The best and worst Australian accents in Hollywood films REVEALED

'Not bad': The radio stars praised English actress Kate Winslet's (right) Australian accent in The Dressmaker, as it sounded 'so natural'    

The Australian accent is notoriously difficult for non-native speakers to perfect. So, it’s no surprise that many A-list actors have struggled to conquer the Down Under dialect on-screen. On Monday, KIIS FM’s Kyle Sandilands and Jackie 'O' Henderson looked back at some of the most impressive - and embarrassing - attempts at an Australian accent by actors in Hollywood movies. The segment kicked off with Meryl Streep, who famously played Lindy Chamberlain in 1988 film Evil Angels.

Meryl famously portrayed the role of Lindy; a New Zealand-born Australian, who was wrongfully convicted of the murder of her daughter in Australia in 1980. ‘Our memory was that she nailed the accent, and a lot of people were like, “Nah, it was a terrible accent” So there’s a lot of debate about whether she did nail it or not,’ Jackie explained. The radio star added that she ‘still stands by’ Meryl’s accent, despite the detractors.

Kyle interjected: ‘If you were an upper class, high society type, you’d think Meryl Streep’s Australian accent was woeful.’ After playing a short clip from the movie, newsreader Brooklyn Ross couldn’t help but point out that Meryl’s nasal intonation made her sound like politician Pauline Hanson. Despite this, Kyle and Jackie gave Meryl their tick of approval, declaring that the acclaimed star did in fact do a good job. 

It’s no surprise that many A-list actors have struggled to conquer the Down Under dialect on-screen

Next up was English actress Kate Winslet’s Australian accent in The Dressmaker. Kyle heralded the thespian’s accent as ‘not bad’ after listening to a scene featuring Kate and her co-star Liam Hemsworth. ‘She’s good,’ Jackie agreed, adding: ‘You know what’s good about that? She doesn’t sound like she’s trying to nail an accent. It sounds so natural.’ 

The radio duo then picked apart Robert Downey Jr’s attempt at an Australian accent in Natural Born Killers. ‘I’m not loving it,’ Jackie confessed after listening to an audio clip from the film. Kyle jokingly remarked that Robert sounded ‘mental’ in the clip, to which Jackie responded: ‘It was a bit of a crazy character’     

Good job! The segment kicked off with Meryl Streep (left), who famously played Lindy Chamberlain in 1988 film Evil Angels. Kyle and Jackie agreed that despite sounding like Pauline Hanson, Meryl had nailed the accent 

Kyle also branded UK actress Emily Blunt’s Australian accent in Irresistible as too ‘British’ and ‘a bit toffee’, while Jackie insisted that Emily’s attempt ‘wasn’t that bad’. 

The pair also rubbished English star Benedict Cumberbatch’s portrayal of Julian Assange in The Fifth Estate. At first I think he’s nailed it, but then he loses it on certain words where I think he sounds South African,’ remarked Jackie. 

Kyle agreed, identifying an unmistakable South African twang when Benedict said the words ‘team’ and ‘promise’. However, when it came to judging English actor Dev Patel’s Australian accent in Lion, Jackie and Kyle just couldn’t agree. ‘It was pretty good I thought! It was alright,’ insisted Jackie, to which Kyle retorted: ‘I think what you and I think is good, couldn’t be further apart.’ The segment ended with a clip of American actress Kate McKinnon’s Australian accent in comedy film Rough Night. 

Kyle and Jackie simply burst into laughter when they heard Kate’s extremely inaccurate accent and bizarre pronunciation of words such as ‘basket’. ‘It was pretty good I thought! It was alright,’ insisted Jackie, to which Kyle retorted: ‘I think what you and I think is good, couldn’t be further apart.’ The segment ended with a clip of American actress Kate McKinnon’s Australian accent in comedy film Rough Night. Kyle and Jackie simply burst into laughter when they heard Kate’s extremely inaccurate accent and bizarre pronunciation of words such as ‘basket’.

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