Why is the Boston accent so darned difficult?

[xiphias]

It's well-known that good Boston accents in films are few and far between. When you list actors who can do it, you've got Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Seth McFarland, Dennis Leary. Even Eliza Dukshu is only okay. And they're all FROM Boston. Heck, I can't do a good Boston accent, and I've lived here my entire life.

It's easy to list movies with terrible Boston accents -- but are there any actors who can do good Boston accents who aren't from Boston?

Comments

[spatch]

Wasn't a film role, but I saw David Hyde Pierce in "Curtains" on Broadway, which is set in the Colonial Theater in Boston. His character was a local police detective who gets caught up in a backstage murder investigation, and I was very impressed with his subdued Boston accent. He knew just how far to take a dropped R, he did not pahk his cah in Hahvahd Yahd, and--most importantly--he nailed the short A sound. "I'll call the chief" sounded like "I'll coll the chief". Nobody non-hacky remembers to do that. Point: Pierce.