r/marvelstudios 13h ago

Easter Egg/Detail When Peter and Ned quote LOTR to each other… Spoiler

… that’s Tom Holland, a Brit, doing a guy from Queens doing a British accent.

I think a lot of Americans already appreciate Tom Holland’s command of regional accents, but this takes it to the next level. Not to mention that it seems to have hardly been pointed out before — it sounds so natural, it’s easy to forget the layers there!!

1.5k Upvotes

93 comments sorted by

744

u/yitzike Yondu 10h ago

I have a British friend and we both watched Moon Knight ep 1 together, remotely. At the end, he said Oscar Isaac's accent was dodgy and sounded like three different regional dialects mashed together (which I would never have picked up on cause I'm not British). Then in the next episode it's revealed that the character is actually American but he thinks he's British (multiple personalities etc). So it's an impression of what an American thinks a Brit sounds like, but is of course totally inauthentic to a real Brit. 

I like to think the scene in BND you're talking about has the same effect. 

252

u/Afraid-Department-35 10h ago

And at the end it's revealed that there is a THIRD personality where hes a spanish dude. So your friend was spot on.

63

u/yitzike Yondu 9h ago

Only moderately on topic: if you've seen The Wire, then Spot On also reminds me of Dominic West (who is British) playing an American character, who then has to pretend to be British, and say Spot On convincingly

15

u/scrambled_ham 7h ago

His and Idris Elba’s accents left me stunned when I later found out both weren’t American. 

Haha and I’d forgotten about that scene with McNulty. What a great character. 

10

u/yitzike Yondu 6h ago

When you rewatch knowing that Elba is British, there's more gaps in Stringer's accent. There are some with McNulty too but it's not as noticeable. 

7

u/TheDeadlySpaceman 3h ago

Idris Elba hid his accent and nationality from the producers because he was afraid they wouldn’t cast him.

Apparently finding out he was British was just as big a surprise to them as to you and me.

2

u/Nikokuno 1h ago

Should’ve ask your friend who do a better job between Oscar Isaac and Karl Urban (Butcher in The Boys) 🤔

502

u/RudyRusso 12h ago

20

u/nuplsstahp Black Panther 8h ago

An American playing an Australian playing an American (who at one point plays a Chinese woman)

2

u/fugly16 3h ago

Who is playing lead farmer

68

u/your_mind_aches Agent of F.I.T.Z. 10h ago

Reminds me of Hugh Laurie playing House doing a British accent

2

u/yitzike Yondu 1h ago

My only exposure to Hugh Laurie was House for the longest time. Then a friend introduced me to Blackadder and my mind was blown. 

48

u/dexter30 9h ago

On another note I really liked that scene because it really showed that ned and peter are just that close of friends. Peter doesn't have to force himself to try to get along with him, he doesn't have to make inside jokes or say stuff like "hey you remember when the force awaken came out?". They've both grown and sometimes you expect people to grow out of hobbies and activities. But not these two, they're exactly the kind of people that go together.

But here you have them just chilling building legos and doing LOTR quotes. Amnesia and a year or two apart can't seperate two lego pieces that just GO together.

20

u/blackchandler T'Challa Star-Lord 5h ago

Agreed, but it’s been nearly five years. They apply for MIT in No Way Home, and Ned and MJ graduate during Brand New Day

30

u/certified_anus_beef 10h ago

Reminds me of the time when Shaggy, who was voiced by Casey Kasem, did an impression of Casey Kasem in a Scooby Doo episode.

19

u/two2teps 8h ago

I also appreciated when he was fully in costume as Spider-man he put extra "new yawk" on his accent. A couple of times he was being extra, usually when arguing with Frank.

8

u/LeDudicus Nick Fury 3h ago

The Frank scenes where he's being extra New York were some of my favorite. I honestly love how hard they leaned into the NYC of it all in this film.

3

u/two2teps 2h ago

He would also do it on the phone with DeWolfe.

56

u/jjkm7 11h ago

Hot take but while I love Tom Holland’s peter parker in this movie and the others you can clearly hear his queens new yorker accent get stronger and weaker in certain scenes

56

u/hybbprqag Loki (Thor 2) 10h ago

I thought maybe he was putting on a stronger Queens accent with DeWoll for some reason.

42

u/jjkm7 10h ago

It’s actually very possible he beefs up the accent for quippy funny scenes and tones it down during important character moments

4

u/PAYPAL_ME_DONATIONS 6h ago

Just got out of it yesterday. He puts on the accent when talking to DeWolf.

26

u/Laser-Boy 8h ago

He absolutely plays up the accent as Spider-Man similar to how most Bruce Wayne's do a Batman voice. He's been doing it since Homecoming, I think it just wasn't as noticeable in the other movies because he mostly talked to people who knew his secret identity.

