NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather forecasts

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
    • The Great NZ Road Trip
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
    • Cooking the Books
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • What the Actual
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Entertainment

Paul Casserly: Great shows but bad accents

Herald online
11 Jun, 2012 07:21 PM7 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Peter Dinklage as Tyrian Lannister - one of the best things on Game of Thrones. Photo / Supplied

Peter Dinklage as Tyrian Lannister - one of the best things on Game of Thrones. Photo / Supplied

Opinion by

Well, season two of Game of Thrones has been a frickin treat hasn't it? Epic battles, beheadings, gratuitous sex scenes and cracking dialogue - what's not to like?

It's hard to believe that something that looked suspiciously like Lord of the Rings crossed with Xena would become one of the great TV shows of our time.

You might even say that each episode has been as enjoyable and anticipated as the weekly delights served up by The Sopranos, Mad Men and Breaking Bad.

There's been some criticism of the pacing of series two but most seem satisfied that the saga is in good hands.

There's only one thing that threatened to get in the way of the magic - and strangely, it has to do with one of the very best things about the show: Bring out the Imp.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Yes, Peter Dinklage is brilliant as Tyrian the dwarf, part of the Lannister family - the clan that makes the Nazi party look like the teddy bear's picnic.

His entrance into a scene is one of the great televisual treats of our times. And how satisfying to watch him take the bloody helm as Joffrey skulked under his mother's skirts, how fitting for him to have his moment of glory as the troops chanted "Half-man, half-man".

Charles Dance may have spoiled the Imp's party but he has been magnificent as Tywin 'Lord of Casterly Rock' Lannister - particularly in those intense encounters with another of the show's many highlights - young Arya Stark (Maisie Williams).

Regardless, this season has been well and truly owned by Dinklage.

In series one it was Ned Stark who held it all together. This time things were more complex, with the Imp being the character who came closest to being the central character. And as anyone who watched would be aware, the Imp ruled.

Discover more

Entertainment

DVD review: Game of Thrones (+video)

06 May 12:27 AM
Opinion

Paul Casserly: Let's get slap-happy

11 May 02:00 AM
Entertainment

Game of Thrones 'the most pirated show of the year'

13 May 08:39 PM
Opinion

Paul Casserly: TV questions of the week

28 May 11:48 PM

But there's been one thing that threatens the perfection, one wrinkle in the wallpaper: His accent.

Dinklage is American but as everyone knows the fantasy genre requires British, Irish or Scotish accents. Krauts and Scandinavians get a look in too but Yanks are not so popular

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Therefore Dinklage, a rare American in this largely European cast, is required to talk with an accent far from his native New Jersey.

Perhaps this isn't a problem in the US where an English accent only has to be approximate to be convincing. Just think of how Australians sound via The Simpsons, which is somewhere between a South African and an East End barrow-boy.

Closer to home you may recall Hannibal Lector's take on the Southland accent in The World's Fastest Indian. Though to be fair, nailing a good Invercargill, a good "purple curtains", would be a stretch for many an Auckland actor - let alone a Welshman.

The Imp is a Lannister, so therefore he's upper-class, a royal and for some reason, English. It's something that Dinklage almost pulls off. But there's the occasional word that conspires to spoil the party, a slide on a vowel perhaps, and just for a nano-second you're reminded that he's putting it on.

It's only a minor impediment to proceedings, nit picking - no doubt. Only a fool would suggest that he's not perfectly cast. Well, very nearly perfectly.

I'm sure American audiences twinge too when British or Kiwi actors mangle a Californian-slacker or a killer from Kentucky.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Is Ana Paquin 100 per cent convincing to a southerner as Sookie Stackhouse on True Blood? I'd be 99 per cent sure that she is not.

I'm also pretty sure that some Scots have had a laugh while watching Bikie Wars: Brothers in Arms (TV3, 9.30pm Wednesdays).

There's a lot to like about this show; the bung-eyed star Callan Mulvey is certainly one of them. Bikie Wars is from the same factory that churns out the Underbelly range, which means two things - men in wigs and women without tops.

The reason it works so well is that it's all based on a true story. In this case the "true story" concerns the Comanchero bikie gang in Sydney in the 1980s, and ultimately leads to the Milperra massacre.

It's a compelling watch, and captures what must have been a thrilling scene to be part of, if you were that way inclined. The pregnant neighbour who popped over on last week's episode to ask the boys to turn down the music was not so thrilled.

