Shadowing Practice: Rowan Atkinson Breaks Down His Most Iconic Characters - Learn English Speaking with Video

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This series is called Iconic Characters.

Oh, I see.

No, I don't do idents or introductions.

Man vs. Bee.

Trevor Bingley, who's our hero in Man vs. Bee,

is just a very, very nice man, actually.

Kind of nicer than most of the characters that I play,

who tend to be very selfish or self-centered or self-obsessed in some way, particularly Mr. Bean.

So actually we decided to create a character who is in many ways more real, more three-dimensional.

He's a decent sort of family man who's just gone through a divorce.

He's very short of money,

but he gets this job house-sitting for this very,

very wealthy couple who are going on holiday for a week.

And he has a lot of trouble with a bee.

On all 14 counts of dangerous driving,

the destruction of priceless artwork, arson.

That's basically the story.

One vs. Me was very difficult to shoot actually

because we couldn't find a real house to shoot in

because it was during Covid and no one who owned an extremely nice house wanted a film crew in it.

So we had to create a house of our own in the studio,

which of course means you don't have a garden and we need a garden.

And so we had four different locations for the garden,

two or three different locations for the interior and one big interior set.

Get out!

Die!

And to be honest, I preferred the simplicity and the cheapness,

if you like, of some of the early Mr. Bean stuff,

which, as you say, we start wide.

You know, there's a lot of wide shooting,

and I like wide shooting.

I'm a great believer in what Charlie Chaplin said,

is that a life is a tragedy in close-up and a comedy in long shot.

If you sit back visually on a situation, it automatically becomes funnier.

I mention which is a French comedian called Jack Tatti who said that comedy begins in the legs.

Making a character more real and more sympathetic and more identifiable doesn't necessarily make him funny.

Because in many ways what's funny about Mr. Bean for example is his complete sort of selfishness.

And he's a natural born anarchist.

So he's a child trapped in a man's body.

Whereas Trevor is an adult.

So it's not necessarily funny to make him more three-dimensional but he becomes very obsessed and very self-centered.

So in other words, he leaves his niceness behind.

And that is when he becomes funny.

In reality, we didn't have a bee,

you'll be unsurprised to hear.

We had a plastic bee on the end of a rod.

If we wanted a bee to crawl across a worktop,

then we had some professional puppeteers.

And quite a lot of it,

when I was just acting like that in a room,

we didn't have anything at all.

It was just down to me to imagine a bee and to be able to mime the situation,

if you like, well enough,

to make it look convincing.

It was nice to look at a bee because your eyes,

of course, always look different.

If a bee's close, you look like that,

and if the bee's further away, you look like that.

And I think the bee,

I mean the CGI of the bee is amazing.

I think it's one of the finest CGI animals ever to be seen on screen.

Mr. Bean.

I probably enjoyed playing Mr. Bean the most because he's a character who's furthest away from my own character.

As a person, I don't like him at all.

I think he's very odd and pretty weird and not very nice.

What's fun about it is it's an escape.

You know, when you play the character,

you don't care what you do.

It's a weird kind of release.

The first time we did the character,

I'm fairly certain, was 1979 on stage.

And that was when we had developed, I think, two sketches.

One was the beach sketch in

which he's trying to change into his swimming trunks on the beach

and then there's the one in the church in

which he's sitting in the church and he misbehaves while someone's spouting a sermon.

The character didn't have a name.

He didn't have to have a name because there were no words spoken in the sketches in which he featured.

They were silent sketches.

But then when we thought,

actually, these sketches are quite funny,

it's quite an interesting idea to develop a comedy character who doesn't use words.

comedy had developed from radio comedy,

which was a very wordy, you know, tradition.

And we had to give him a name in order to give the television show a name.

So we came up with the name of Mr. Bean.

We were thinking Mr. White for a while.

That was an idea, but that sounded a bit dull.

We thought of, you know,

vegetables and Mr. Bean seemed to be short,

sharp and to the point.

Bane.

The one I remember shattering me the most,

making me the most tired

and exhausted I have ever been was a movie we did called Mr. Bean's Holiday in

which he travels down through France to the south of France to the Cannes Film Festival.

We did a sequence in Provence

100

which was where he gets caught up with a peloton of cyclists and he overtakes them with great ease.

