The idea of New Zealanders sounding like Americans is not it. You got to rhyme in your language, your accent.
I think I am a smart aleck because I grew up close enough to Boston, and most people from Massachusetts talk fast, and I have a little bit of a wiseacre, and I think I'm a little bit like that.
My primary tongue, I would call North-West Mercian.
I'm identified as a New York actor, I sound like I'm from New York, and I couldn't be more proud of it.
It's so rare that I get to do something in my own accent in my own hometown.
I remember going to Birmingham City matches as a kid and there were these other kids in Small Heath who had their own odd, partly Scouse accent.
I understand Scouse - I think!
I grew up in Teesside and it is really important to keep your regional accent because it is a big part of who you are.
It's actually reassuring to see people struggling to do our accent instead of us constantly trying to emulate British or American accents, which we are always asked to do.