This genre does its best work wallowing in the grey area that allows you to be appalled and enticed by a lifestyle at the same time. But like the recent Underbelly: Razor, these Comanchero chronicles also suffer in the accent department.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

In Razor, it was malevolent madam Tilley Devine (Kiwi actor Chelsie Preston Crayford) who was lumbered with a voice that the Sydney Morning Herald rather unkindly suggested as belonging in the "Hilarious Accent Hall of Fame".

In Bikie Wars, the same is true for head bad-guy Jock Ross, a surly Scot, played by Aussie actor and former league player, Matthew Nable. Not that he's bad, not as spot on as Mulvey, but he has just enough gravitas, and is suitably gruff.

It's just that every few words I'm reminded of another fiery Scotsman, a certain red-head who looks after the school grounds in an animated town called Springfield. Mind you, the guy who plays him doesn't even look like a Scotsman.

Watching the rugby test the other night I was reminded of something that my mother has often complained about - namely the pronunciation of the word "Ireland".

She's Irish, and to her ears most Kiwi commentators miss the 'Ire' part and say something that sounds more like 'Island'.

At least I think that's what she said.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Accents worth looking out for this week:

Al Jazera News (Freeview, 6pm, weekdays): Great accents, often a mix of Middle East and Cambridge, and they show the blood and guts that other networks shun.

MasterChef Final (Tuesday, 7.30pm, TV One): Rick Stein will be along with his nasal Oxfordshire tones. Some say that Ana has traces of Waiheke-ian in her voice but she sounds more Westmere-ian to my ear. And is that Christ College we detect in Simon's Gault's voice? A quick Google search reveals the words 'Kings College', so not far off.

The GC (Wednesday, TV3, 8pm): For the best Mozzie Bro you'll ever hear in primetime. This week DJ Tuini returns to her marae for the first time. The Herald On Sunday's Paul Little generated some lively debate after he described the show as 'a subtle, devastating critique of NZ today.'

Police 10/7 (TV2, Thursday, 7.30pm): Tune in to hear some pure baby-boomer Pakeha as Detective Inspector Graham Bell (retired) tears strips of the thieves, ratbags and thugs. Listen out also for pure white trash, cuzzie bro and F.O.B.

Neighbourhood (Sundays, TV1, 11am): An excellent show that celebrates a different NZ neighbourhood every week - which means wall to wall "bloody foreigners". Poms, Pacific Islanders, Greeks and Africans have already featured as has Mt Roskill and Sunnynook.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Hounds (TV, Friday, 10pm): Where you'll hear the sounds of the dog-racing blue-collar kiwi, the spoilt, narcissistic Gen Y bird, (Catherine Waller is superb as Amber) and a note-perfect rendition of the North Island bastard, thanks to Josh Thomson's 'Lance'.

Golden (TV3 Sunday 7pm): More next generation NZ comedy with broad kiwi 'axeuunts'. Staring plus-sized newcomer Lucy Schmidt along with the well toned Joel Tobeck, and stick-like Jesse Griffin. Accent related trivia: Among others, the Tui-like Tobeck does a brilliant Tem Morrison while Griffin's comedic alter-ego is an American country singer by the name of Wilson Dickson.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Entertainment

Entertainment

'Favourite person': Hilary Barry reveals reason she's been missing from TV

10 May 12:16 AM
Reviews

Who are the comedians to see at this year's Comedy Festival?

10 May 12:00 AM
Entertainment

Watch: Young fan's surprise encounter with Brad Pitt at Auckland McDonald's

09 May 09:45 PM

Sponsored: Top tier tiles - faux or refresh

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Entertainment

'Favourite person': Hilary Barry reveals reason she's been missing from TV

'Favourite person': Hilary Barry reveals reason she's been missing from TV

10 May 12:16 AM

Fans have been wondering where Hilary Barry has been. She's now told them.

Who are the comedians to see at this year's Comedy Festival?

Who are the comedians to see at this year's Comedy Festival?

10 May 12:00 AM
Watch: Young fan's surprise encounter with Brad Pitt at Auckland McDonald's

Watch: Young fan's surprise encounter with Brad Pitt at Auckland McDonald's

09 May 09:45 PM
'It does change you': Sir Dave Dobbyn opens up on Parkinson’s battle

'It does change you': Sir Dave Dobbyn opens up on Parkinson’s battle

09 May 05:26 AM
Sponsored: How much is too much?
sponsored

Sponsored: How much is too much?

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • What the Actual
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven CarGuide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP