Can they talk the talk?
Television is swarming with overseas actors playing American characters, from Linus Roache on "Law & Order" and Anthony LaPaglia on "Without a Trace" to Anna Friel on "Pushing Daisies" and Rachel Griffiths on "Brothers & Sisters." Maybe they're good actors. But some do the American thing much better than others (cough, Anna Torv, cough). Here's a selected report card. MATTHEW GILBERT
A+ Hugh Laurie, Britain
Gregory House on "House"
He does East Coast acerbic better than real East Coast acerbics.
A- Jason Isaacs, Britain
Michael Caffee on "Brotherhood"
His De Niro is on the money.
A- Damian Lewis, Britain
Charlie Crews on "Life"
Most of his performance takes place in his wry eyes, but he has the accent down pat, too.
A- Anna Paquin, New Zealand
Sookie Stackhouse on
"True Blood"
She invents
a fake Southern accent that is endearing and campily funny in its fakeness.
B Simon Baker, Australia
Patrick Jane on "The Mentalist"
He has created a charismatic American, although his Aussie swagger does seep in now and then.
B Natascha McElhone, Britain
Karen on "Californication"
Her bright presence and unusually angled face distract from occasional vocal lapses.
B Ed Westwick, Britain
Chuck Bass on "Gossip Girl"
He doesn't come across as a Brit or an American. His Chuck sounds more like a universal hissing snake.
B Jason Clarke, Australia
Tommy Caffee on "Brotherhood"
He tries too hard to sound like a Kennedy, but his tense performance is diverting.
B- Jonny Lee Miller, Britain
Eli on "Eli Stone"
He passes for a fast-talking American lawyer, but you can't listen too closely.
B- Jason O'Mara, Britain
Sam Tyler on "Life on Mars"
He's dynamic, but - poor guy! - his New York pales next to costars Michael Imperioli and Harvey Keitel.
C+ Rufus Sewell, Britain
Jacob Hood on "Eleventh Hour"
You can feel words getting caught in his mouth as he works to shape them.
C- Charlie Hunnam, Britain
Jax on "Sons of Anarchy"
He's so good, you want to forget the fact that his accent comes and goes like the wind.
D Anna Torv, Australia
Olivia Dunham on "Fringe"
She seems American enough until she opens her mouth and her Irish-British-Aussie-Whatever hybrid issues forth. 