accent comparison query for Americans

[burntcopper]

okay, character A is American, it's early/mid-00s. he's in a pub in the East End of London. General accent is the type you hear in British gangster films, Jason Statham/ Mark Sheppard/ Bob Hoskins/ Vinnie Jones-esque.

Please complete this sentence, inserting actor, person or situation. 'The people in here all sound like ...'

Answers from Americans and Canadians only, please.

Comments

[alexseanchai]

I'd have to go with Mark Sheppard because he's the only one on the list I've heard of. On the flip side, everything I know of that he's been in is more recent than "early/mid-00s", except Firefly, and it's been a while since I've seen any Firefly but I'm fairly certain his accent bore no resemblance to anything from the British Isles.

[burntcopper]

heh. atch, his Firefly accent is only a slightly more emphasised version of his natural accent (and that's a bit mild due to him having lived in the US for so long). Most people who come from the East End have a much stronger version of it.

[rpdom]

I have quite a few Americans and Canadians on my friends lists. Would you like me to repost your question there? I'll copy any replies here, although I suspect most will be Dick van Dyke, or Matt Smith in one particular case.

[burntcopper]

ooo, please do. only stress the early-mid 00s (which excludes matt Smith)

[rpdom]

Replies so far are:

---
"...that guy from Mary Poppins."

Sorry to admit it, but that is the archetypical limey accent in most of
the continent's mind.
---

and

---
The Artful Dodger.

Dick Van Dyke in Mary Poppins

Sting - or any other British pop star. Most Americans don't really twig
the difference in regional accents, I don't think.
---

I hope that helps a bit, although I'm rather disappointed that DvD scores so highly.