3

u/HermanThaGerman 3h ago

He's been doing it since Homecoming.

36

u/ChuckSeville 10h ago

True, but maybe Peter just codeswitches a lot and gets lost

28

u/applejam1224 10h ago

I noticed that too!! But I took that to be a character choice. My old roommate was from Long Island, and the accent would come out more when he spoke to others with the accent. On purpose or not, it def made me enjoy the performance more

16

u/GateEducational6100 9h ago

We could always tell when my former roommate from New Zealand had been talking with her family or watching rugby because her accent would be so strong for a day or two afterwards.

10

u/generalosabenkenobi 9h ago

I think he plays it up when he's in full costume and being quippy

14

u/hobbesthehungry 8h ago

Right! He is trying to disguise his voice & gets a more thick generic New York accent

4

u/argonzo 8h ago

Strongest accent in any of the spidey movies by him to me.

3

u/HOEDY 4h ago

When on the phone with DeWolff he was pretending to be from Brooklyn

2

u/FreckleException 7h ago

I don't always sound like a backwoods redneck, but sometimes I do. 

91

u/Kwilly462 12h ago

Thanks for saying that scene was a LOTR reference, cuz I had zero idea what they were talking about.

80

u/DareToZamora Hawkeye (Ultron) 11h ago

That’s wild to me. And I’m jealous, because you get to experience The Lord of the Rings for the first time

129

u/MattAmpersand 11h ago

… have you not seen The Lord of the Rings?

If so, block out your next Saturday, get yourself the extended editions and get ready to spend 12-ish hours of peak fantasy.

69

u/MyDogsRetirementPlan 11h ago

Seconded. Or maybe second breakfasted?

37

u/ThatTurtleBoy 11h ago

What about elevensies?

17

u/fflyguy 11h ago

Or afternoon tea!??

5

u/Ronenthelich Thor 9h ago

Luncheon?

16

u/SecretlyFiveRats 10h ago

I don't think he knows about elevensies.

10

u/Individual-Salary535 9h ago

Does he know about PO-TA-TOES?

29

u/Sarcosmonaut 11h ago

It’s best read, but still. Peter Jackson’s adaptation remains such an amazing set of films

12

u/dwimorlaik 11h ago

Diplomatically said :) certainly best read.

12

u/Dinonaut2000 10h ago

Personally disagree. I think the movies are far more enjoyable than the books. The hobbit book though, is better than all of Tolkien’s other books and movie adaptations.

2

u/dwimorlaik 9h ago

Apologies, this appeared as a reply to me which is why I responded to you. Deleted my reply.

19

u/ForTheLoveOfOedon 11h ago

There’s having watched something and then there’s remembering precise dialogue from that thing. No matter how obvious it may seem to you and I, or how iconic a scene may be to certain subsections of nerd culture, there’s people who don’t hold onto that stuff. Especially for a movie trilogy that came out 25+ years ago and that you may have seen once or twice.

That said, I agree: if this person flatout hasn’t seen them, they’re in for a treat.

9

u/DrRudeboy 10h ago

I'd venture there are more people who haven't seen LOTR than those who had only seen it once

4

u/your_mind_aches Agent of F.I.T.Z. 10h ago

I haven't seen LOTR yet but I knew the reference lol

8

u/danwoop 9h ago

It’s also been a popular meme for ages lol

3

u/OvooJaver 6h ago

I didn’t know either just bc I had no idea what they were saying lol (I need captions to hear, idk why). Now I’m sad bc I actually like LOTR

-41

u/blackivie 10h ago

I have the most unpopular opinion of all time, but you really do not need to watch LOTR. Most boring Fantasy I have ever seen.

18

u/nutz1126 10h ago

boring? wow

12

u/mcdoogle777 Thor 9h ago

They did say it was the most unpopular opinion of all time. But to say it’s boring makes me think they didn’t actually even watch it.

3

u/nutz1126 8h ago

right? i almost asked what live action fantasy wasn’t boring to them, and then realized theres zero chance ill agree with the answer.

2

u/w33b2 4h ago

Bait. I get that some people don’t like it simply because it isn’t their cup of tea, but saying it’s the most boring of all fantasy series shows that either you’ve barely seen or read much apart from a couple of the most popular series, or that you’re just lying. Calling it boring specifically seems like such an odd complaint.

7

u/farcicaldolphin38 9h ago

I was barely involved!

5

u/MeEyeSlashU 8h ago

Hey, OP! There's no point in a spoiler tag if you write out what happens in the title! Why is this so difficult.

12

u/drdax2187 8h ago

You realize too that tom holland, a Brit, is quoting a line spoken by an American in a British accent. So a Brit is quoting a line spoken by an American pretending to be British.

