Not acting, but playing herself in a cosmetics ad, Charlize Theron insists on doing an American accent. Is she embarrassed about her genuine South African origins, as I can never imagine an Australian doing this. She hasn't been in the States long enough to pick up much of an accent, so does anyone know what makes her pretend to be what she isn't?

zbeckabee

Theron's first language is Afrikaans. She is also fluent in English and speaks some Xhosa, as well as having varying levels of fluency in around thirty other African languages and dialects, learned from neighbors and employees on her parents' farm. In the United States, both in her films and while being interviewed, etc., Theron speaks with a typical American accent and style of speech, leading most people to assume she is American. It is probably just as simple as that. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlize_Theron Sep 06 06, 3:15 PM

davejacobs

Surely TV adverts are closely directed, so provided she can do it, her accent would be what the sponsors and/or directors wanted, to appeal to the target audience. Sep 06 06, 4:13 PM

smartie806

"At first I found it really hard using three different English accents: South African, faking the American, faking the accent required by the job. I decided to make it easier for myself and just do one. I haven't lost my culture, just my accent." http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000234/bio Sep 06 06, 7:36 PM

Brinjal

Accents do change over time and using different accents in her films probably has probably softened her accent. Not all South Africans have "plaas japie" accents just as accents in different parts of England vary. Sep 07 06, 3:03 AM