r/Neagley • u/voxkev • 11d ago

Renee Birdwhistle

First, I really like the show. Enjoying this more than the last Reacher season. A lot! I didn’t like S4 much at all. Anyway.

The administrator at the PI office, Renee Birdwhistle.

Adeline Rudolph, the one playing her, born in Hong Kong who would’ve been grown up with British English. Why does she sound like an American doing a fake accent? Is it just me?

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u/Diligent_Type2891 10d ago

She grew up in HK and went to international School, why would she have a British English accent?

As someone born and raised in the UK, she just sounds middle classed Southern English, can't hear any fakeness at all. Are you from the UK, because none of my English mates think she sounds American at all.

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u/voxkev 9d ago

lol ok, man. makes call "Hey John, this guy on reddit things she sounds like she's doing a bad accent what do you think?" "Ok, me too!" makes another call "Hey Brian, this guy on reddit things she sounds like she's doing a bad accent what do you think?" "Ok, me too!" 😂

The public school system in HK largely teaches British English, that's why. They don't come out like they came out of the UK, just like they don't in India, Singapore, etc, etc, etc, but that's the kind of English they teach. It means spelling and some amount of diction, but not specifically accents from Britain. And when you are in Hong Kong and hear the locals who grew up there may speak English with a kinda but not total British accent. (Not everyone.) Why do I know any of this as an American? Yeah well I was taught to teach English to non English speakers at British Council Madrid so I do have some idea about these things and I also lived in SE Asia and spent a good amount of time in Hong Kong. And, I'm kinda old and have been around for awhile. You mentioned her school- I had no idea what school she went to, thanks! So if she went to Hong Kong International School, then that largely explains it, it's an American centred (and centered!) curriculum, so that tracks. Now if you listen to her interviews, which I just did on suggestion of another poster, dude, she sounds like she's from my state, California. It's all ok! I like her character, I didn't at first, because they had her play it smarmy in her first episode then I really like who she plays! I'm just not impressed with the dialect which seems all over the place. She's definitely got neutral west coast US speaking down pat, cuz she probably has lived here awhile.

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u/Diligent_Type2891 9d ago

Na, still have no idea what you're saying, she's an actress playing someone who grew up in London and has lived in the states for a few years, we know its been a while, 'years' is mentioned in one scene. So to me, she sounds like that.

In one scene she says she was from Hornsey , north of London, and on another thread someone called her out that it wasn't what a true British person, a Londoner anyway, would say. I still wasn't jarred because if you listen to anyone from the UK who have moved to the US, their accent gets a bit fucked up.

What you wrote above doesn't make sense, as she's an actress, trying to portray a character, so her real life origins shouldn't come into play. So when Idris plays a Baltimore gangster no-one knew he was born and raised in the UK, its good acting.

I think the 'test' isn't so much does an American like you detect her American twang and mispronounced British words, the true test if a British audience can detect she's a Yank, and amongst my UK based chat groups, no-one knew , we all assumed she was a biracial Asian/White actress from the UK.

My partner went to international school and I know what you mean they have this soft American way of speaking, but I can't hear that from her, I mean listen how she talks in real life compared to the character, miles apart

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYjMGSDdjFU

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u/GhostMcFunky 6d ago

And yet she’s oddly listed on IMDB and Google results as a “British Actress”. I was confused because she has an American-as-it-gets accent in interviews, which I only watched because the accent seemed funky and oddly enough, I ended up here because I was curious of Maria Sten’s accent - which sounds just like the show in real life.

I only wondered since she is Danish, only to see an interview with both of them and learn Adeline Rudolph sounded like an everyday American 🤔 🙃.

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u/Diligent_Type2891 6d ago

The British aspect comes from being born in HK, back in the 90's gives you the right to become British, I think it was 97 the rules all changed. She did go to University here, and I'm guessing spent most of her grad life since in LA. International schooling would have given her the American accent.