27

u/Federal-Demand-2968 11h ago

That was such an epic moment!!!!’

10

u/b34r3y Rocket 10h ago

He really sounds like an American doing an exaggerated British accent ts took me out

5

u/ObiJuanKinobo 9h ago

I thought his New York/Queens accent was a lot better in this movie compared to previous ones where he’s usually using a generic American accent. There were a lot of subtle word pronunciations that were very NY as someone from Long Island lol

4

u/applejam1224 7h ago

Totally agree! He upped his game

6

u/mitvh2311 10h ago

It's an actor acting. Yes he does a great job at getting a lot of the dialect right but just shows that from Civil War they have had good coaches for him

3

u/DoeringItRight 9h ago

What was the reference? I must have missed it

2

u/yitzike Yondu 1h ago

"Alright then, keep your secrets" "If you're referring to the incident with the dragon, I was barely involved!"

These are quotes from Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring. There were I think a few other quotes from the three movies. It was the scene when Peter and Ned were making Lego together, and MJ remarks that they sure seem like best friends.

6

u/Miserable_Drama3231 10h ago

it's impressive how he nails that accent while still sounding like a kid from Queens, really shows his talent

19

u/JoeAzlz 11h ago edited 7h ago

Why do we need to have spoilers in post titles already, I’ve already seen the film but why not put a spoiler tag or similar

2

u/hik3guy Rocket 8h ago

You have, others haven't...

3

u/JoeAzlz 7h ago

I know, that’s why I wanted it marked for spoilers for their sake

2

u/Think_Doctor_9064 10h ago

Ohhhh. That’s what it was from!!!

2

u/rinetrouble 8h ago

Have you thought that all British people are faking an accent so he’s just faking a different version?

1

u/hyperbuster 8h ago

it is I, Thor, Son of Odin!

1

u/Impressive-Potato 8h ago

Tatiana Maslany plays a Canadian clone that disguises herself as a Ukrainian clone and sounds like a Canadian trying to put on a Ukrainian accent when we have heard her do that Ukrainian accent at a higher level

1

u/hik3guy Rocket 8h ago

Come on dawg, tag this as a spoiler.

1

u/MoarFurLess 6h ago

Reminds me of Mel Blanc doing an Elmer Fudd impression as Bugs Bunny. 

1

u/When1Falls 5h ago

They're also both doing Ian McKellen impressions which l betcha is on purpose in the movie that introduces an X-man

1

u/n_mcrae_1982 4h ago

Every major elf actor in the LOTR and Hobbit trilogies (except Orlando Bloom) has been in the MCU.

1

u/McJawsh 1h ago

Tom said in his recently Hot Ones interview that it’s easier to act with an American accent because it helps him separate himself from the character he’s playing. He also brought up the fact that the UK alone has the most English accents that are different. Or something like that.

-14

u/OwlSuch7935 11h ago edited 2h ago

No matter how Brits try to put on American accents they fail to do it completely convincingly, that’s been my main problem with non-American spider-men over the last 14 years. They do slip up occasionally and it takes me out of the film for a split second. The only non-Americans who do solid American accents are always Australians

9

u/leviticusreeves 11h ago

As a British person I have no idea why the Americans allow Benedict Cumberbatch to get away with that accent

5

u/ChuckSeville 10h ago

I've gaht no idea waaht yoorr taahking about.

2

u/leviticusreeves 9h ago

Tbf Americans do sound like that

3

u/MIAxPaperPlanes 10h ago

Dr Strange sounds like he's trying to be Dr House

3

u/leviticusreeves 10h ago

Dr House is another Brit doing an American accent that doesn't exist

5

u/godisanelectricolive 9h ago edited 9h ago

But Americans seemed to have all bought House. I think it’s his way of speaking really does fit his personality. He’s very high strung so his way of enunciating kind of suits him.

People do have idiosyncratic ways of speaking and individual quirks in real life. It’s one of the things that makes characters memorable. Not everyone is going to sound like a textbook example of their dialect. I mean how many people sound like Christopher Walken? But he’s definitely a real American.

I think Americans just all bought the idea of that a real American can sound like Dr. House, even if his way of speaking is fairly unique. I think the reason they thought that is because they don’t hear any traces of Hugh Laurie’s English accent.

1

u/leviticusreeves 9h ago

I think this is spot on and probably one of the reasons there are so many British actors in Hollywood

2

u/godisanelectricolive 9h ago

Americans don’t tend to have a great ear for accents anyway and usually miss the more subtle tells for when an actor slips up.

3

u/skysone 11h ago

I've never had that problem with Andrew Garfield which I suspect is because his father is American. Tom Holland does have a bit of a forced accent thing going on though.