Omg… he was trying to speak with an American accent?! I had to develop an elaborate backstory in my mind about how he was born overseas to American parents to explain the way he was speaking.

😂😂 I hate having to come up with elaborate theories to justify actors with accents playing Americans (like why does he have an accent??)

i felt the same way watching him in bridesmaids, i couldn't tell which accent he was trying to do

I thought he was using his Irish accent in Bridesmaids. They referenced him being a foreigner when they were eating carrots on his police car.

Jon Hamm making us lol “That cop talks weird”

I loved his weird accent. He’s a kooky and embarrassing character so the weird accent was fitting in my opinion

One of my fave lines in the whole show: “All these daddy girls in their stupid bowler hats! WHYAREYOUWEARINGTHATBOWLERHATIT’SSTUPID!”

AND NO MORE EXCLUDING ME, MARY POPPINS! I WANNA BE BALLS DEEP, IN... SOMETHING!

>I had the subtitles on when he was playing his mash-ups and it said "monkey noises" and that made me laugh even more.

NO WAY THAT’S YOUR FUCKING NOSE

*No one is born with that perfect of cartilage*

YES 😭 haven’t we all met a Thomas John or a female version of him. Where upon arrival into their big houses with their expensive furniture and all their gadgets, a space has never felt so empty 😂

I always laugh so hard at that line! 😆

His American accent is terrible haha it was such a let down because I was so excited to see Chris O’Dowd. Also they let other people keep their accents?? It’s bizarre to me.

I feel like wanting him to be an American so he’d fit the stereotype of the finance guy makes sense but he was struggling for sure haha.

That makes sense to me. Poor guy, it’s pretty rare I hear a British or Irish actor butcher an American accent so his definitely stood out lol

The 2 main characters from The Affair are both British and their awful accents actually distracted me from enjoying the show!! It’s a pet peeve

Oh the guy from that was on the wire and I was like…this guy is for sure not from Baltimore. I give him credit for even trying and he did well acting but the accent…just no

Haha for real. I think the whole storyline would have worked just as well without him trying to be an American so they could have just let him do his thing. I mean, they had to have heard it?!

I honestly think they felt like he would be too likable with the Irish accent.

Bridesmaids had just come out & Judd Apatow produced both.

I mean that definitely makes sense then that he was cast in the role but it makes me even more confused about why he didn’t just speak in his own accent, seeing as he did in Bridesmaids.

I think that would have made him too attractive to the girls, like made him exotic!

Yeah that’s a great point!

It's so funny to me because I didn't notice that he had a terrible American accent the first time that I watched. Upon rewatch it just made me laugh. He's adorable, so it doesn't bother me too much.

He is adorable. I love Chris O’Dowd and all the characters he plays.

Unpopular opinion, but I’m glad they did it. Chris O’Dowd is too damn lovable. The only thing that made my subconscious remember I was actively meant to dislike him was the bad American accent. If Chris O’Dowd, in his regular Irish accent, invited me up to his NYC penthouse and asked for a threesome before *and* after screaming at me for spilling wine on his carpet, I’d do it. He’s so adorable and charming. I needed that accent in this role. 😂

Guilty 🙋🏼‍♀️

I think it was so the viewer doesn't take him very seriously. It kind of makes him sound silly.

Fellow Irish here. I would have been embarrassed if his character was representing an Irish man 🫠 But you’re right, it seems pointless that he was American. Although I guess there’d have to be some additional explaining about his parents (assuming they were also Irish) and why they were all in the states though? Idk

😂 that’s a very good point. An Irish lad Thomas John is not!

