Seduced by an accent...

According to Stephen Fry, the recent love affair between Hollywood and some British (meaning white, middle class English) actors may have something to do with the seductive magic of accent. In an article taken from The Guardian, Fry is quoted thus: "I shouldn't be saying this, high treason really, but I sometimes wonder if Americans aren't fooled by our accent into detecting a brilliance that may not really be there." Given that Fry has failed to make the big time across the pond (and boy, he has tried) one might detect the bitter taste of some rather sour grapes in his assertion - particularly now that his mate Hugh Laurie is earning $240,000 an episode playing an eccentric doctor with a rather convincing American accent in the highly successful 'House'. Moreover, one could just as easily suggest that the British constitute a nation (or nations) of people perpetually fooled by the connotation of accent. I mean, Fry has been voted the 'most intelligent man' on TV by readers of The Radio Times - I wonder if they would they have done so if he sounded like Danny Baker? Probably not - and anyone who has heard Danny or seen his performances on Fry's own 'Q:I' would quickly see that he has an intelligence that easily rivals its host's. Danny's accent (and arguably his association with Millwall Football Club) just prevents many from recognising it. Indeed, perhaps Fry's accent has been fooling us into "seeing a brilliance that may not really be there" for years!