HONEY IRANI TELLS HOW, IF SHE HAD TO CRY, HER MOTHER WOULD SLAP HER JUST BEFORE THE CAMERA ROLLED

to maintain the accent throughout a shooting schedule. ( British actors who can’t master American accents never touch the top tier: Michael Caine and Hugh Grant, for example).

When you speak in an accent that is not your own, you are always tense on the sets and if, like Bale, you have a volatile temperament, things can quickly get out of hand. Some years ago, Hollywood was agog about a video of Bale screaming at a crewmember who had spoilt his shot. That Bale lost his temper was not such a big deal. What all of Hollywood marvelled at was the fact that even when he was incandescent with rage and apparently out of control, he did not drop his accent. The rant was delivered in a perfect American accent!

Hoffman is not a big star these days. So he can’t get away with pushing his co- stars around. And the day of the method actor seems to be coming to an end. Meryl Streep, for instance, who is a much better actor than Hoffman ever was, is content to simply act, even when she plays such diverse characters as Margaret Thatcher and Julia Child who are nothing like she is in real life.

And anyway, I have always wondered: did Hoffman push Olivier and Streep around because he was insecure in the presence of such great acting talent? Was there a method to his seemingly mad method acting? MASTERING DICTION: British actors who can't master American accents never touch the top tier. Case in point: Hugh Grant By contrast, Christian Bale who plays a lot of American characters, ensures his accent never falters