When are dialect coaches brought in?

Question

When are dialect coaches hired for actors, and who typically makes the decision?I've seen serious movies where stars attempt to emulate an accent with grating incompetence.And now I've seen the opposite (a star I didn't think would have trouble with an accent, in a role in which it probably wouldn't matter either way): Among the credited crew of [Paddington](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1109624/fullcredits?ref_=tt_cl_sm#cast) was a "dialect coach" for Nicole Kidman. Which seems to me bizarre for several reasons: 1. <del>Her native accent is Australian, which is "close enough" to British for a family movie.</del> A cosmopolitan Australian attempting to imitate a British accent is good enough for a family comedy (maybe?). 1. She plays a second-tier character. 1. She has been acting in roles demanding far more accent versatility and accuracy for decades.Is it likely that a director/producer requested the coach, or that the actress did? And if the latter I'm wondering in cases like this whether it's just an excuse to get a friend a job and/or credit? Or is it a status symbol for the actor? Or is this actress just very particular about nailing her part, regardless of its magnitude or context?

Answer 1

Dialect coaches are invaluable to filmmakers. What happens when an Englishman watches a film where an Australian actor doesn't have a credible British accent, one that is passable for the region and socioeconomic class he is portraying, is that the viewer can't suspend disbelief and is distracted. That is, he is taken out of the movie experience and instead he's thinking about that awful accent. The director wants his audience to enjoy a film's full ride with no stops,. And the actor needs to give a credible performance to expand the kinds of roles he can play, and the quality of the films he will be offered.

Besides learning proper diction for a role, actors need to learn not only the correct dialect, but also know the body language and the way people speak in that corner of the world; a really good dialect coach will teach this as well.

Now when an actor knows he needs the help of a dialect coach but there is no one to help him, he may hire one on his own. This is not unusual. A responsible actor will always look for additional guidance when the producer or director doesn't provide it.