Matthew Perry on Botching Ted Kennedys Accent

Author:

Jimmy Kimmel Live

Keywords:

jimmy,kimmel,live,late,night,talk,show,funny,comedic,comedy,clip,comedian,kennedys,ted,kennedy,Chappaquiddick,camelot,senator,matthew,perry,actor,friends,reelz,matthew perry,the kennedys: after camelot

Subtitles:

>>> MARY JO'S DEAD? >> WHAT IS IT? >> SHE DROWNED. >> WHAT WAS SHE DOING IN THE WATER? SHE'S AFRAID OF IT. >> SHE WAS -- IN A CAR THAT DROVE OVER A BRIDGE. >> NO, SHE DIDN'T HAVE A CAR UP THERE. >> THAT'S ALL THE INFORMATION I HAVE RIGHT NOW. I'M TERRIBLY SORRY. >> Jimmy: THAT IS MATTHEW PERRY IN "THE KENNEDYS: AFTER CAMELOT." YOU PLAY TED KENNEDY. MARY JO'S PARENTS. >> THAT'S RIGHT. >> Jimmy: YOU CAT THE WORD "CAR," YOU NAILED THE WORD "CAR" WHICH IS THE MOST IMPORTANT WORD WHEN YOU'RE DOING AN ACCENT LIKE THAT. >> YES. WHEN I GOT THE ROLE I WAS DOING THE PLAY IN LONDON. AND THE ACCENT IS OBVIOUSLY VERY IMPORTANT WHEN YOU'RE DOING THIS. TED KENNEDY HAD A VERY SPECIFIC ACCENT. IT WASN'T JUST A BOSTON ACCENT, IT WAS AN UPPER-CRUST ACCENT. SO THEY HIRED A DIALECT COACH FOR ME AND I WORKED 12 TO 15 TIMES ON THE ACCENT. >> Jimmy: WHILE DOING THE PLAY? >> YEAH. IT WAS REALLY IMPORTANT TO GET IT DOWN. AND I PAID FOR THIS DIALECT COACH. HE TAUGHT ME THE WRONG ACCENT. >> Jimmy: OH, WOW. >> YEAH. >> Jimmy: HOW DID YOU FIND OUT? >> I DIDN'T KNOW THAT, SO HE TAUGHT ME THE WRONG ACCENT, AND HERE'S THE ACCENT THAT HE TAUGHT ME. AND I QUESTIONED IT. BUT HE TAUGHT ME THAT TED KENNEDY SPOKE LIKE THIS. THIS IS THE ACCENT HE TAUGHT ME. HE TAUGHT ME TED KENNEDY TALKED LIKE THIS. AND I WAS LIKE, REALLY? DURING INTIMATE CONVERSATIONS HE SPOKE LIKE THAT? HE WAS LIKE, YES. AND SO I WAS GOING AROUND GOING, THIS IS THE WAY TED KEN DAY TALKS, TALKS LIKE THIS. RIGHT? SO I GET TO THE SET. ON THE FIRST DAY OF SHOOTING. AND I'M INSIDE A LIMOUSINE. INSIDE A LIMOUSINE, VERY INTIMATE SCENE WITH THIS WONDERFUL ACTRESS NAMED KRISTEN HAGUE HISTORY PLAYED MY LIFE. AND MY LINE WAS, I'M GOING TO TAKE THE BOAT OUT, THE KIDS CAN FLY HOME IN THE MORNING. SO THE DIRECTOR SAYS ACTION. AND I SAY, I'M GOING TO TAKE THE BOAT OUT, THE KIDS CAN FLY HOME IN THE MORNING. AND THE DIRECTOR GOES, CUT! JUST SAY THAT A LITTLE SOFTER AND FASTER. AND I GO, OKAY. I'M GOING TO TAKE THE BOAT OUT, KIDS CAN FLY HOME IN THE MORNING. AND THE DIRECTOR SAYS, CUT! DON'T SAY ANYTHING AT ALL. AND THEN I GO BACK TO MY TRAILER AND THE WRITER, OBVIOUSLY EVERYBODY WAS PANICKED. AND THE WRITER CAME TO ME AND SPOKE TO ME FOR ABOUT 40 MINUTES ABOUT THE LANGUAGE OF TEN KENNEDY, THE TRAGEDY, ALL THAT STUFF. AND I SAID, SO YOU WANT ME TO TONE IT DOWN? AND HE SAID, YES, PLEASE TONE IT DOWN. AND I IMMEDIATELY CALLED TO THE DIALECT COACH. AND I SAID, I'D LIKE TO SEE YOU, PLEASE. AND I SAID, THE VOICE IS WRONG. THE THING WE WORKED ON, EVEN THIS MORNING, IS WRONG. AND THE DIALECT COACH WENT -- [ LAUGHTER ] AND I SAID, DON'T! DON'T MOVE YOUR HEAD UP AND DOWN. SAY YOU'RE SORRY! AND LUCKILY WE FIGURED IT OUT. IT ENDED UP WORKING OUT. >> Jimmy: DID HE EVER APOLOGIZE? >> HE NEVER APOLOGIZED. >> Jimmy: YOU WANT TO GET YOUR BUDDY CHRIS MURRAY AND BEAT THE CRAP OUT OF THAT GUY. [ CHEERS AND APPLAUSE ] >> THAT'S RIGHT, THAT'S A GOOD IDEA. >> Jimmy: LOOK AT THIS I DIDN'T REALIZE THIS. BATMAN'S MASK COMES OFF. AND LOOK, IT'S -- BATMAN IS MATTHEW PERRY, IT'S UNBELIEVABLE! "THE KENNEDYS: AFTER CAMELOT"