Channing Tatum Explains What Hollywood ALWAYS Gets Wrong About This Louisiana Accent

LAFAYETTE, La. (KPEL News) - When someone in Hollywood is asked to play the role of a character from Louisiana, they are always taught to use one of two generic accents. The first is a standard southern twang if the character is from north Louisiana. The other? A Cajun accent if they are from south Louisiana.

But, true Louisiana residents know that Hollywood rarely applies the Cajun accent correctly. Usually "south Louisiana" is portrayed as in and around New Orleans, and there aren't really any Cajun folks around there.

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A true Cajun icon, however, recently made his debut on the big screen, and the actor portraying him explained to late night host Jimmy Fallon the truth about Cajun accents.

Gambit, the Cajun Superhero

SPOILER ALERT: Channing Tatum's 20-year wish came true as he got to play Gambit, a Marvel character from the X-men comics, in "Deadpool & Wolverine."

For years, Tatum has been trying to get a Gambit movie produced, but every time it got close to happening, something would shake things up and the plans would fall through. However, in the latest Deadpool movie, Ryan Reynolds spared no expense in getting all the cameos he could - including Gambit, finally portrayed by Tatum.

For Marvel and Tatum fans, it was a dream come true, and the reception has been absolutely fantastic for Tatum and his portrayal of the character.

Part of Gambit's charm is that he is an authentic Cajun, and Tatum pulls off the accent pretty well - he grew up just over the state line in Mississippi and his father is from Louisiana. During a recent interview with Jimmy Fallon, Tatum said they would read "The Cajun Night Before Christmas" every year.

But, when Fallon asked if his dad's life in Metairie and Tatum's life in Mississippi is where he got the voice, but Tatum had to explain that, actually, there are very few Cajuns in the area surrounding New Orleans, where he largely grew up.

"People don't really know this," he explained, "but there's not a lot of, like, Cajun people in New Orleans. They're more in Lafayette and whatnot."

Finally, someone says it! New Orleans for sure has its own accent, but what people think of when they think of a Cajun accent is definitely not native to the Big Easy.