Why are fantasy world accents British?

[Dilettante]

Originally Posted by Nerwen

It didn't help that, as I recall, his first line was something like "I need English courage now", which really did sound quite funny.

Of course, to echo narrforc's point, the "real" Robin Hood ( if there was such person) wouldn't have had anything like a modern British accent– or even have been speaking modern English. And yet, that kind of thing can indeed be jarring. Perhaps it's that *some* American accents already carry strong associations of their own for most viewers. I mean, if someone looks medieval but sounds like a cowboy, that pretty much does it for suspension of disbelief...

Similar to what I was about to say. British accents (especially RP) tend to be softer and less jarring to the ears. They usually just sound better.

Also, American actors tend to not smooth over their accents unless they are specifically told to. American English really has no special "broadcast" accent (the US equivalent of BBC English) that is used across the board for actors. There used to be one, but it has rather fallen into disuse.

Someone who looks medieval or like something that just stepped out of a fairytale but then sound like they are from Brooklyn/Mississippi/LA is just disconcerting.