Shadowing Practice: Emma Watson Reveals How She Became Hermione & The “Destiny” Behind Harry Potter Casting - Learn English Speaking with YouTube

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mentioned that you talked about how harry potter had a family feel
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mentioned that you talked about how harry potter had a family feel
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and i wanted to ask you how did
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that come about in the first like what what was where did the auditions come from like how did
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that become a part of your life yes
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so i did not go to a performing arts school i'd never done anything i never acted professionally
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but they came they they did like a basically countrywide searched to find Harry,
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Hermione and Ron and so they asked my school
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if they wanted to submit any students who love drama who wanted to audition
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and so I was one of I think about 12 students that was asked if I wanted to audition.
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I don't know, it was weird.
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I had this weird, weighted,
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fated sense of destiny pretty much from the moment that they mentioned the audition.
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I remember I brought maybe seven different Beanie Babies with me along and all these different lucky talismans.
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I loved the world and the book so much.
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My dad had been reading them to me before bed
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when I would spend the weekends with him and on long car journeys.
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We'd often drive back and forwards to France and that's how the time would be passed.
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And so I was just like,
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loved the world, loved Hermione.
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And for me, it wasn't so much about acting so much as it was that like,
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I just, the books meant so much to me personally.
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Did you feel like it was destiny for you or did it feel like,
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did you always feel like it was going to be this?
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I always...
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Because obviously the books were already, you know.
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I always felt like Hermione was...
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I knew I was never auditioning for anything else.
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Like, I knew it was her.
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I don't know.
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I don't know how to explain it.
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Something felt right about it.
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And my, yeah, my poor parents,
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because if I hadn't have got it,
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I think they knew her crush.
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I ended up doing nine auditions over a period of over a year and a half,
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which for a nine-year-old is a massive commitment.
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But I loved her.
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I loved it.
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I really did.
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What do you wish now that you would have known before you became Hermione?
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I did a pretty good job.
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And actually, I give my mother specifically credit for this.
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She was like a warrior for my normalcy and for me having an ordinary life and going to school.
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And no one wanted that.
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I mean, it would have been considerably easier if I had not continued going to school.
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But she, wow, like I will forever be in her debt.
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She somehow knew that me feeling part of the ordinary world
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and feeling I had a place in it and that I belonged outside of those films was going to be crucial.
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Wow, that's really incredible.
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It was because she basically didn't have anyone on her team.
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She was kind of on her own on that one.
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And she fought tooth and nail.
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She was on the phone for hours saying she has to sit her exams,
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she has to go back,
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like she needs to be here,
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she needs to have some parts of a normal childhood.
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And yeah, forever in her death.
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That's so special to have had that and have those,
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yeah, to have a parent who can foresee,
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and you can't see anything for yourself.
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Yeah, no, and to be honest,
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I didn't really, I didn't really get it.
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No, of course not.
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I was like, okay, I guess it's important.
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I didn't really get it.
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So I think, yeah, she was amazing.
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Yeah.
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When did, because from what I was reading,
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from what you shared with me,
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when did Emma, you, Emma Watson and Hermione and the characters that then followed start to get blurred and intertwined?
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because that expectation that comes with...
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I remember this and I share it because,
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to give it to context to people,
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I was walking down the road with one of my friends
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who's an actor who gets recognized a hundred times for every one time I get recognized.
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So just to put it in context.
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And so if we're walking down,
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this person gets stopped a hundred times for pictures and then I'll get stopped once.
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And it was really beautiful because we'd spent a day together and that person had been stopped a hundred times,
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and they had been stopped a couple of times.
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And then they said something to me.
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They said, Jay, you're really lucky.
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And I said, what do you mean?
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And I thought they were going to say,
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because I'm anonymous to some degree.
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But they didn't.
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He said to me, he goes, Jay, you're really lucky.
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Because he goes, when people stop me,
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they stop me for who I play to be.
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And when they stop you,
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they stop you for who you are.
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And it was really encouraging words from someone that I respect a lot.
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And I was like, wow,
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like I never thought about it like that.
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I just, I just, it hadn't hit me how different it was.
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And because I think you just see fame or success or whatever it is,
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this one big bubble of stuff,
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especially when you're not that close to it,
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you don't know too much about it.
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And it was that conversation that made me even be even more personal with everyone
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that I ever spoke to because they'd always have a personal story
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or uh and and that's not not to say
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that isn't true for music and for acting
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and of course there is I don't want to take away from it no no um
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and I'm not saying
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that as a egotistical statement I'm saying it as like how hard it is for an individual to go through
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that yes and to be disassociated from themselves yes uh because
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that role could be a part of you it could be
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an expression of you it was a part of life at a same period of time,
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but of course it isn't you.
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But does that make any sense?
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I remember when I gave my UN speech about he for she and about feminism and women's rights,
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and people started stopping me because of things that had come from me and that I'd said.
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It felt like a very significant transition for me
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because for the first time I felt like I could I could look someone in the eye
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and receive and accept something that they were saying because I felt like it actually had something to do with me.
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And I wasn't just kind of a custodian of something sacred,
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which I did take very seriously and I still do,
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but it had been a direct transmission for me.
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And I think that's why writing has become so important to me,
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is because it's a way that I can say things directly and that feels really meaningful.

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Why practice speaking with this video?

Practicing your English speaking skills through engaging content, like Emma Watson’s interview, can significantly enhance your fluency and comprehension. This video provides a rich context of real-life dialogue, where the nuances of emotion and personal storytelling add depth to the language. By using the shadowing technique, you can imitate Emma's pronunciation, intonation, and pacing, which is particularly useful for those preparing for tests like the IELTS speaking practice. Listening and repeating her words can help reinforce vocabulary and expressions, making your language skills feel more natural and conversational.

Grammar & Expressions in Context

Emma Watson shares her unique journey through powerful statements that reflect a rich command of English grammar and vocabulary. Here are some key structures from the transcript:

  • Conditional Clauses: Emma references "if I hadn't got it," illustrating the use of conditional sentences that express hypothetical scenarios. Mastering conditionals will improve your ability to talk about possibilities and consequences.
  • Past Perfect Tense: Phrases like "they did... a countrywide search" highlight Emma's use of the past perfect, which is crucial for discussing past events in a sequence. This structure allows you to narrate experiences clearly.
  • Expressing Emotions: Statements like "I had this weird, weighted, fated sense of destiny" use descriptive language to convey feelings. Learning to express emotions effectively is essential for personal storytelling in English.
  • Repetition for Emphasis: Emma often repeats certain phrases for significance, such as "I loved" to convey passion. This rhetorical technique is valuable in making your own speaking more impactful.

Common Pronunciation Traps

Some words and phrases in Emma's speech might pose challenges for non-native speakers. Pay attention to the following:

  • “Fated”: This word can be tricky due to its vowel sounds. Practice by breaking it down into syllables: “fa-ted.”
  • “Audition”: Emphasize the second syllable to pronounce it correctly: “au-DI-tion.” This is crucial when using the word in shadow speech for clarity and connection.
  • “Destiny”: Be mindful of the stress; it’s pronounced “DES-ti-ny.” Correct stress can change the understanding in conversations.
  • “Warrior”: The dual ‘r’ can be challenging; ensure you pronounce both clearly. Practice this word through shadowspeaks techniques for better command.

Incorporating elements from Emma’s speech not only enriches your vocabulary but can also enhance your pronunciation skills. By continually practicing these techniques, you’ll develop a more natural and confident speaking style in English.

What is the Shadowing Technique?

Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.

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