Can accent work really change an actor’s speaking quality? Celebrities have faked worse things for attention but altering one’s vocal output is a physical act that can cause physical consequences, even damage if done incorrectly. Vocal coach Andrew M. Byrne told GQ in 2023 that an actor’s character accent can alter their natural speaking voice if used frequently enough and with enough intensity.
“Someone who’s doing something that requires a great deal of focus over a long period of time, and it’s very salient … that opens channels in the brain,” Bryne explained. “That’s called neuroplasticity. So whenever there’s a process that combines those two things, there can be changes that can end up feeling very automatic or subconscious after it, because you’ve locked in on such an intense thing in such an important situation, and then stuff like where your voice lives can actually change. In the end, it’s just muscles.”
Three years is a staggering amount of time to maintain a character accent, let alone the accent of one of America’s most famous voices. With both of Byrne’s requisite boxes ticked — duration and intensity — it would almost be more shocking if Austin Butler walked away from “Elvis” unchanged. In early 2023, actor Dave Bautista let fans know that Butler handily dropped the infamous impersonation while filming “Dune 2.” Audiences can determine for themselves whether or not his countermeasures were successful because the “Masters of the Air” is now streaming on Apple TV+, with new episodes released every Friday until March 15, 2024.
