What happened to Fiona's Irish accent?

I guess she was trying to be "Miami" but i dont know i wouldnt be able to change my accent that fast

I wish she has kept her Irish accent; i absolutely loved it! But i guess it would be hard to keep that accent the whole show.

I think if she is a spy she may have to take on many different accents if needed. Just like in Alias. I don't think it would be that hard. I take it she is Irish.

She said that she couldn't be in Miami "sound like a lepricon." So she is speaking American english now I guess. She's sexy whatever accent she uses.

I actually liked the way she bounced back and forth between accents. And I liked Jeff's Jersey accent, too. I'd like to see more of that - let the actors have some fun with their characters.

Some of my friends say I sound like him.
I'm from Jersey.

And as of Fiona. Gabrielle Anwar was born in England.
Guess it won't be hard for her to change accents...

Hi everyone - I'm new here at the boards but not new to USA. I love USA and have been watching for many, many years. Anyone remember Silk Stalkings? (sorry to date myself!)
I love Burn Notice and think it's so smart! So, I wanted to comment on Fiona's accent. It really bugged me this past episode (3rd one) as I really noticed that Fiona's accent was really toned down - it seemed like she toned down her accent A LOT from just the second ep to the third episode.
Ok - off to read more of this forum now - bye!

I guess she can turn it on and off, and to me it sounds Australian.

I liked the Irish accent but I think the English accent is better for the show.

I'm not a fan of ANY accents that are too profound. I did like when she said, "I can't be running around sounding like a freakin' leprechaun". She also change her way of dressing. Of course, Michael, the all observant spy, noticed all this immediately. 

please bring the accent back!

I agree bring it back

I LOVED Silk Stalkings!!! I used to watch that during the midnight feedings of my now 15 year old!!!

I liked Fi's Irish accent but whatever...

Didn't she say in a recent interview that the Irish accent was the hardest to do? Or is it just too early in the morning and I've made that up?

I think she said something to that effect. But I think keeping up accents is hard for her as she stated doing an American one was hard also. I think it would have been more interesting to keep her original british accent. Just because Jeffrey is American and she's British doesn't mean it couldn't have worked with their own accents instead of having her affect one. But she does do a good job at affecting her American one. Go Gabrielle!!!

Yeah I agree, I don't know why she couldn't have just used her own accent. Maybe they wanted to make her Miami-like? I dunno. But no matter what accent she kicks butt!

Before BN, I had never heard anyone attempt an American accent, and I didn't know who GA was. It bugged me for months, because there's something... off... about the was she spoke and I had no idea what was different about it. When I finally heard an interview, I was like, "OMG?!?!?! She's BRITISH?!?!" Haha, I'm such a moron. It never occurred to me that Americans have accents XD

She actually said the American accent was harder. She thought the Irish one was easier.

Yeah. I think her voice pitch is too high. 

Like many other British actors who work in American productions, Gabrielle Anwar does a pretty good job of speaking with an American accent. I don't notice any problems with it and it does not seem affected at all.

Idk what it is... There's just something off in her accent. It's not enough to distract me from the show, but I do notice a difference.

I absotively agree. "I'm going to need you to stay away from the windows". Best line yet. Omega007

She is English, so I would guess Irish would be a tad easier being in that part of the world. But the show wanted her to use a American one...so she does

I looooove this thread I've been wanting to start one about the "voices" on this show. All 3 main characters have very distinctive voices. The entrance of Carla really brought it home to me. I think their voices are a huge part of what makes them so appealling. Bruce seems kind of Boston/Mass to me. Mike I can't really discern & Fi's leaprachaun inflection to her American accent...well ...it's all just very distinctive & I think adds zounds to the show.

NDGD~

It never occurred to you Americans have accents? North & south? Hell I'm from Jersey or should I say "Jursey" & can tell someone from north to south...east to west...

My dads from upstate NY & my mom from Penn & they had completely diff accents!

NDGD~

Hugh Laurie (House) does a GREAT American accent!! You'd never know he was English!!

You are way off: Jeffrey Donovan is from Massachusetts, Bruce Campbell, originally from Michigan, now lives in the Pacific Northwest, but as for the characters they play, they could, through their acting training, be suppressing or muffling their original speaking voice accents to conform to the requirements of the character.

Ha! figures I got that wrong! I don't think Bruce is disguising his voice because it's the same one he used in Xena. You could pick him out of a huge crowd just on that accent alone! Don't have to see him to know it's him. I can tell it's him just by his voice! And I still hold out, alll the characters on this show have very distnictive inflections & it stands out.


NDGD~

Oh, that's so true! I was SHOCKED the first time I heard him talk off the show...I couldn't believe he was English. I find Fiona's American accent pretty convincing, but I don't have a great ear for those things...I thought her Irish one was pretty believable too.

Fiona only had the Irish accent for the pilot episode, correct? The pilot episode of shows is oftentimes different than the rest of the series. The pilot is created to try and "sell" the show to networks. Perhaps USA liked what they saw but one of the changes they wanted was for Fiona to lose the Irish accent.

I've heard rumor (not substantiated) that some Americans had a hard time understanding Fiona with her Irish accent (I personally had no problem understanding her, but I understand USA must cater to the most sheltered Americans who have no experience with foreign accents - business is business).

Gabrielle Anwar was quoted in an interview as saying that the Irish accent was easy for her because the character she played on a show just prior to getting the part in Burn Notice was Irish so she had become accustomed to the accent and found it much easier than an American (or more correctly "Miami") accent. She's self-conscious about her American accent, thinking it's not that great, and because it's being critiqued by Americans. It's one thing to play an Irish accent to Americans and yet another to play American to Americans. Though as has been pointed-out Hugh Laurie is masterful at this. I notice a lot of British actors (like Gary Oldman and Christian Bale or Aussies Cate Blanchett, Heath Ledger, and Nichole Kidman) can do an American accent flawlessly.

Another reason perhaps the Irish accent was dropped is because the show is now airing in Australia and reportedly will soon air in England. I doubt a former IRA operative will be a very sympathetic character in that market. I wouldn't be surprised if all references to her former IRA work are edited-out when the show hits English airwaves.

I do detect a problem with her accent and it bothers me as it sounds harsh and forced, but I can look past that and still enjoy the show. I just keep hoping for less dialog from Fiona.

Boo hiss! I love everything about her and pray for more screen time.

bring back the irish accent i thought i reconzied her she the bird that plays henry 8 mrs in the histroy drama the tudors

She plays his sister Princess Margaret, I think.

YES!!! That's where I've seen her recently, it's been driving me crazy what I saw her in lately- she was Henry VIII's sister! The one who eloped with Charles Brandon. He was quite the hottie too, how does she get to act opposite all these gorgeous guys?

Helps if you are gorgeous, yourself. And, of course, she has been in big time stuff since "Scent of A Woman" (1992?). Go figure.

I thought he sounded strange, personally. Sort of dull and nasally. I thought it was just his character, so I ignored it. I'm glad he adopted the American accent. Accents, for me in general, can be annoying at times. I LOVE House. Really great show.