101

I didn't overtake them with great ease.

102

I had to put in a tremendous amount of effort

103

and once we'd done a couple of takes of that I was absolutely dead because I'm not a cyclist.

104

I'm not fit.

105

I'm not an athlete.

106

They cycled very slowly to make sure that I overtook them very very hard.

107

I remember thinking that I'd nearly killed myself with the exhaustion.

108

In those days we tended to do things for real

109

because it was cheaper and CGI didn't really exist with the sophistication that it now has.

110

I mean certainly the wider shots If you can see the wheels of the car on the road,

111

then we were doing it for real.

112

If it's a tighter shot,

113

then we may have been on a trailer being pulled along.

114

Just to make it easy,

115

I tended to just, you know, do it.

116

I remember, you know, we wanted this shot of the car coming straight towards camera.

117

You know, the cameraman was here and I just drove straight at him, you know.

118

And you would never do that in this day and age.

119

I mean, I stopped, you know,

120

before I hit him, but I might not have done.

121

Or the brakes might have failed because of that.

122

You're not allowed to do that kind of thing anymore.

123

But in those days we did.

124

The Blackadder.

125

The Blackadder is a recurring character in history.

126

We wrote a sitcom in which,

127

before series, you see him in four different eras of British history.

128

The essence of the Blackadder, it's about hierarchy either it's the royal court or it's the army,

129

which has a very definable levels of status.

130

Effectively, in every subsequent series,

131

I play the ancestor, the descendant of the person in the previous series.

132

In the first series, he's a prince.

133

Precisely.

134

In the second series, he's a lord.

135

That barrow bloke you executed today, you sure he's dead?

136

Well, chopped his head off,

137

that usually does the trick.

138

Third series, he's a butler.

139

Lead on, MacDurl.

140

I shall.

141

And in the fourth series,

142

he's a captain in the British Army in the First World War.

143

I must be pretty impressed having Squadron Commander,

144

the Lord Flashheart, drop in on your squally bit of line.

145

Actually, no. I was more impressed by the contents of my handkerchief the last time I blew my nose.

146

In the first series, he was a bit more of an idiot of an idiot.

147

In the second, third and fourth series,

148

he's a cleverer man, sort of stuck in the middle of a hierarchy.

149

He'd love to move up,

150

but he finds it very,

151

very difficult to do so,

152

and he certainly doesn't want to move down towards his sidekick, Baldrick.

153

Yes, and your definition of dog is?

154

Not a cat.

155

Excellent.

156

And he's always the middle guy,

157

he's the sort of middle management guy who resents those above him and he resents those below him.

158

But he had a wonderful sort of weary

159

cynicism about the world and that I think is what made him surprisingly identifiable and also made him funny.

160

The big change between the first series

161

and the second series was we went from a very extravagant location-based semi-film-like texture to something,

162

well, we just had to make something much more effective and much more funny and much more cheaply.

163

So we ended up with a sort of three-set sitcom.

164

So there were only three sets and the action just moves between the three sets.

165

And then the third series,

166

yeah, we were in the Regency period with George III on the throne and the Prince Regent in charge,

167

is that right?

168

Sorry, history was never my strong point.

169

You know, Richard and Ben Elton,

170

Richard Curtis and Ben Elton,

171

who really made the Blackadder what it was.

172

It was just whatever they thought was going to work best.

173

Whenever I've been invited to do one of his films,

174

I think I've always said yes,

175

so if I'm not in one of his films,

176

then he hasn't invited me,

177

which he's perfectly entitled not to do.

178

Well, Like Love Actually, you know,

179

is a case in point,

180

which was when he asked me to do the small part of the salesman in the shop.

181

Could we be quite quick?

182

Prontissimo It was just a sweet funny little part it took one all-night shoot in Selfridges on Oxford Street and

183

And it was a very nice thing to have done Johnny English

184

Johnny English is a British spy who's not as good as he thinks he is.

185

He always overreaches himself.

186

His ambition is always greater than his skill.

187

The joke is in that discrepancy between reality and ambition.

188

The master criminal sees not a room but a series of opportunities.

189

Should I come in through the window?

190

Possibly.

191

Should I drop down from the ceiling?

