Since German is my native language I cannot really say much about accents. Movies and TV series are dubbed for us. But if I see something in the original version I prefer the US accent (they seem to use a common US accent in movies instead of making differences in accents between say Boston or Texas), I have most problems to understand the Australian accent and less with the British (depends on if it is set in a working class or upper class surrounding - I rather see a Mike Leigh film dubbed but I have no propblems to follow the original versions of 'The Queen' or 'Midsumer Murders').

What surprises me most about British actors in US TV is that they obviously get not the salary US actors receive. Why are Charlie Sheen or the women from 'Desperate Housewives' so much higher paid than Hugh Laurie for 'House' ? The three TV shows seem to enjoy the same success in ratings in and outside the US.