THE TWO MOST COMMON BLOCKS TO ACTING IN AN ACCENT WITH FREEDOM & EASE
When I’m working with actors, to help them change their relationship with accents, I tend to find one of the following issues going on for them…
First up: They’re so in their heads about the accent that it’s totally running the show.
It’s leading their approach, driving their performance and inhibiting every instinct.
I don't mean that they’re fully embracing the different communication style that the accent offers. We want that. We need to be communicating within the given circumstances for the character that the accent provides. That’s what an accent is.
What I mean is that their anxiety about the accent is doing the leading. They’re letting the technical stuff run the show.
Which, of course, is bringing them right into their heads and completely disconnecting them from all of their lovely acting ability.
Maybe you recognise yourself in this: Do you let the technicalities of an accent lead your approach to acting in it?
Because, look, you’re never going to truly connect with an accent if you’re viewing it as something purely technical. And you’ll never feel at home in it by simply breaking down, analysing and mastering its features.
We need to be 100% embodied in an accent. Not in our heads with it.
The goal is to be communicating through it. Not thinking about it.
Being connected to your instincts is still the North Star. It has to be.
Great accent work is simply about learning to express those instincts through the new parameters that the accent provides.
The accent is simply the vehicle through which your instincts are released into the world.
And whether or not you’re free to feel, connect & express yourself through accents that aren’t your own depends entirely on three things:
💫 what you’re telling yourself about them
💫 how you’re approaching them (are you allowing room for curiosity & play?!)
💫 having enough familiarity with the tools & processes needed to embody them that you’re actually able to trust, let go AND GO FOR IT!
So that's the first thing.
The other common block is a tendency to shy away from the accent completely.
Maybe you recognise yourself in this one: Do you find yourself being too tentative with accents?
Either for fear of doing them badly?
Or because you’ve never considered that they might offer more than something to simply layer on top of your usual acting processes?
Maybe you’ve been mistaking boldness for a lack of depth or nuance?
Listen, you’re never going to bring the authenticity the role is asking of you if you’re shying away from the accent.
And you’re never going to bring the specificity the story demands of you if you hold back from really exploring & connecting with what it feels like to express yourself through that accent.
If you’re tentative with an accent, if you're too scared to grab it by the cojones: yeah, of course, you’re doing the character, the story and people who speak with an accent like it a massive disservice. But you're also doing yourself a pretty big disservice. Because you’re not allowing yourself to fully embody the character. You're not fully engaging with the given circumstances that the script provides; the director provides; the character provides. . .
Speech is a physical action. Accents need to be felt.
And they need to be embraced in order to be embodied.
They require an approach that encourages curiosity, play and, above all, boldness.
Whether or not you feel free to be bold in your approach to accents depends on a couple of things, but, as you’ll see, it really just boils down to trust…
💫 trust that you know what you need to know about them and how to approach them > EMPOWER
💫 trust that you have the tools and skills to ensure that knowledge isn’t just cerebral but embodied (knowledge is of zero use to your instincts if it only exists in your head) > EMBODY
💫 trust that you have the tools, skills & curiosity to explore how to express your instincts through the accent > CONNECT
EMPOWER > EMBODY > CONNECT distills 20+ years experience (& a borderline obsession) with acting & accents into an approach that’s all about helping you build that trust.
It enables actors to boldly embrace accent as something integral to their character and acting processes.
or
Join us for EMPOWER: The Group Programme
which is starting next week (Feb 10th) now
And I’ve just relaunched the early bird offer to match the pushed back start date 👀
So, if you found yourself hemming and hawing about a Jan start but are feeling so ready for a Feb one, now’s your chance to get in at that £500 off early bird rate I was running back in Jan.
Running until midnight Sunday.
Let’s power up your accents in 2026 💫
