MSCL.com

Even though I come from England, when I first saw the episode "The Substitute," I instantly thought I recognised something slightly odd about "the substitute" teacher's accent. I did a web search the other day and it turns out the actor who played the part is an Englishman himself. I am curious whether you Americans noticed anything odd about his accent. Did it sound fake to you? Did you even notice?

Yes, Roger Rees didn't play down his accent much for that role, but Americans are used to a fairly diverse culture, so it probably didn't make much difference. Incidentally, Mid-Western Americans, not Englishman, supposedly pronounce the language closest to its dictionary listings and thus are considered the only modern English speakers without a significant accent. Of course, with the trend of increasingly global communications and entertainment, it is likely that future generations will have rather muddled or blended accents.

I didn't think anything of his accent because I knew him previously from Cheers.