Thanks to Mom back in Arizona, who gave me a tip for today's post. She steered me to this amusing clip of British actor Hugh Laurie appearing on Ellen DeGeneres' talk show earlier this year. In the first half Ellen and Hugh chat about his part-time life in America and in the second they quiz each other on British and American slang terms. I find it surprising that I knew all of the British slang terms but, of the American terms, I knew only the second!
Hugh Laurie is now, of course, famous in America for his portrayal of Greg House on the FOX medical drama "House," but he's had a long career in film and television, including starring in the Blackadder TV series and a scene-stealing part in 1995's "Sense and Sensibility." I'm sure someone is bound to disagree with me on this, but when I was watching the Ellen clip I thought, "Hugh doesn't sound very British anymore." That is, he sounds like a Brit who's spent a lot of time in America, not to mention perfecting his American accent. I'd say that Hugh Laurie has one of the best American accents I've ever heard a British actor do.
In the interview, Hugh points out that the rest of the world knows far more about Americans than they do about the rest of the world, thanks to the American film and TV industry, and he's absolutely right!
