Fans took to social media on Monday night to praise Martin Freeman’s performance in new BBC police drama The Responder, and one thing in particular drew their undivided attention – his Liverpudlian accent.
Sherlock star Freeman stars as first responder Chris, whose job has him on the edge as he deals with marital problems and mental health issues alongside the nightly challenges of his role.
The actor previously revealed that he ‘spoke to himself in scouse’ for an entire eighteen months in preparation for the role, and it seems that this us work that entirely paid off.
Viewers were full of praise, with one labelling his accent ‘spot on’, while another declared: ‘Martin Freeman is brilliant though and he genuinely has one of the best Scouse accents I’ve ever heard from a non native.’
‘Flawless’ and ‘pitch perfect’ were other descriptions used by audience members, while a different fan commented: ‘Really enjoyed #theresponder and a good indication that Martin Freeman’s accent was impressive was after five minutes I forgot all about it.
‘Job well done,’ they added.
Some fans also couldn’t help but draw comparison with famous Liverpudlian actor Stephen Graham, who’s been natively Scouse in programmes ranging from Line of Duty to Time with Sean Bean.
‘Never thought that Martin Freeman, of all people, would play a better Scouser than Stephen Graham,’ joked one.
Another quipped: ‘Loving Stephen Graham impersonating Martin Freeman impersonating Stephen Graham.’
Others were loving The Hobbit actor’s performance as a whole, with multiple calls for him to be awaded with a Bafta.
Ahead of the drama’s airing Freeman told Metro.co.uk: ‘I walked around for a year and a half, occasionally just talking to myself in scouse. Even though you’re not always the best judge of your own thing, I do trust my ear.
‘If I say something, I know when it sounds off. I got very, very exact about that stuff. You have to be, because if I don’t do it well, it’s a terrible accent to get wrong.’
‘There are some accents where you don’t want to be in that city among the inhabitants of that city making a balls up of it,’ the actor said.
It seem his ear didn’t let him down this time.
The Responder continues on Tuesday January 25 at 9pm on BBC One and is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.
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