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Originally Posted by Dilettante
Similar to what I was about to say. British accents (especially RP) tend to be softer and less jarring to the ears. They usually just sound better.
Also, American actors tend to not smooth over their accents unless they are specifically told to. American English really has no special "broadcast" accent (the US equivalent of BBC English) that is used across the board for actors. There used to be one, but it has rather fallen into disuse.
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British actors rarely, if ever, drop their natural accents these days unless the role demands it. Sean Bean is not an exception, our TV and film productions feature people with a full range of British accents (of which there are many). This is possibly as a lot of British people find RP incredibly jarring and difficult (I can barely understand what Tolkien says), possibly as there's simply no need for an actor to lose his/her accent.
It's true you'll not always hear anyone letting fly with a full-on Barnsley, Liverpool or Dundee accent on screen, complete with the local dialect, especially in things with an international audience, but even if gentled in some way accents are still there.
Evene when actors do try to drop the edge off their accent, it never entirely goes. One thing I enjoy about the films of LotR is how I can still tell Bean is from Sheffield and McKellen is from Wigan. I suppose that's just because I am used to hearing British voices though - if you had to get me to tell the difference between say American and Canadian or Aussie and New Zealand, I have to admit I'd be a bit lost.
