Two of the biggest action stars in American history (Van Damme and Schwarzenegger) both have heavy foreign accents. I'm European so it doesn't bother me, but I'd imagine Americans might have an issue with foreigners with heavy accents to at least prevent them from becoming such huge stars.
shareCHARISMA GOES A LONG WAY...SCWARZENEGGER IS OOZING CHARISMA...VAN DAMME HAD HIS FAIR SHARE AS WELL.
shareThey obviously had what it took, I'm just wondering was accent a hindrance factor. How do Americans see Austrian and Belgian accents? Does it sound corny/lame or exotic/cool?
shareWELL...SCWARZENEGGER WORKED WITH PROFESSIONALS FOR SOME TIME TO SMOOTH HIS ACCENT OUT...ULTIMATELY THOUGH...HIS GREATEST ASSET WAS CHOOSING ROLES THAT HIS ACCENT WORKED FOR OR COMPLIMENTED.
I GREW UP LISTENING TO HIM...SO HE ALWAYS SOUNDED COOL TO ME.
They obviously had what it took, I'm just wondering was accent a hindrance factor. How do Americans see Austrian and Belgian accents? Does it sound corny/lame or exotic/cool?
Arnie and Van Damme were products of a unique period in American cinema, where steroid-adled He-Men with minimal acting ability had a premium on them. During the 80s and early 90s, foreign accents on one of these fellas, and Stallone's near inability to form complete sentences were your local multiplex's equivalent of the county fair offering attendees a chance to see A Bearded Lady. Alongside being able to chow down on a deep-fried Twinkie
YOU DON'T SEEM TO KNOW SHIT.
shareI was a huge fan growing up and always thought Van Damme sounded cool as fuck.
I think that an accent is usually not a problem for Americans as long as the pronunciation is good and we don't have to strain to understand what's being said. Of course some accents sound a lot cooler than others.
I also think that martial arts fans in particular are largely immune to accent prejudice because so many of the stars in the genre are from elsewhere.
I think Arnold’s terminator role and jcvd’s Bloodsport role were what got peoples attention. Had those movies not gotten so popular, maybe these two wouldn’t have had the success that they did. People talk about how terminator was perfect for Arnold at the time because he’s supposed to talk and move like less than a human.
sharePersonally, I never got into Jean Claude Van Damme, Stephen Segul, or Chuck Noris. Arnold Schwarzenegger is the king of action movies to me. Then Stallone.
shareI just started really delving into Chuck's work recently and have gained a belated appreciation for him. The Delta Force is a fun movie, and Invasion USA definitely has its moments as well.
shareBecause Mullet trumps Bad Accent every time. Just ask the guy two posts up from here.
share" I'd imagine Americans might have an issue with foreigners with heavy accents to at least prevent them from becoming such huge stars. "
This has no merit whatsoever.
I’d say Arnold’s accent helped him in the long run. In his early roles he was basically cast for his physique, but over time he showed that he does have a bit of comedic timing, and his accent makes regular phrases unintentionally funny.
Van Damme, not so much. He never evolved as an actor, which is why he is still making the same movies that he was in the 80s. His accent may have held him back from getting other roles, he was a good looking guy in his prime, but it probably had more to do with his acting.
If you want to see Van Damme's range as an actor, you should watch J.C.V.D. And be sure to watch it with the original French dialogue, not the lame dubbed English version.
shareFor the genre, you can get by with few lines. As long as he doesn't have to say much, his English is passable.
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