After Viewers Called His American Accent One Of The 'Worst' Of All Time, Jason Isaacs Explained Why He Sometimes Sounds British In 'The White Lotus'
We're only two episodes into the brand-new season of The White Lotus, and already, viewers are incredibly invested in whatever the heck is going on with the Ratliff family.
If you've not been watching this season, then, firstly, what are you waiting for? Secondly, the Ratliffs are a wealthy family of five: the parents, Timothy and Victoria Ratliff, are played by Jason Isaacs and Parker Posey, while the three grown-up kids, Saxon, Piper, and Lochlan, are played by Patrick Schwarzenegger, Sarah Catherine Hook, and Sam Nivola.
If you're all caught up with the show, you'll know that there's certainly a lot happening with this bunch. For starters, something fishy is definitely going down with Timothy's million-dollar business back home in the States, and something even weirder seems to be bubbling up between the siblings (I won't explain here, but IYKYK…). However, one of the biggest talking points online is the parents' funky accents.
From what we know, Timothy and Victoria are from North Carolina. The actors who play them, on the other hand, are not (Jason is British, while Parker grew up in Louisiana), meaning that a lot of work went into perfecting, or at least trying to perfect, the voices. And despite their efforts, not everyone has been on board with the accents.
I'm sorry but neither her nor Jason Isaacs sound like they are from North Carolina and neither of them stay consistent on whatever accent they are attempting. I live in the south, actors never seem to get it right it's always either inconsistent or a cartoon https://t.co/oM6zk1raaB
— FarmersOnlyFans 🇵🇸 (@Uncle_KyKy) February 25, 2025
Twitter: @Uncle_KyKy
Jason Isaacs in The White Lotus entering the British Person Doing A Bad American Accent Hall Of Fame
— Chris DeVille (@chrisdeville) February 24, 2025
Twitter: @chrisdeville
my problem with jason isaacs is sometimes he slips and just sounds australian (what you get when you mix british and US southern) but when he's getting it right, it's right
— 𝓼𝓱𝓮𝓻𝓮𝓮𝓷 (@shereeny) February 18, 2025
Twitter: @shereeny
It bums me out to report this, but Jason Isaacs has the worst British-to-American-Southern accent that has ever been put on screen.
— Wiretaup (@wiretaup) February 17, 2025
Twitter: @wiretaup
We're not even halfway into the season yet, and, as you can see, people have a lot to say. Now, Jason has addressed the chatter, admitting that he and his costars are finding the whole thing kind of funny.
Jeff Kravitz / FilmMagic for HBO, HBO
If you don't recognize him without his blonde wig (you wouldn't be the only one), Jason is perhaps best known for playing Lucius Malfoy in the Harry Potter movies. No American accent needed there.
'There's been quite a lot of chat about it online, which is hilarious. We're all texting each other,' he said on This Morning in the UK, clarifying that the characters are from Durham, North Carolina, which apparently 'has a very strange accent.'
Giving his critics a lesson in the Durham dialect, Jason said it might sometimes seem like he's slipping in and out of his British accent because 'there are two vowel sounds which are completely upper-class English.' 'So to the untrained ear, if you don't know Durham, it might sound like I'm doing a very bad accent,' he explained. 'But it's quite specific, it's quite jarring when you first hear it.'
ITV / Via youtu.be, HBO
Jason said he modeled the accent on a 'local politician' from Durham, listening to his voice in his headphones 'all the time' while preparing for the role. 'I don't want to say his name, he might sue me,' he joked.
So, luckily for Jason, there are also tons of people online — maybe Durham natives? — who think he absolutely nailed the accent.
jason isaacs white lotus accent is so accurate he sounds like all the dads of the girls on my north carolina catholic school basketball team he did the research
— Carrie Wittmer 👻 (@carriesnotscary) February 17, 2025
Twitter: @carriesnotscary
anyone criticizing parker posey and jason isaacs for their accents in the white lotus is lucky enough to have never met people like that in real life and they should stay silent on issues they don't understand xoxo
— Carrie Wittmer 👻 (@carriesnotscary) February 18, 2025
Twitter: @carriesnotscary
Upon rewatch, I need y'all to understand that, while he IS sometimes floating in and out, Jason Isaacs' is pretty much killing that Durham accent. And Parker Posey's super drunk/high wacky, slurred, exaggerated southern accent is ridiculous but spot on. #WhiteLotus
— C. (@RulesForCaro) February 23, 2025
Twitter: @RulesForCaro
For what it's worth, I think Jason and Parker sound great. But, to be fair, I'm British and have never been to North Carolina in my life, so what do I know?
You can tune into the next installment of The White Lotus on HBO on Sunday.
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