Since the dawn of the ‘talkies’, the Scottish accent has been through the mangle; battered to a pulp by an untold number of aspiring actors – and even established actors who should’ve known better.
Film stars will tell you that the Caledonian brogue is one of the most difficult to master, which goes some to explaining the high number of clangers on show for the whole world – and especially us Scots – to cringe at.
That said, there are a few honourable exceptions to the rule and many talented actors have succeeded in pinning down the essence of Scotland in their vocal performances.
We take a look at 6 of the best and 6 of the worst Scottish accents captured on film.
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9. Good: Johnny Depp in Finding Neverland
Kentucky-born Johnny Depp was praised for his efforts as Scots novelist JM Barrie in 2004's Finding Neverland and for good reason. Rather hilariously, Depp says the accent came from watching hours of Rab C Nesbitt. Photo: FilmColony
10. Bad: Christopher Lambert in Highlander
So bad it's goo.. Nope. This is woeful and the fact Sean Connery speaks in his normal turn as Egyptian/Spaniard Ramirez, while the American-French Lambert butchers the Scottish accent is ludicrous and unforgivable. Thankfully, it's also hilarious. Photo: Highlander
11. Chris Pine as Robert the Bruce in Outlaw King, partly filmed in Berwick.
LA-born actor Chris Pine didn't quite 100 per cent nail his Scots accent as Robert The Bruce in Outlaw King, but it was a terrific effort and Pine quite rightly was praised for his portrayal. Oh, and that stirring pre-battle speech near the end gave us goosebumps - eat yer hert oot, Mel G. Photo: Outlaw King
12. Bad: Harrison Ford in Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade
While this fleeting effort in the third Indian Jones film was intentionally comedic, Harrison Ford's title character's mock portrayal of a Scottish aristocrat is so dreadful that even the fictional German he's trying to convince can tell he's never been within 3000 miles of Dundee. Cue violence. Photo: Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade