Actors Who Embarrassed Themselves With Crappy Texas Accents

Julia Roberts is more than just one of our greatest living actors — she’s a living legend. Between winning the Academy Award for Erin Brockovich, starring in some of the greatest rom-coms ever made (we mean, of course, Pretty Woman), and appearing as Tess Ocean impersonating Julia Roberts for a brilliant bit of self-indulgence in Ocean’s Twelve, she can do pretty much everything. That is, everything but play a convincing Texan.

You should probably check out Charlie Wilson’s War if you want to learn about covert U.S. operations during the Soviet-Afghan War, and it’s a worthwhile viewing for Tom Hanks’ excellent performance as the titular congressman and Phillip Seymour Hoffman’s Oscar-nominated turn as C.I.A. agent Gust Avrakotos. You might want to distract yourself when Roberts shows up as Joanne Herring and delivers a groan-worthy caricature of the Texan socialite.

Roberts isn’t the only brilliant performer who failed to deliver a convincing Texas accent on screen, as her less talented contemporaries have turned in even more embarrassing work. Her work in Charlie Wilson’s War might slide by, considering it's a satire, but we won’t defend every botched Texas drawl with the same enthusiasm.

Check out these other actors who screwed up their accents in films.

James Van Der Beek in Varsity Blues
“I don’t want yer lihf!” Yikes. The Dawson’s Creek heartthrob is believable as a football superstar, but his take on a North Texas accent pretty much shattered any cred that this teen sports drama had.

John Travolta in Urban Cowboy
John Travolta is believable as a hot disco star in Saturday Night Fever, a hitman in Pulp Fiction and a Hollywood fixer in Get Shorty. Hell, we'll even buy it when he played an angel in Michael. A rodeo guy? Not so much.

Jessica Simpson in Dukes of Hazzard
Here’s proof that even a native can turn in an embarrassing, exaggerated caricature of a Texan. Not that Dukes of Hazzard was ever going to be a classic, but come on.

Everyone in Parkland
Here’s a pro tip. Maybe don’t make a movie about the most famous event in Dallas history in which everyone sounds like they’re in an SNL parody. This JFK assassination drama goes from gripping to grating pretty quickly when it’s clear nobody has actually been to Dallas.

Jessica Biel in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (2003)
The original 1974 The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is a horror masterpiece from Tobe Hooper praised for its realism in capturing the gritty Texas desert. The 2003 remake is laughable shlock, and Jessica Biel’s awkward impersonation of Marilyn Burns’ iconic performance sinks it even lower.

Aaron Taylor-Johnson in Nocturnal Animals
Aaron Taylor-Johnson is one of the best actors of his generation, and you can check out Nowhere Boy, Kick-Ass or Outlaw King if you need further proof. Unfortunately, the British star couldn’t quite nail it as a Texan outlaw in the disturbing psychological drama Nocturnal Animals. The fact that he won a Golden Globe for his performance is only one of the reasons that the Globes should’ve been canceled a long, long time ago.

Reese Witherspoon in Hot Pursuit
Granted, nobody escapes this God-awful buddy cop comedy with any dignity, but you’d think that noted Southerner Reese Witherspoon could at least give it a little cred? You’d be wrong, just like the 7% of Rotten Tomatoes critics that said Hot Pursuit was “fresh” on their scale.

Quentin Tarantino in Django Unchained
We love Tarantino as a writer and director, but we really wish he’d stop trying to insert himself into his own movies with awkward cameos. Jimmy in Pulp Fiction was pretty amusing, but Tarantino’s weird turn as a half-Australian, half-Texan bounty hunter in Django Unchained stuck out like a sore thumb in what is otherwise an awesome movie.

Bonus: the Hail, Caesar! exception
Here’s a fun exception to the rule, where an actor is purposefully parodying Hollywood’s inability to play a convincing Texan. Future Solo star Alden Ehrenreich has an uproarious standout role as singing cowboy Hobie Doyle in the Coen Brothers’ comedic masterpiece.