Why are most Hollywood actors British? It is synonymous with power and greatness

This phenomenon happens in highly successful series such as "The Game of Thrones", "The Lord of the Rings", among many others. The new prequel "The House of the Dragon", by the creators of the world of Westeros, also maintains this trend.

But after all, where does this British accent with the different local pronunciations come from, from Scotland to Wales, to the typical London cockney accent, to the unintelligible Irish? The explanation is in Hollywood's own traditions. The production of films with sound coincided with the peak of the British empire.

The British accent was associated with power, and naturally, the Americans adopted a hybrid accent between the two versions of the language. Over the decades, this predominance faded, but it would have to resurface again in the epic 70s and 80s, where the two versions of the language coexisted together.

American pronunciation reigned over the characters of the people, the heroes; the villains and people with a lot of power adopted the British pronunciation. This time, British actors began to gain greater presence in American cinema, as they were chosen to play these great characters.

“[The British accent] is so rooted in fantasy and science fiction that we are surprised when the characters don’t have it,” television critic Matt Zoller Seitz explained on the subject in 2012 to the BBC. "In fantasy, the characters could have any kind of accent, but the British seems to be the rule."

These films and series focus on the North American public. They are created to think mainly of the millions of viewers in the US, and the producers know that the accent is synonymous with an exotic world and a different reality. This allows you not to alienate the rest of the public all over the world.

"The Game of Thrones" was greatly inspired by the European medieval era, although there is no official confirmation. The map of Westeros resembles the United Kingdom in everything. In the south, a territory is annexed that is nothing more than an Ireland upside down.

"The series emphasizes the differences between British regional pronunciations and this works very well, especially in the division of the fight, for example, between the North Americans Stark and the South Lannisters. It offers great contrast and helps viewers," Stephen Tierney, administrator of a group of fans of the series, explains to the BBC.

The British have won their place in Hollywood, so do not expect major changes in the coming times, and let the new HBO series "The House of the Dragon" say so.