Why does the accent of Leonardo DiCaprio sound so different in Blood Diamond?

Why does the accent of Leonardo DiCaprio sound so different in Blood Diamond? - Sound mixer with rows of knobs in recording studio

The accent of Leonardo DiCaprio as Danny Archer sounded different in the Blood Diamond Film. I have seen quite a good number of Hollywood movies, so I have become familiar with their accents. When I heard Danny speak in Blood Diamond, it seemed different to me. For example, he says "bru" for "bro" and "Are you craze" instead of "crazy" to Commander Zero. He also uses of "huh" with every sentence. In fact, he pronounces his name as "Aurchor" for "Archer". All of this sounded different to me. I am not sure if I am right about the accent thing, but if I am correct, why is it so? Danny said "He belongs to Rhodesia". So as he is from Rhodesia, was his pronunciation changed in the movie for the sake of the character? I already looked around a bit, but didn't find any explanation.



Best Answer

Yes, he was trying to sound like someone from Rhodesia.

From IMDb:

It is a Rhodesian accent, or Southern African.
It is different to the South African accent, like the New Zealand and Australian accents are different.

Rhodesia, now known as Zimbabwe, has a small white population who have their own accent, which is often confused with the white South African accent.


In Leonardo DiCaprio's own words:

[I spent] a lot of time with the locals, drinking beers with them, hearing a lot of their stories. [I spoke with] a lot of guys from the South African military.

And of course I have an accent coach and he was there guiding me through it. But we had conversations with these people, listened to their stories, made them say sentences over and over again.


He also briefly talks about it in this video interview.




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Why does the accent of Leonardo DiCaprio sound so different in Blood Diamond? - Assorted wires with connectors in sockets of sound reinforcement system with numbers in row on stage
Why does the accent of Leonardo DiCaprio sound so different in Blood Diamond? - Colorful glossy different shaped balloons in studio
Why does the accent of Leonardo DiCaprio sound so different in Blood Diamond? - Ceramic tiles and bowl in art pottery



What accent does Leonardo DiCaprio use in Blood Diamond?

Leonardo DiCaprio played the lead character, Danny Archer, and as such he had to act with a South African accent. Though this role earned him an Oscar nomination, it also earned him some scorn \u2014 especially from South African comedian Trevor Noah.

What nationality is Leo in Blood Diamond?

Set against the backdrop of civil war and chaos in 1990's Sierra Leone, Blood Diamond is the story of Danny Archer (Leonardo DiCaprio) \u2013 an ex mercenary from Zimbabwe \u2013 and Solomon Vandy (Djimon Hounsou) \u2013 a Mende fisherman.



Blood Diamond Leo Accents




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