You’ve probably noticed that every day, more and more roles in film and television are requiring accents beyond the one that is referred to as General American. You know you want to be competitive in this arena, but don’t quite know how to get from sounding like an amateur to being able to sustain a convincing accent while giving an authentic performance. I suggest that by taking the following steps, you’ll be well on your way to accent success.
1. Start with you. The first thing you will need to do is to determine exactly which dialect(s) you’ll want to learn. Perhaps your agent keeps sending you in for roles for Chinese businessmen, or Serbian immigrants, or Saudi Arabian royalty. If there is a pattern you see emerging in the roles you are going out for, I advise you start your quest there. If you aren’t sure which accent will be the most marketable for you to acquire, find someone who is experienced with something called “dialect fitting,” which approaches accent acquisition as an extension of your overall actor branding package. They can help you determine exactly which version of which accents will best suit the majority of characters in your wheelhouse, which can save you
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