He does an excellent Southern accent in Tigerland and a good NY/Queens accent in Phone Booth.
'A Hole in the World'
Spoilage Lite - The Return
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Wonder how he'll sound in "Miami Vice"
I think I thought the accent wasn't great in Phone Booth, but I don't really remember. Have never seen Tigerland.
I think I saw him first in either Tigerland or the cowboy movie, and had no idea he wasn't American. Then I started liking him in Minority Report and in the course of normal research found out his nationality.
I thought his accent was pretty good in Tigerland but it did slip here and there.
You know who's terrible at doing an American accent? Cary Elwes. His accent in The X-Files was so bad it stuck out like a sore thumb. Although he must have gotten better at it because for the most part it wasn't so bad in Saw. (What? The BF dragged me to that movie and in a moment of temporary insanity I agreed.)
Bale's done convincing American accents in several movies, most notably American Psycho where he had that bland DJ voice down to an art form. But then he's sort of the male British Meryl Streep regarding accents.
Sadly I don't think Ian McKellen managed a convincing one in The Shadow, but the consolation prize of getting to hear him use a British accent in everything since made up for it.
For some reason Christian Bale reminded me of Jamie Bamber, who can also pass. Ewan can't, can he?
I know that Jamie Bamber has one American parent, does CB?
Idris Elba and the other British actors in The Wire all have amazing American accents. Sexy, sexy Clive Owen in Sin City, not so much.
Going the other way, I think Mike Myers' various British accents are good--but he has parents who emigrated to Canada, I believe.