Throughout the history of film there have always been foreign actors playing Irish characters and failing miserably to put on a convincing Irish accent.

But is it really that difficult? The team at FACTS got actual Irish people to rate the attempts from four of the top Hollywood stars.

A-listers Tom Cruise, Gerard Butler, Sean Connery and Brad Pitt are the actors to have their Irish accents scrutinised by the experts.

The judges certainly don’t get star struck and pull no punches when analysing the Hollywood legends’ efforts.

The video opens with one Irishman pointing out that many portrayals of the accent are over the top and says: “We don’t all sound like leprechauns on acid!”

The first star to be judged was action hero Tom Cruise, for his role as Joseph Donnelly in the 1992 romantic drama Far and Away.

Scottish star Gerard Butler was next under the microscope for his 2007 drama PS I Love You. After watching a few clips form the film, one of the Irish judges claims: “He looks like such a f***ing hunk, no one in Ireland looks like that.”

Veteran Scottish actor Connery was next for his attempted Irish accent in the 1987 film The Untouchables. One of the judges said: “It’s like an Irish accent from a parallel universe of Ireland.”

Last up was Hollywood superstar Brad Pitt. He played an Irish traveller in the 2000 crime thriller Snatch.

In the film Pitt’s character Mickey was often used as comic relief with an ongoing joke that none of the British criminals could understand him.

Once all four actors have been viewed and analysed, the Irish judges rank them in order of who did the best.

Take a look for yourself below.

Hollywood A-listers have their Irish accents judged

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