Facebook Twitter Instagram
    • Services
    • Aircheck for Actors
    • Demo Reels
    • Audition Prep/Self-Tape Reader
    • Mailing Labels
    • Contribute
    • Industry Links
    • Advertise
    Daily Actor
    Daily Actor YouTube Page Daily Actor FacebookDaily Actor Twitter Daily Actor Instagram Daily Actor Pinterest
    • Acting Tips
      • Actors on Acting
      • Advice Columns
      • Acting Quotes
      • Audition Tapes
      • How To Become An Actor
      • How to Memorize Lines
    • Monologues
      • Monologues from Plays
      • Monologues from Movies
      • Monologues from Musicals
      • Comedic Monologues
      • Dramatic Monologues
      • One Minute Monologues
      • Monologues for Women
      • Monologues for Men
      • Monologues for Teens
      • Monologues for Kids
      • All Monologues
    • Acting Resources
      • Acting Resume
        • Acting Resume Templates
      • Acting Classes
        • Los Angeles Acting Classes
        • Las Vegas Acting Classes
        • San Diego Acting Classes
      • Acting Schools and Colleges
        • Los Angeles
        • New York
        • BFA Acting Schools
      • Casting Websites
      • Headshot Photographers
        • Los Angeles
        • New York City
        • Headshot Printing
      • Acting Techniques
        • What is Method Acting?
      • Stage Directions
      • Demo Reels: Everything You Need to Know
    • Interviews
      Featured

      Interview: Donna Benedicto: “Not every character needs to fit into a box”

      Recent

      Interview: Donna Benedicto: “Not every character needs to fit into a box”

      May 1, 2023
      Jesmille-Darbouze-A-Dolls-House-Broadway-Interview

      Interview: Jesmille Darbouze on Her Role in ‘A Doll’s House’ on Broadway, Working Without Props and Why She Almost Stopped Acting

      April 27, 2023

      Interview: Lilah Fitzgerald Talks “Dream Come True” Roles in ‘Monster High’ and ‘Lucky Hank’

      April 13, 2023
    • Actor Blogs
    • Reviews
      • Movies
      • Theater
      • Books
      • Products
    • Actor Services
      • Airchecks
      • Demo Reels
      • Website Design
      • Mailing Labels
    Daily Actor
    Home » Actors on Acting » Michael Fassbender Talks ‘Inglourious Basterds’ and Difficult Accents
    Actors on Acting

    Michael Fassbender Talks ‘Inglourious Basterds’ and Difficult Accents

    Lance CarterBy Lance CarterAugust 24, 2009Updated:May 12, 2020No Comments3 Mins Read
    Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email

    http://www.aceshowbiz.com/images/still/inglourious_basterds28.jpg

    From Movieline:

    Let’s talk about that voice! That British accent you use as Lt. Archie Hicox is so much fun to listen to — even in the very tense bar basement scene, as soon as you ask to switch from German back to the Queen’s English, I could feel this wave of pure pleasure go through the audience.

    I really just tried to enjoy all the textures of it. When I started out, Quentin said, “I see this as sort of a young George Sanders character,” so I sort of got as much material out of him as possible. It was a very particular way of talking that they had back then in the thirties and forties, this thing of really enjoying each word and bringing color and texture to it. I supposed that’s something we’ve kind of lost, that language was seen as a weapon, if you like. I just tried to indulge in that as much as possible without pissing people off in England. I have a place in London, and I was thinking, “Oh s***, how are they gonna respond?” But apparently it went down really well there.

    Did you know that Quentin was looking for that George Sanders-type delivery when you went in for the role?

    I didn’t really know what way to pitch Hicox because I was really gunning for Landa, actually. [The role was eventually filled by actor Christoph Waltz.] I was working on Fish Tank at the time and I would come home after work and really pour a lot of hours into Landa. There was French to learn, the German section, speaking the German accent in English…I didn’t really get to do a great deal of work on Hicox. They had told me, “Look at Hicox as well,” and I was sort of in denial, I suppose — like, “No, no, no.” So then I arrived, and Quentin was like, “OK, let’s take a look at Hicox” and I was like, “S***!” [Laughs] I was like, “What about Landa?” and he was like, “I cast my Landa on Tuesday.” I went, “Really? Are you sure?” But then, I’m not about to tell Quentin Tarantino how to cast his movies, so I said, “OK, let’s read Hicox.”

    What else did you want to incorporate into your performance?

    It was the way these movie stars in the thirties and forties carried themselves physically — this very proud presence. I really wanted to take all of that on board and use it to play Hicox, because I saw this certain vanity in him, this very sort of dry delivery. It’s very British, this “Give it a go, old chap?” sensibility when the cards are stacked against you. There’s something very endearing and admirable and comical about it, so I really wanted to try to encapsulate all those things.

    Had there ever been an accent that was really difficult for you to learn?

    I think all of them can be pretty difficult, do you know what I mean? An American accent comes, I suppose, the most easily in terms of [being] Irish — the sounds and the word formations are pretty much the same. An English accent is actually pretty tricky: The r’s are silent, the vowels are different, sounds are forming in the front of the mouth as opposed to the back. I kind of do it like music as opposed to phonetically; there is a phonetic approach to learning an accent, but I think I was asleep during those classes in drama school.

    Related

    Previous ArticleQuentin Tarantino on Brad Pitt’s Acting Style
    Next Article Daniel Brühl on Audition Nerves

    Related Posts

    sally field lee strasberg

    Sally Field on Working with Lee Strasberg: “He was one of the best acting teachers”

    May 22, 2023

    Elizabeth Banks on Acting ‘Rites of Passage’ and What She Learned from Ray Liotta

    May 16, 2023
    Tramell Tillman on His Breakthrough 'Severance' Role

    Tramell Tillman on His Breakthrough ‘Severance’ Role

    May 12, 2023
    Add A Comment

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    Popular Pages
    Become An Actor | Acting Tips | Acting Quotes
    Acting Resume | Resume Template
    Headshot Photographers
    Los Angeles | New York
    Print Your Headshots
    Acting Schools & Colleges
    Los Angeles | New York
    Monologues
    Movies | Plays | Comedic | Dramatic
    Men | Women | Teens | Kids
    • Contact
    • About
    • Advertise
    • Resource Listings
    • Write A Column
    • Contribute
    • Privacy Policy

    Disclaimer: Daily Actor at times uses affiliate links to sites like Amazon.com, streaming services, and others. Affiliate links provides compensation to Daily Actor which helps us remain online, giving you the resources and information actors like you are looking for.

    © 2023 Daily Actor

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.