Jodie Comer’s accent in The Bikeriders is supposed to sound like that
British actors love to play American characters on the big screen, with Liverpool's own Jodie Comer the latest to swap the Union Jack for the stars and stripes in The Bikeriders. Her role in the biker gang drama required her to master a strange accent. Yes, it is supposed to sound like that.
The Bikeriders is a fictional story, penned by director Jeff Nichols, but partially based on a real work of photojournalism by Danny Lyon, who's played in the film by Challengers star Mike Faist. Many of the cast members were able to hear recordings of their real-life counterparts.
Comer was one of those, listening to a 30-minute interview between Lyon and the real version of her character, Kathy. In the film, Kathy works to intervene in biker gang leader Johnny's (Tom Hardy) plans to have her husband Benny (Austin Butler) succeed him as the man at the top of the crew.
Watch: Jodie Comer shows off her accent in The Bikeriders
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Comer revealed that the accent she had to use in The Bikeriders was "probably the hardest one that I’ve done" and required an idiosyncratic twist on a more generic Chicago twang.
She said: "I was so struck by how singular and unique her dialect and cadence was. So I started working with a dialect coach, Victoria [Hanlin], who I work with a lot, and she very quickly realised and told me: 'All the vowel sounds are a contradiction. This isn’t a general Chicago. This is something that is entirely her own'."
Read more: Jodie Comer shares sweet inspiration for The Bikeriders role (Digital Spy)
That unique vocal style created a huge challenge for Comer, but she and Hanlin decided that the actor would try to match the accent in the recording as much as possible. Given the fact Kathy isn't famous and nobody knows her voice, it has to go down as a very brave decision. Nobody knows how accurate her accent really was.
Somebody who does know is Nichols, the director. He told Zavvi that some reviewers have completely missed the amount of effort Comer put into matching the real Kathy.
“I read a review the other day that referred to her accent as 'southern fried', so I’m not surprised that a lot of people don’t know what they’re talking about," he said. "My hope is that, after seeing the movie, people will look into it and see the amount of work Jodie put into recreating that voice.”
Read more: Tom Hardy's most outlandish accents (Yahoo Entertainment)
Comer's co-star Butler — who has infamously never quite been able to shake his Elvis Presley accent from the 2022 biopic — told Letterboxd that he admired Comer's ability to jump between her natural Scouse tones and Kathy's voice "in an instant".
He added: "What I see in that is that you put in so much work beforehand that led you to be able to have that freedom."
Comer isn't showing any signs of stopping either, having lined up another intimidating accent for her next big screen outing. She's taking the lead role in zombie sequel 28 Years Later and, for that character, she'll have to perfect a Geordie accent.
Read more: The Story Behind Stephen King Buying Hundreds Of 28 Days Later Tickets (CinemaBlend)
Of course, being the professional that she is, Comer is taking inspiration from the Queen of the Geordies, watching lots and lots of clips of Cheryl. There's no better way to learn how to do the North East proud.
So we know she can do Chicago and we have no doubt she can do South Shields. Is there any accent Jodie Comer can't do?
The Bikeriders is in UK cinemas now.
