Jodie Comer on how she learned Chicago accent for 'The Bikeriders'
Jun 25, 2024
Washington [US], June 25 : Actor Jodie Comer shared how she prepared for her role and accent in Jeff Nichols' 'The Bikeriders', which is about the rise and fall of a Midwestern motorcycle club in the 1960s, reported Variety.
She has to learn a working-class Chicago accent to play Kathy, a strong-willed woman who falls in love with a free-spirited biker named Benny (Austin Butler) and finds herself in competition with Johnny (Tom Hardy), the club's leader, for his attention and devotion.
The movie is inspired by the 1967 photography book "The Bikeriders" by Danny Lyon, who captured the story of the Vandals motorcycle club.
Comer had almost half an hour of the genuine Kathy's voice to analyse and utilise as a comparison for her performance.
"With accent work, there'll be a couple of sentences that are great for certain vowel sounds and I'll drill them before a scene," said Comer.
Count Nichols among those impressed by Comer's delivery. "I thought it was the real audio," the filmmaker said at the film's Los Angeles premiere. "I've been listening to this audio for a decade, and I knew this woman's voice inside out. Jodie sent me a QuickTime audio [file] of her work and I thought maybe she was starting by playing the real one."
"I definitely have a new appreciation for them," said Comer. But in real life, she's accident-prone. "I did snowmobiling once and it was not great -- that's all I'll say -- so, I'm content with not being the person behind the wheel or the handles of a fast-moving vehicle."
Even though she didn't pick up a new hobby, "The Bikeriders" was a profound experience. She'd been intrigued from the moment Nichols' script shared the script with her, especially since she was a "massive" fan of the "Take Shelter," "Mud" and "Loving" filmmaker. On her first read, Kathy jumped off the page.
"She was so vivacious. She had very strong opinions and wasn't scared to share them. She made me laugh," said Comer about her character. "She feels so singular and authentic," reported Variety.
