Kate McKinnon used podcasts to practise Australian accent

Actress Kate Mckinnon walked around New York City talking to herself for months as she practised her Australian accent for new comedy Rough Night.
The Ghostbusters star features alongside Scarlett Johansson, Zoe Kravitz, Jillian Bell, and Ilana Glazer for the film, about a group of old friends who reunite in Miami, Florida for a bachelorette weekend, which quickly goes wrong.
Kate plays Australian pal Pippa, and she used podcasts from Down Under to help perfect her twang for the role – but she would often listen to them while out and about in the Big Apple.
“I listened to a bunch of podcasts,” she shared on U.S. breakfast show Good Morning America, “and I would just walk around the streets of New York with headphones on, going like, ‘Hello, hello,’ and people walking by me must have been very confused because I was just talking to myself in an Australian accent!”
Kate is known for her ability to improvise, and at one point in the shoot, she ended up rolling down a hill into a “big pit of brambles” – but it wasn’t intentional.
“We thought it was a joke, and Kate’s seriously hurt,” recalled co-star Jillian, although she noted McKinnon still couldn’t help but laugh in spite of her painful tumble.
Kate continued, “She rescued me like a firewoman, and then all the girls just gathered and picked little brambles out of my skin. It was very summer camp 1992, I loved it!”
The stars really formed a close bond on set, and they kept themselves entertained by bursting out into song in between scenes.
“There was a lot of singing, which the crew did not enjoy, ’cause it was constant – it did not stop,” Jillian said.
“It was high-pitched and constant…,” Kate agreed. “It was on loop all day; we didn’t stop.”
Rough Night, which also features Demi Moore, Modern Family’s Ty Burrell, and former Arrow star Colton Haynes, hits U.S. theatres this week (ends16Jun17).