has spent upwards of $13,000 trying to rid himself of his accent.
The bulk of that money has gone to dialect coaches who have instructed him on how to rein in his Italian accent so that he can sound more American. Al is short for Alessandro and, like nearly seven million Canadians and 50 million Americans, he鈥檚 an immigrant.
The Vancouverite is also an actor, and over the last 10 years, he鈥檚 diligently chased that elusive American accent in order to be considered more castable in American productions, many of which shoot up here in Hollywood North.
But in the wake of discussions around inclusion and diversity in Hollywood 鈥� and perceptible gains made in the quantity and quality of roles for people from marginalized communities 鈥� Miro is no longer willing to shell out big bucks to lose his accent without pointing out what he considers the absurdity of it all.
鈥淎merica is a land of immigrants, and there are a ton of people who sound different,鈥� says Miro. 鈥淭his is what the industry doesn鈥檛 understand. They assume that the standard American accent is the only accent that will allow it to be believable. There are over 40 million immigrants in the States alone. Many of them have accents. They are still American.鈥�
Miro is joining a growing chorus of local actors with accents calling out the film and television industry for what he calls 鈥渁ccent phobia.鈥�
鈥淲e鈥檝e always been told that we鈥檙e the ones who need to change, that we need to be more American in order to fit the industry,鈥� says Miro. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e not trying to be mean or racist, but there is a definite lack of understanding about how accents work or even what America sounds like.鈥�
Immigrant experience
For the most part, Miro has accepted this accent phobia as par for the course. It鈥檚 an extension of his experiences as an immigrant, living just outside the dominant culture.
鈥淎 lot of immigrants feel ashamed, and one of our main goals is to turn that shame into pride,鈥� says Miro.
麻豆传媒映画actress moved to Canada from Slovakia when she was in her late teens, and she says it鈥檚 hurtful to be constantly told that your accent is unappealing.
鈥淲e were unable, even at that age, to integrate with the kids who were born in Canada because of the way we sounded,鈥� says Stefancikova. 鈥淲e were bullied. I used to tell my parents, 鈥楶lease don鈥檛 speak when my friends are around, I don鈥檛 want them to hear you.鈥� It makes me so sad just to say that.鈥澨�
Changing attitudes
With Hollywood seemingly changing its attitudes about other marginalized communities, Stefancikova and Miro decided it was time to use their voices to draw attention to a practice that鈥檚 long been accepted as status quo.
鈥淲e鈥檇 like to see the fair representation of all demographics,鈥� says Stefancikova. 鈥淩ight now, we see more ethnicities [on our screens], but everyone sounds the same.鈥�
Miro and Stefancikova accept that some roles require a specific accent, but the bulk of roles do not.
鈥淲e can be the best friend, the spouse, the doctor, the lawyer,鈥� says Stefancikova. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 just have to be the gangster or the prostitute or the cab driver.鈥�
鈥淲e can be the lead,鈥� says Miro. 听
Their first step is identifying the issue, which they did at a recent UBCP (Union of B.C. Performers)/ACTRA meeting. Next, they want data: statistics to work with and anecdotes to illustrate the human and cultural toll. And finally, they want an industry plan moving forward.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a brand new subject, and it鈥檚 a subject that a lot of people are scared to talk about because there鈥檚 a stigma around it,鈥� says Stefancikova. 鈥淪ome people have said, 鈥榊ou鈥檝e got to be careful, do you need this kind of attention on yourself, what are you trying to do?鈥� They say we鈥檙e risking our careers.鈥�
But Miro and Stefancikova see what speaking out has done for other marginalized communities. They鈥檙e also motivated by their work as acting teachers. 听
鈥淚 have these students who come into class and do great work, and it breaks my heart that I know that it鈥檚 going to be so difficult for them,鈥� says Miro. 鈥淣o agents want them. If we don鈥檛 speak up, then nobody will. This is the time for change. I don鈥檛 want other people to go through what we went through.鈥�
This week, Miro launches the comedy web series 鈥淗ow to Make it in Hollywood When You are Foreign AF.鈥� Much of the series is inspired by his experiences as an immigrant actor with an accent.
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