly even the coach was awful. lmao.

[@Ghost19878]

I'm trying to learn it and many others (eventually, one at a time) so I can answer phone calls in different accents lol

[@tiffanyxrose]

Well she's not the actor lol. They say those who can't do teach 🤷‍♀️

[@rogerdodger8813]

Cockney is the best accent in England!

[@xblissfulleex]

🤦🏽‍♂️🤣

[@sveener]

I’m “an actor” lol

[@mattk6719]

*Gets into costume to make a more believable working class, poverty-stricken family man... ...wears golden earrings and his flat-cap tilted back to showcase a fashionable groomed hairstyle*

[@iNz4N3N3rVeZ]

No Thanks

[@TheBlack106]

Cringe so HARD when Variety do these English culture videos.

[@0IDaveCouch]

She sounds like Audrey Hepburn as Eliza Doolittle. 🤢

[@pyrotechnologist1]

Don't want this to sound homophobic, but he just needs to change the tone of his voice a bit more. There's too much chipiness and high notes the way he talks. Sure he's a great guy, but actingwise, you've gotta make your voice sound a bit more masculine.

[@h4rleyQu1nn]

Awfur ! Awfur ! Sholom !