Homeland’s British stars talk the talk off screen

HOMELAND actor David Harewood revealed he and his fellow British co-stars speak to each other almost constantly in American accents throughout filming of the popular show.

He and the other British actors, Damian Lewis and Rupert Friend, have an “unspoken rule” that they keep up their voices even when they are chatting after the cameras stop rolling.

The actors have had such convincing accents in the security thriller series that many American viewers have assumed they hail from the United States.

Harewood, soon to be seen in the second run of the show, said: “It’s quite extraordinary – all three of the British actors have almost an unspoken rule that nobody’s ever mentioned – we nearly always stay in our American accents when we’re at work.

“Damian’ll come to work and I’ll be like, ‘Hey, man, how’s it goin’?’. And he doesn’t look at me and say ‘What the f*** are you talking like that for?’ – it’s just unspoken.”

He went on: “Every now and again one might drop out of accent and talk about the Olympics, or about something political that happens in the country, like the riots last year, when you have to get out of the accent. But most of the time you just forget, it becomes second nature.”

Homeland returns to Channel 4 on Sunday.

The return of hit drama series in the US was watched by 1.7 million, a 60 per cent rise on the audience for last year’s first episode.

In the recent Emmy awards, Homeland won four prizes, including best drama series. Lewis and co-star Claire Danes were also honoured, along with the show’s writers.