STEPHEN FRY - STEPHEN FRY: 'BRITS ARE OVERRATED IN HOLLYWOOD'

British actors excel in Hollywood because Americans are "fooled" and seduced by their accents, according to celebrated thespian STEPHEN FRY. Brits DAME HELEN MIRREN, JEREMY IRONS, BILL NIGHY, EMILY BLUNT and HUGH LAURIE all won prizes during the recent Hollywood awards season. And GOSFORD PARK star Fry claims the spate of British successes is down to the way the actors speak. He says, "I shouldn't be saying this, high treason really, but I sometimes wonder if Americans aren't fooled by our accent into detecting a brilliance that may not really be there. "I mean, would they notice if Jeremy Irons or JUDI DENCH gave a bad performance? Not that those two paragons ever would, but it's worth considering."