Is Moon Knight British? Why Oscar Isaac Speaks With That Accent

Marvel’s Moon Knight has been released, and along with the dark tone of the show and the type of action it features, it showcases Oscar Isaac’s odd British accent – and here’s why he speaks with that specific accent. The Marvel Cinematic Universe continues its expansion with its highly-anticipated Phase 4, which is doing things differently by covering not only movies but also TV shows that are linked to the movie side of this universe.

The MCU already has a long list of TV shows in development, all of them to be streamed exclusively on Disney+, and the series Moon Knight, starring Oscar Isaac, is the latest of the bunch. Moon Knight explores the origin story of Marc Spector, a mercenary who suffers from dissociative identity disorder and becomes the conduit for the Egyptian moon god Khonshu after a near-death experience. Marc is then drawn into a deadly mystery involving Egyptian gods with his multiple identities, such as Steven Grant, and he constantly struggles with not knowing when something is real or just a figment of his wild (and dangerous) imagination.

Given his darker story and Marc Spector being a lesser-known character (when compared to other MCU characters), there’s a lot of excitement around Moon Knight, and viewers have finally gotten their wish with a proper look at the show, more so than after the very short tease revealed during the celebration of Disney+ Day. The first trailer for Moon Knight gave audiences a brief glimpse of the character and with the show’s subsequent release viewers get a proper look at Oscar Isaac in full costume, the show’s villain Arthur Harrow (Ethan Hawke), and a taste of Isaac’s accent in the show, which turns out to be a British one, even though Marc Spector is American.

Why Oscar Isaac Has A British Accent In Moon Knight

In the comics, Marc Spector was born in Chicago, Illinois, so there’s no apparent reason for Oscar Isaac to use a British accent in Moon Knight – however, it makes sense given Marc’s disorder. As mentioned above, Marc Spector struggles with dissociative personality disorder, as a result of Khonshu creating a psychic connection between himself and a young Marc so he could use the boy as his avatar on Earth. Marc later befriended a boy named Steven Grant, who turned out to be one of his many personalities. Steven Grant shows up in Moon Knight and speaks with a British accent, which makes sense as it allows viewers to differentiate between Marc and Steven a lot easier. It’s unknown how many of Marc’s personalities will appear in Moon Knight, so it’s unknown if Isaac will use different accents, but Steven is a big presence in the series.

Oscar Isaac Explained His Terrible Moon Knight Accent

How Moon Knight’s Director Defended Moon Knight’s British Accent

Moon Knight director Aaron Moorhead went on to sing his praises about Oscar Isaac’s accent choice in an interview with Digital Spy. He applauded the actor’s ability to capture a facet of Marc’s disassociative identity disorder and he claims that the accent was a smart choice in that regard. He also cites Oscar’s ability to transform into the Moon Knight character using different posturing and facial expressions to further solidify his presentation of the disorder. Moorhead speaks on the grueling production process of Moon Knight and basically describes how each of the actors was given free rein in exploring their characters during rehearsals and table-reads. In addition, he goes on to explain that Isaac’s accent came out fully formed and Moorhead loved it so much he let the affectation stay as part of the character. The actor apparently kept the accent up through two months of filming, and once again Moorhead loved it. The director’s full quote on the subject of Oscar Isaac, his accent, and Moon Knight‘s many personalities can be read below.

“The first time that Oscar was not even playing Steven – because we weren’t just reading all the lines. He was talking about Steven. And that’s when he first dropped into the accent, and it was absolutely beautiful. And that was when it clicked for us that he was all in. You know, he’s already just thinking like this person. That was extremely exciting.”

Moon Knight revealed key details of the story and Marc’s problems in its first trailer but still left a lot of things a mystery, which fans are hopeful will be solved over the show’s six episodes. At this point, it’s unknown if Oscar Isaac will play Moon Knight and his many personalities beyond his debut TV show, but hopefully, fans will continue to hear his various accents in future MCU projects.

New episodes of Moon Knight release every Wednesday on Disney+.

About The Author

Adrienne Tyler
(3269 Articles Published)

Adrienne Tyler is a features writer for Screen Rant. She is an Audiovisual Communication graduate who wanted to be a filmmaker, but life had other plans (and it turned out great). Prior to Screen Rant, she wrote for Pop Wrapped, 4 Your Excitement (4YE), and D20Crit, where she was also a regular guest at Netfreaks podcast. She was also a contributor for FanSided’s BamSmackPow and 1428 Elm. Adrienne is very into films and she enjoys a bit of everything: from superhero films to heartbreaking dramas, to low-budget horror films. Every time she manages to commit to a TV show without getting bored, an angel gets its wings.

When she’s not writing, you can find her trying to learn a new language, watching hockey (go Avs!), or wondering what life would have been like had Pushing Daisies, Firefly, and Limitless not been cancelled. Breakfast food is life and coffee is what makes the world go round.

Guillermo del Toro said “hi” to her once. It was great.

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