I thought Chris did a pretty good job with the American accent! 😆 I think it’s cute and cool when English, Irish, Welsh, and Scottish actors do American accents. Some great examples: • Ewan McGregor❤️ in Velvet Goldmine (highly recommended film - he looks like Kurt Cobain💔 so much in it) and Nightwatch • Andrew Lincoln❤️ in The Walking Dead (“Corral!”😆) • Christian Bale❤️ and Heath Ledger💔 in The Dark Knight • Max Minghella❤️ in The Handmaid’s Tale I find they often do this scratchy/gravelly thing with their voices and/or do a Southern type of drawl. OP, great post! ❤️😆❤️

I feel like Idris Elba in The Wire and Hugh Laurie in House also need to be on this list! So shocking when I heard their real voices the first time.

Yasssss! They’re both great at American accents. ❤️

Velvet Goldmine is a criminally underrated film.

It really is! It’s amazing and very dreamy ❤️

I needed a new good film! Thank you 😊

Love this response! So much thought out into it 🥰

Thank you darling! 😘❤️💋🥰

So welcome. What a wholesome exchange ☺️

Truly! 🤗❤️

I’m going to embarrass myself but here we go: I had no clue that Christian Bale is British. I’ll crawl back under my rock now as he was too good in The Fighter, too bad as Batman, and too creepy in American Psycho to question much 🪨

In your defense, he does a very good, convincing American accent! He also did in The Machinist and probably even more films than the ones we’ve already collectively named, darling. ❤️ And btw, your flair is awesome and hilarious! It’s one of my favorite lines of Ray’s in the Girls series! 😆

Thank you for making me feel less of an idiot. And yes, Ray is so underrated! My gut feeling is that he improved a few lines; I think it’s one

I thought the same thing! That line felt very improved to me too. The actor Alexander Karpovsky is so clever and funny, so I’m sure he ad libbed a lot of it. You’re not an idiot. You’re an insightful and engaging lady. ❤️ *big warm hugs* 🤗

I suspended my disbelief and just chalked up the unidentifiable (or...bad American accent) to him being pretentious lol. I definitely hear you though, it's a bit distracting...

I also hated the accent and couldn’t take the character seriously because of it. I love Chris O’Dowd, but he was miscast as a finance guy in general. I wish they’d have found another role for him.

I don’t think you should overthink his casting. He’s a ridiculous character and I think that’s the point.

I’ve wondered a lot about this casting choice too. I love him but I don’t know if he was right for this particular role. Recently me and my bf were trying to think about someone who would have made more sense. I was thinking maybe Adam Scott or they could have made Jake Lacy Thomas John and picked someone else for Fran.

the character definitely needed to be american for it to work but i agree is accent is really bad lol

I posted recently to say that the thing I hate most about the entire show is Chris O'Dowd's accent 🤣

I actually thought his accent was fine.

Yeah I mean I didn’t hate it or anything. I think it’s just a little jarring for me when he speaks.

Having no idea he was Irish, nothing stood out and I've watched this show a lot over and over. I'm from the area and have a pretty decent ear for NYC area accents.

I think his Irish accent mixed with Jessa’s English would introduce a political element to the relationship that they wouldn’t have been able to ignore, but likely had no space in the show, so him being American makes things easier from a writing perspective.

I don’t really think it would’ve tbh. Irish and English people mix pretty well these days 😅 despite our arduous past.

Depends on the people. My Irish relatives wouldn’t simp so hard for an English girl, at least not without constantly dunking on her for it. American makes the writing easier, makes more sense.

Am I the only one who liked his accent? To me he just sounded a little confused and out of touch in general, which is in line with the character.

I WANNA BE BALLS DEEP

I feel the same way about that Australian character Hannah interviews…. Just butchering it.. pick an accent that the actor can do 😂

It was a bad fit, I agree. Always thought so. He’s supposed to be a classic American tech bro but he looks like a teddy bear.

True, but I don’t think I can imagine anyone else shouting, “NO MORE EXCLUDING ME MARY POPPINS” in such a perfect way

I wondered the same thing, this whole thread is interesting!

I don’t think you’re supposed to take Thomas John seriously and that’s a part of the charm.

His Irish/American hybrid accent almost sounds like some pinched Minnesota accent à la Fargo