192

Perhaps.

193

Actually, sir...

194

There's one thing I think we can be fairly confident about.

195

That is that they didn't come up through the...

196

Whoa, whoa, whoa!

197

I've got you, sir!

198

He's a curious thing, actually.

199

A relatively rare character, because he used to be called Richard Latham,

200

and he was a character in some commercials that we made for Barclaycar in the 90s.

201

No ordinary biro.

202

Two clicks of a cap,

203

and it will render any assailant immobile.

204

Very dangerous in the wrong hands.

205

Take over for a boff, would you a moment?

206

We made the commercials to look like feature films.

207

We'll never make that prank, sir.

208

Nonsense.

209

Our carriage awaits.

210

It was a bit of a no-brainer to say,

211

well, actually, why don't we just make a feature film?

212

When we try and think of a name for the movies,

213

I like sort of, you know,

214

the name of the character in there, like Mr. Bean.

215

And so in trying to think of a name,

216

we thought Richard Latham was a bit dull,

217

bit dull but Johnny English had a certain...

218

Johnny English, I'm here to see Pegasus.

219

Still, no sense rushing things.

220

I did most of the driving stuff I did.

221

I did what I was allowed to do.

222

They are very, very reluctant to allow the star actors to do them.

223

But I remember doing those things here in the first Johnny English

224

when I fly down on the rope and grab the crown from John Malkovich's head.

225

I hated every single one of them.

226

I must have done it 25 times,

227

swinging on a big rope.

228

So I did some and I didn't do others.

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Woordenschat en spreektips bij deze les

Deze spreekles op niveau B2 is gebaseerd op de video “Rowan Atkinson Breaks Down His Most Iconic Characters”. Deze woorden komen het vaakst terug: character, bee, Bean, funny. Deze video bevat 228 zinnen en 2024 woorden om na te spreken. Het gesproken deel duurt 12:06. De spreker praat in een natuurlijk tempo van ongeveer 167 woorden per minuut, dicht bij een alledaags gesprek. Slechts 81% van de woorden hoort bij de 3.000 meest gebruikte Engelse woorden, dus de woordenschat is pittig.

Belangrijke woorden in deze video

De 15 moeilijkste woorden uit de video, met uitspraak en betekenis:

Woord	Uitspraak	Betekenis
sketch zelfstandig naamwoord	/ˈskɛt͡ʃ/	schets
overtake werkwoord	/əʊ̯vəːˈteɪ̯k/	inhalen
dull bijvoeglijk naamwoord	/dʌl/	bot, stomp
identifiable bijvoeglijk naamwoord		herkenbaar, identificeerbaar
obsess werkwoord	/əbˈsɛs/	obsederen
resent werkwoord	/ɹiˈzɛnt/	wrok koesteren
cyclist zelfstandig naamwoord	/ˈsaɪ.klɪst/	wielrenner, fietser
hierarchy zelfstandig naamwoord	/ˈhaɪ.ə.ɹɑː(ɹ).ki/	hiërarchie
ambition zelfstandig naamwoord	/æmˈbɪʃ.ən/	eerzucht, ambitie
impress werkwoord	/ɪmˈpɹɛs/	imponeren, indruk maken
dimensional bijvoeglijk naamwoord	/daɪˈmɛn.ʃə.nəl/	dimensionaal
rope zelfstandig naamwoord	/ɹoʊp/	touw
anarchist zelfstandig naamwoord	/ˈæn.ɑɹ.kɪst/	anarchist
ancestor zelfstandig naamwoord	/ˈæn.sɛs.tɚ/	voorouder
assailant zelfstandig naamwoord	/əˈseɪlənt/	aanrander

Phrasal verbs die je zult horen

Woord	Betekenis
come up with werkwoord	bedenken, verzinnen

Zinnen om te herhalen

Korte, volledige zinnen uit de video die je in alledaagse gesprekken kunt gebruiken:

Yes, and your definition of dog is?
Could we be quite quick?
Should I come in through the window?
Should I drop down from the ceiling?
Take over for a boff, would you a moment?

