The Odyssey trailer has reignited a tiresome accent debate which makes no sense

Once more, we find ourselves in this place. It’s been nearly a year since the initial teaser of “Gladiator II” ignited social media with excitement as Denzel Washington portrayed an ancient North African-Roman character using an American accent. Now, social media is abuzz again due to Tom Holland and Jon Bernthal adopting American accents to depict Ancient Greeks in the first trailer for Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey,” currently showing exclusively before “Jurassic World Rebirth” in cinemas.

It doesn’t take much time to understand the flawed reasoning in this case. People often believe they should speak with a British accent when portraying historical characters, as it has become customary in cinematic epics. However, this idea that it adds historical authenticity is misguided. The English Received Pronunciation (RP) accent is actually a fairly recent development.

Although they might be asked to perform in Greek, it’s important to note that modern Greek isn’t identical to Ancient Greek, which itself varies from the older form of Greek spoken during the time of Homer’s epic poem about the Trojan War, believed to have been written around 1200-1300 BCE.

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To put it simply, achieving an authentic ancient Greek accent in a modern adaptation of “The Odyssey” isn’t feasible due to lack of historical records. Moreover, the differences between British and American accents in this context are minimal, making it unjustified to raise concerns about them.

As a gamer, I’ve got to say, are you really searching for minor details to quibble about? If so, dive into the costumes – there’s been some on-set images showing Greeks wearing trousers, which they would have deemed as the ultimate barbarism.

It’s intriguing, nonetheless, to explore the reasons for the antiquated world’s apparent fondness towards the British accent.

Hollywood films from the Golden Age, particularly, often drew inspiration from epic tales, presenting America as a symbol of moral purity and bravery. This was often achieved by portraying Americans as the slaves in Stanley Kubrick’s ‘Spartacus’ or the Christians in Cecil B DeMille’s ‘The Sign of the Cross’. In these depictions, they fought their battles for independence against a corrupt and degenerate Roman empire.

The good guys had American accents, the bad guys had British ones. It’s the case in Star Wars, too.

Since the 18th century, the ancient world has been a symbolic representation of empire, as seen during Europe‘s neoclassical period. This was a time when aspiring conquerors sought to envision their own wealth and power mirroring that of Rome. Both Napoleon and Adolf Hitler embraced this imagery.

The question arises as to why the distinctly American accent appears so rare nowadays, even though Charlton Heston portrayed an American Ben-Hur in 1959 and Elizabeth Taylor blended both American and British accents in her role in Cleopatra (1963).

Today’s viewers are generally acquainted with Ridley Scott’s film Gladiator and the subsequent surge of darker, more pessimistic historical epics characterized by a higher level of violence.

In this setting, there’s a reduced tendency to idealize; morality becomes murky, making it difficult to distinguish between the characters, particularly Emperor Commodus who may adopt a traditional RP accent, and Maximus, whose voice is an unconventional blend of American, British, and Russell Crowe’s Australian tones.

Many contemporary epics often struggle to portray their characters’ voices authentically (like Brad Pitt in “Troy” and Colin Farrell in “Alexander”, who may have added a hint of British accent, but not much more), however, the overall trend has consistently been towards a straightforward adoption of the solemn, English Received Pronunciation.

This brings us to Denzel Washington in “Gladiator II”. Similar to how it was intentional in “Spartacus” or “The Sign of the Cross”, his American accent is used, albeit for a distinctly different set of themes compared to those films.

In a more straightforward manner: The ex-slave Macrinus from Washington’s storyline isn’t portrayed as challenging the system like historical figures did, but instead as someone who seeks to uphold and ultimately take control of that system himself. This is reflective of how movies can use history to comment on current issues, showing us how events related to freedom and justice often repeat themselves over time.

Beyond just striving for historical authenticity, there seems to be something else at work here. Although it’s difficult to decipher the full story based on a short trailer that predominantly showcases atmospheric scenes, rest assured, Christopher Nolan isn’t carelessly incorporating American accents into the mix.

So hold your complaints for now. Maybe even the ones about the trousers.

The Odyssey is released in cinemas on 17 July 2026.

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2025-07-04 17:19