‘Ginny & Georgia’: Why Australian Felix Mallard Sticks With His American Accent on Set, and Struggles to Say ‘Girlfriend’
Many fans of Netflix’s Ginny & Georgia probably couldn’t tell that one of the main love interests isn’t American. Felix Mallard, who plays Marcus Baker, is from Melbourne, Australia. He revealed which lines are hard to say and why he sticks with his American accent all day when he works.
Marcus did a fake Australian accent on ‘Ginny & Georgia’ Season 1
“Next Level Rich People Sh*t” shows Ginny (Antonia Gentry) walking into the school’s bathroom during their school sleepover and finds Marcus smoking alone. He almost leaves when Ginny stops him.
“I actually think you’re more in the bush than debonair,” she said in a British accent. “You’d like that, wouldn’t ya, mate?” he asked in an Australian accent. “Slip another shrimp on the barbie.”
They both laugh and stick around in the bathroom longer. The conversation got more serious when Ginny says Wellsbury feels like a place where people want students to succeed. Marcus revealed his best friend died last year from cancer.
Felix Mallard talks with an American accent between filming ‘Ginny & Georgia’ scenes
Mallard explained the difference between an American accent and an Australian one in a YouTube video. “A lot of people don’t realize I’m Australian,” he said. “And apparently, that’s because you all bought my American accent. So I’m gonna tell you how I go from this to sounding like this.”
He talked about putting on an Australian accent in a scene for Ginny & Georgia. “I wanted to do the accent intentionally badly because he’s an American, and he wouldn’t, you know, nail it,” the actor said. “And then, in retrospect, watching it back, I think I went really hard with the Australian.”
The actor said most of the time, he doesn’t have to think about the accent while working. However, there are tricky lines like, “I was trapped in this loop for three years now.” That was hard for him because of the multiple uses of the letter “r.” He also has to think when he says “girlfriend” because of this and the consonants.
Mallard pointed out that Australians tend to end their sentence on a high note like it’s a question. While Americans sound direct without doing that. He theorized the difference might come from insecurity.
He does vocal exercises to start his day, then sticks with the accent. “I actually stay in the American accent throughout the day,” the actor explained.
Felix Mallard started acting on ‘Neighbours’
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The actor unsurprisingly started his career in his home country. His first role was Ben Kennedy on the show Neighbours: Xanthe Hearts Ben. He played Ben again in more Neighbours shows and ended the role in 2019.
The actor switched to American movies and shows, appearing in All the Bright Places, Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist, and Locke & Key. So he got a lot of practice perfecting his American accent before playing the boy next door to Ginny.