Grammatica in deze video

De structuren die de spreker het meest gebruikt, met de exacte woorden uit de video:

Structuur	In de video
Lijdende vorm be + voltooid deelwoord — het gaat om wat er gebeurt, niet om wie het doet	is called · be unsurprised · be seen
Present perfect have/has + voltooid deelwoord — iets uit het verleden dat nu nog telt	have ever been · I've been invited · I've always said
Betrekkelijke bijzinnen who / which + zin — extra informatie over een persoon of ding	one who owned · mention which is · guy who resents

Uitspraak om op te letten

De spreker gebruikt 34 samentrekkingen en verkorte vormen, zoals didn't, I'm, don't. Spreek ze kort uit, zoals je ze hoort.

De “th”-klanken: furthest /ˈfɜː(ɹ)ðɪst/, sympathetic /ˌsɪm.pəˈθɛt.ɪk/, throne /θɹəʊ̯n/, athlete /ˈæθ.liːt/
De klanken “sh” en “zh”: ambition /æmˈbɪʃ.ən/, dimensional /daɪˈmɛn.ʃə.nəl/, selfishness /ˈsɛl.fɪʃ.nəs/, shatter /ˈʃætɚ/, sophistication /səˌfɪs.tɪˈkeɪ.ʃən/
Lange woorden — let op de klemtoon: hierarchy /ˈhaɪ.ə.ɹɑː(ɹ).ki/, dimensional /daɪˈmɛn.ʃə.nəl/, cameraman /ˈkæm(ə)ɹəˌmæn/, cynicism /ˈsɪn.ɪˌsɪzəm/, definable [dɪˈfaɪnəbəɫ]

Klanken die Nederlandstaligen lastig vinden:

/æ/ — opener dan de Nederlandse “e”: ambition /æmˈbɪʃ.ən/, anarchist /ˈæn.ɑɹ.kɪst/, ancestor /ˈæn.sɛs.tɚ/, barrow /ˈbæɹoʊ/, cameraman /ˈkæm(ə)ɹəˌmæn/
/g/ — een harde plofklank, geen Nederlandse “g”: exhaustion /ɪɡˈzɔːs.t͡ʃən/, extravagant /ɪkˈstɹævəɡənt/, exhaust /ɪɡˈzɔst/
/w/ — met ronde lippen: whoa /woʊ/, squally /ˈskwɔːli/, weary /ˈwɪɚi/, await /əˈweɪt/, artwork /ˈɑɹtˌwɝk/

Zo oefen je met deze video

Luister de hele video één keer zonder te spreken en noteer de woorden die je niet kent.
Begin op 0,75× snelheid, spreek zin voor zin na en ga terug naar normale snelheid zodra het makkelijk gaat.
Neem jezelf op en vergelijk met het origineel; let daarbij op woorden als sketch, overtake, dull.

Wat is de Shadowing-techniek?

Shadowing is een wetenschappelijk onderbouwde taalleermethode die oorspronkelijk is ontwikkeld voor professionele tolkentraining en gepopulariseerd door polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. De methode is eenvoudig maar krachtig: je luistert naar native Engelse audio en herhaalt het onmiddellijk hardop — als een schaduw die de spreker volgt met slechts 1–2 seconden vertraging. In tegenstelling tot passief luisteren of grammaticadrills, dwingt shadowing je hersenen en mondspieren om echte spraakpatronen tegelijkertijd te verwerken en te reproduceren. Onderzoek toont aan dat het de uitspraaknauwkeurigheid, intonatie, ritme, verbonden spraak, luisterbegrip en spreekvaardigheid aanzienlijk verbetert — waardoor het een van de meest effectieve methoden is voor IELTS Speaking-voorbereiding en echte Engelse communicatie.

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Shadowing Practice: Rowan Atkinson Breaks Down His Most Iconic Characters - Learn English Speaking with Video

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Woordenschat en spreektips bij deze les

Belangrijke woorden in deze video

Phrasal verbs die je zult horen

Zinnen om te herhalen

Grammatica in deze video

Uitspraak om op te letten

Zo oefen je met deze video

Wat is de Shadowing-techniek?

這吐槽太好笑了！直擊吐槽現場！英國著名女演員Heyley Atwell和肥倫因為「茄子」在現場吵的不可開交！太爆笑了！原來英國人和美國人之間也這麼互相無法理解！ #英語 #英語口語 #英語