Star loses Aussie accent: ‘I don’t know what happened’

Callan McAuliffe is a quiet achiever on the international acting stage, winning big roles across film and television for 15 years. At 29, his Aussie accent seems lost in translation. Here is why.

Actor Callan McAuliffe’s Aussie accent is long gone.

Having worked internationally for more than 15 years, the 29-year-old now speaks with a clean hybrid accent that on the day Confidential caught up with him sounded Irish.

“I don’t know what happened,” McAuliffe said.

“I think the American rhotic ‘r’ sound, the way that they park the ‘car’, that eventually ate its way into what once was Australian.

“There are old interviews of mine where I sound Aussie but I think it is because for so long I was so conscious of what I was saying and how I sounded that it just eventually sort of ate itself. Now the American ‘r’ has parrotised my voice.”

Australian actor Callan McAuliffe, in Sydney, this week. Picture: Justin Lloyd.

Actor and singer accents are often the subject of much debate as they take on different roles.

Ariana Grande most recently sparked discussion with her vocal transformation after shooting the upcoming Wicked. Hilaria Baldwin famously speaks with a Spanish accent but is born and raised in Boston.

Australian sweetheart Kylie Minogue is also known for her ‘international’ accent.

Walking Dead star McAuliffe got his American break in 2010s Rob Reiner flick, Flipped, followed by roles in I Am Number Four and The Great Gatsby, in which he played a younger Gatsby to Leonardo DiCaprio as the elder.

Initially from Sydney, he has spend much of the past 15 years living in the United States.

“I was living in Atlanta for four or five years for The Walking Dead and I am sure a part of their drawl entered into it as well,” he said.

“And I do spend every other night in an Irish bar singing and or talking to people so that is part of it too. When I bump into people, a lot guess that I am Irish even though I don’t sound Irish at all. But Irish these days is a better guess than Australian.”

Callan McAuliffe and Dylan Sprouse in The Duel.

McAuliffe’s new film, The Duel, was released this week. The drama comedy also stars American Dylan Sprouse of Disney’s The Suite Life of Zack & Cody fame.

And he spent months living in Ireland shooting season two of Anne Rice’s Mayfair Witches, alongside Jack Huston and Alexandra Daddario. In it, he speaks with a Scottish accent.

“I hope I don’t offend the Scottish too much with my attempt at the accent.”

As for his career more broadly, McAuliffe is not even 30, yet would be considered a veteran with some huge credits to his name.

“I have enjoyed the ride so far,” he said.

McAuliffe as Alden in The Walking Dead.

“I like to think there is more to come but I have made a pretty good go of it. I like most of what I’ve done. It is not always true that I am proud of the end result because often I am not. Actors become saddled with a lot of complexes, or we pick them up along the way.

“Often enough I am proud to have completed any given film or TV journey because it is tough work, and the whole industry itself can be quite demoralising, so to come out the other end feeling for the most part pleased with what you’ve done, you can be proud of that.”