Hollywood legend Dick Van Dyke has revealed that his accent in the original Mary Poppins still haunts him to this day.
He portrayed jack-of-all-trades Bert in the 1964 movie, but for the role he had to adopt a Cockney accent. For an American, that's no small feat, and ever since he's received nothing but criticism and jokes from fans.
"I've taken it on the chin for 60 years about my atrocious Cockney accent in the first movie," he recently told The New York Times. "No one has ever forgotten it."
Van Dyke is a cast member in the newly-released sequel too - Mary Poppins Returns - but he's taken on a different character this time around, that of Mr Dawes Jr.
"They had a language gal almost handcuffed to me," he explained of his latest performance, "she made me sound pretty good. They won't laugh at me on this one."
Meanwhile, the 93-year-old has admitted that he wasn't completely sold by the idea of a Mary Poppins sequel.
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"I had some misgivings, because almost traditionally sequels don’t work. They’re never quite as good as the original," Van Dyke explained.
"[But] this is an homage to Walt and the original movie. I was so impressed that their heart was in the right place. They wanted to pay respect to the original. And I was so tickled when they asked me, because it was kind of like bookends for me".
Mary Poppins Returns is out in cinemas now.
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Reporter, Digital Spy
Dan is a freelance entertainment journalist. Beginning his writing career in 2014, Dan's work first graced the pages of cult publications Starburst magazine and Little White Lies before moving onto Total Film, Digital Spy, NME and Yahoo Entertainment.
In the film and TV universe, he kneels at the altar of Jim Carrey, Daniel Plainview, Mike Ehrmantraut and Paulie Walnuts.
