“Sound like an alien”: When Catherine O'Hara revealed how she created Moria Rose’s iconic accent in Schitt's Creek

Moria Rose’s iconic accent is one of the many reasons why the audience still misses Schitt's Creek years after its conclusion. The former actress and matriarch’s vocabulary and speaking skills consistently amazed the fans during the course of the series.

Catherine O'Hara, who played the role, brought her own flavor to the show, making Moira one of the most memorable television characters in recent times. From ‘fear not, she hath risen’ to ‘the dizzying heights of your moral ground,’ every episode featured an unforgettable quote by Moira in her signature accent. But how did Catherine O'Hara come up with this awe-inspiring accent?

The actress revealed the answer in a 2020 interview with Variety, stating that Moira is a well-traveled woman, which is why she speaks that way. At the same time, she credited Schitt's Creek creators and her co-stars, Eugene Levy and Dan Levy, for giving her the freedom to create her own character:

“You have to work with lovely, smart, talented people who allow you to sound like an alien. Just to have that creative freedom is — I don’t expect to have it with other people.”

Catherine O'Hara once talked about creating Moria Rose’s accent for Schitt's Creek

During the conversation, Catherine O'Hara was joined by Eugene Levy and Dan Levy, who revealed that Moira’s characterization in Schitt's Creek was done as per the actress’s vision.

Talking about how she conceived the accent, O'Hara said she initially had no idea about how she should do it but eventually discussed with Eugene that Moira should be learning a new word every day:

“Not at first. I have the emails, and I’m saying to Eugene, ‘Someone who is learning a different word every day and tries to slip them into conversations as much as possible. Somebody who’s world-traveled.’”

Further explaining how Moira’s travels impacted her communication skills, O'Hara said:

“I now describe it as the result of Moira and Johnny’s world travels when they had money. Being the serious artist that she is, who observes people and culture and takes it all in, she then wants to share with the world.”

“What you’re getting when you hear her speak are oral mementos of her world travels. I haven’t come up with a better way to describe it. By email, you would say, ‘Why don’t we hear it?’ I was giving you nothing! I was saying, ‘I don’t want to sound like a human,’ basically.”

O'Hara’s vision and hard work certainly brought Schitt's Creek's popularity to new heights as Moira’s accent became one of the USPs of the comedy series. The show tells the story of a wealthy family who loses everything after their manager commits financial fraud.

With no roof over their head, they are forced to relocate to a small town that the patriarch had earlier bought as a birthday gift for his son. As they adjust to their new lives and interact with the locals, it leads to some humorous and some heartwarming situations.

The series aired on CBC Television from 2015 to 2020 and earned several accolades, including the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for Catherine O'Hara.

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Schitt's Creek also stars Eugene Levy as Johnny Rose, Daniel Levy as David Rose, Annie Murphy as Alexis Rose, Emily Hampshire as Stevie Budd, Noah Reid as Patrick Brewer, and Dustin Milligan as Ted Mullens.

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