Why do the bad guys in American movies have English/ British accents?

I think Americans have an unconscious bias that people with British accents are smarter. They SOUND smarter. So any evil maniac that could challenge our hero in the movie must be pretty smart, yes?Why do the bad guys in American movies have English/ British accents?People with accents are evil, especially German accents.Why do the bad guys in American movies have English/ British accents?
make the movie more exitingWhy do the bad guys in American movies have English/ British accents?It's to help the audience distinguish between the two.

It works quite well. They did it in world war II films, Biblical epics, even Starwars.
Hollywood does tend to use British actors in bad guy roles. Perhaps to portray to the world there are no bad guys in the USA. Or they like to show Brits aren't as goody, goody, as people think. The villains in films nowadays tend to be the best roles.

Mind you I also agree with oghma2006 %26amp; tom.Why do the bad guys in American movies have English/ British accents?To easily differentiate between 'them' and 'us'.Why do the bad guys in American movies have English/ British accents?
A lot of Americans are subconsciously intimidated or impressed by English accents, because to us they sound more intelligent and sophisticated. So a lot of English actors are cast in "criminal mastermind" roles because they sound more sinister and threatening to us.
its not the accent at all that makes them evil....no my friend you must look even further to find the real evil....brittish dentistry....ahhhh!!! scary teeth equals evil bad guy!Why do the bad guys in American movies have English/ British accents?
The real question is why do bad guys in space have British accents? Darth Vader came from London?
MIII the plot involves travel all over the world, and the movie will be released in other countries. Internationally known actors have a broader appeal. James Bond movies have the same international flavor. Audiences must like it because Hollywood keeps using it.

Many of the accents heard are not only British but European, Australian. Some of the top actors Clive Owen, Orlando Bloom, Jude Law, Heath Ledger, Ewan McGregor were born outside of the United States.



The voice of Darth Vader was James Earl Jones an Afro American born in Arkabutla, Mississippi...cute answer though.
I have always wondered this! I am aware that there are international stars in Hollywood - this isn't the point (and of course James Bond has an English accent - as he's supposed to be English it'd be pretty funny if he didn't. Although, lots of bond actors aren't even English. Pearce Brosnan is Irish and we all know Sean Connery is Scottish - note for Americans - it's not 'scotch' it's 'scottish'. Scotch is a drink.).



English accents are the 'bad guy' accent of choice at the moment it seems. I think this is because Hollywood doesn't want to upset anyone by ever even intimating that an American could be a bad guy (so no baddie Americans, then) and it's not exactly politically correct to use the traditional German or Russian accent, so it's our turn to be the baddie, I guess!
Because they are played by english/british actors.



Duh!
Quite often because the actors themselves are from England.. English actors have a certain roughness about them- not all of course - that's perfect for bad guy roles!! Ian McKellan is a great bad guy, and Ray Winstone, and Gary Oldman- the list goes on! Certain characters just wouldn't work with say American accents... George Bush has an American accent, you'll be seeing plenty of movies about him...
It's down to stereotypes, sometimes it's eastern europe accents. Americans have a lower iq, they'll buy the myth that an english accent is bad because hollywood tells them so.
It has become un-PC to have anyone else as the baddies.
Good question, it's probably because we are one of the few countries who will be good sports and not take offence.



Another trend in Hollywood which is to change the nationality of the baddies according to who the US is falling out with at the time (remember Back to the Future and the Libyans..?)



I have heard (though it is just a rumour) that the Bush/Blair rapport is now putting a lot of British character actors out of work... :p
I think it just depends on the movies you watch. some do, and some don't.