Stranger Things: Working Hard with a Dialect Coach Goes a Long Way

If you are watching season 4 of Netflix’s hit series Stranger Things, you already know how great Joseph Quinn’s performance as Eddie Munson is, but did you know that the actor doesn’t sound like this but rather like this in real life?

Joseph Quinn is from England, and though you’d never suspect it, Stranger Things is not only his first role for an American production, but is also the first time he has ever played an American character.

How did he do it?

Various interviews and press releases report that Quinn had lots of training and practice with a dialect coach, chose to stay in accent between takes, and used the accent out in the world as he went about his day.

In an article by Yohana Desta, Vanity Fair quotes Joseph as saying, “I would take the accent out for dinner and order in an American accent and feel insane. But it’s better to look like an idiot in front of your friends than, you know, loads of people.”

The dialect training, accent integration, and on-set accent techniques that Joseph Quinn used to prepare for Stranger Things are exactly what I have seen proven time and again to bring success to an actor’s performance outside their own accent:

1) Enough time to prepare physically and mentally for the accent.

2) Consistent practice.

3) Accent integration work, that allows the accent to become a real means of communication for the actor.

If you’d like to read more about Joseph Quinn and his Stranger Things journey, here are a few articles to get you started:

VANITY FAIR, by Yohana Desta

MEN’S HEALTH, by Evan Romero

And to hear the difference between Joseph doing a fully prepared American accent and winging it, compare this video to this one.

I truly love seeing success stories like Joseph Quinn’s. I want every actor who wants to knock their next performance out of the park to have access to fully vetted, professionally trained dialect coaches in time to prepare!