Welsh actor Matthew Rhys told to fake accent for auditions

The cadence of the Welsh accent was good enough for Richard Burton and Anthony Hopkins but aspiring actors are still told to hide it for Hollywood auditions.

Matthew Rhys, 45, who is about to appear in a remake of the legal drama Perry Mason, said that his agent told him to disguise his accent. Rhys, who was born in Cardiff and now lives in New York, was told to pretend to be American when going for roles.

“My agent said, ‘Look, just go in as an American, because if you go in as a Welsh person, all they will do when you audition is listen for when you slip up.’ But it felt so fake and I just thought I was gonna be found