Shadowing Practice: Hugh Grant on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno 7/10/95 - Learn English Speaking with Video
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261 sentences
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you may have read or heard about my guests in the past few weeks.
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I've never heard of a movie opening getting this much publicity.
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People just going nuts.
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This new movie, Nine Months, which opens on...
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I saw it, actually.
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Very funny.
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And people, all these press, everybody's here to find out about this movie.
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It opens July 12th.
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Please welcome, ladies and gentlemen, Hugh Grant.
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Thank you, Hugh.
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I mean, there you go.
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Let me start with question number one.
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What the hell were you thinking?
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No, I don't say that to be clear, but I think among most people going, what?
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Yeah, yeah.
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Well, it's not easy um you know i the thing is
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um i i people give me tons of um ideas on this one i keep reading new
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you know psychological theories and stuff like that um you know i was under pressure i was
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overtired or i was lonely or i fell down the stairs when i was a child or whatever
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but i um you know i i think it would that would be bollocks, really, to hide behind something like that.
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You know, I think you know in life pretty much what's a good thing to do and what's a bad thing.
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And I did a bad thing, and there you have it.
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Well, yeah, I mean, that's...
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What has...
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What has been the reaction from the public, generally?
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I mean...
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Well, the public has been really fantastic you know fantastic to
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the people who matter who in this case really you know my girlfriend
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and my family and stuff like that but also
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which is really touching to me you know they've been incredibly
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nice I've had tons of letters from you know everyone from
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famous film stars I've never even met to you know incredibly
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kind of interesting letters from people who you know who've really
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suffered themselves people who've got epilepsy people who are paralyzed
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and who really and
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that kind of sympathy um really brings it home to you
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then you then you really realize you know my problems aren't
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so bad yeah so I'm incredibly grateful to look to that for
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that now how about how about the Hollywood reaction as you know the Hollywood community was shocked to learn
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that this type of thing was going on right like it's not like
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that scene in Casablanca gambling round up the usual suspect I mean what do you find that You know, this is an odd town,
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this way, in that people seem to react both with glee.
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When someone as successful as yourself, something bad happens.
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People love to be the first to jump in there and whatever and do jokes, as I am guilty.
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I might have slipped a few in there, too.
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No, you've been very nice, actually.
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Thank you very much.
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We tried.
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But you know what I'm saying, though.
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But people, do you find the Hollywood reaction different from?
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From what, the British reaction?
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No. The British general public?
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No, I mean, you know, there's obviously, um, I didn't really ever think it would be quite the kind of circus it's become, but, you know, I can see there's juice in it,
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and I'm sure if I'd been a, you know, hadn't been the person that, you know, perpetrated this whole thing, then I suppose I would be, you know, enjoying it as much as anyone else,
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but it's pretty miserable on the other side of the equation.
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And, you know, it's not just for me.
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In a curious kind of way, I think I need to suffer for this.
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You know, it's the right thing.
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But it's bad when, you know, they're jostling your father.
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See, that's the killer to me, because my dad never got mad.
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They always got disappointed, which was the killer.
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Because, you know, girlfriends, you can sort of work that out.
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Parents, they bring you up, and then all of a sudden something.
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Because I imagine, being British, I imagine there's a certain...
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I don't imagine there was talk at the dinner table about sort of the way Americans do about sex and education.
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Or maybe not.
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No, no, you're right.
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No, no, no. That was never really the main topic of conversation. But having said that,
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that was, you know.. so touching
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that people like my father you know just i called him
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and not even that you know that's a bad phone call to have to make and um
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but you know he's just amazing he just said um you
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know look here old boy i was in the army i i know the sort of thing you know
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and um cool really cool yeah well i mean it's nice
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that they sort of you you think they're going to react in one way
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and of course they go yeah they're amazing they're amazing yeah
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then of course the press has just been harping on you
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and elizabeth your girlfriend elizabeth right how is she i mean
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because again she's in another horrible situation here in terms of the press
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and all yeah i mean that's the thing you know i
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i'm completely understand everyone having having a good joke about it
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and you know
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if i was a single guy then i would be it would be hysterical i'm sure by now
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but it's not it's really it's not funny it's
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when you've got it when you've got someone like that because you know i As I say, I've done an abominable thing, and she's been amazing about it,
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and contrary to what I read in the paper today, she's, you know, being very supportive, and we're going to try and work it out,
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and, you know, time is of the essence, so I can't sit here now and say...
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Yeah, yeah, yeah.
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And the English press are far, far worse, aren't they, than the American press for us in this regard.
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Or maybe not.
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Well, no, I mean, they've never been famous for their restraint.
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Yeah, yeah.
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Yes, that's been interesting.
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I mean, it's hard to keep your temper.
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I've managed to do it up to a point, but my father taught me a kind of interesting lesson in that.
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He doesn't bother, he just says ill -mannered buggers to them.
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And that about sums it up, really, yeah.
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How do you feel this will affect your career
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or even this this picture will it do you think i
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mean well i mean obviously one of the you know
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so many bad things about it i don't know where to begin
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but one of them was uh was the you know embarrassment
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i caused the people i've been working with for last year on this on this film And when you embarrass Tom Arnold, that's really tough.
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I'm sorry, I can't help.
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But still, I mean, you must think that, oh.
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Yeah, but it's there on my list of horrors,
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but it's not top of the list in my career because much higher than that is the stuff I've done to people.
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You know, I really care about my family and my girlfriend and stuff.
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Well, I must say, you know, I admire your honoring the commitment.
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Because everybody is so, you know, a lot of times when things happen, suddenly people run off and they hide behind the press people and whatnot.
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And you were booked here long before.
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Well, the fact is, I owe it to the studio.
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And the other thing is that, although I've never been one to, you know, blow my own trumpet, as they say, I think this is...
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this is a funny film
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and it has to be you know I want people to know about it I would like people to go
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and see it we'll talk a little bit more about that we'll come back we'll talk with you right after this
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And I want to mention, hey, you say, I'm a true master's name.
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Well, we're back.
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We're coming from your honor and very beautiful Jill Hennessy.
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And, of course, your fabulous Doobie Brothers talking with Hugh Grant.
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As I said, I saw this movie nine months.
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It really made me laugh out loud.
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A real very, very funny movie.
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Is it the same director who did Mrs. Doubtfire?
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Mrs. Doubtfire and the Home Alone films and all that kind of stuff.
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Oh, boy yeah which is frightening because i mean with a track record like
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that um you know
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if i was the cause of his first failure it would have been a doubly bad week
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but as it is um they just had these sneak previews i i'm new to all this uh
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but these things called sneak previews
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and the today the studio were uncorking the champagne oh that's good yeah apparently people are going nuts for it
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so that that is good chris chris columbus is his name right yeah yeah well they don't do
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that in England do they
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because I know prior to this you've done the Merchant Ivy films
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and you can do the whole Merchant Ivy film for like
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the cost of like a Bruce Willis trailer essentially really uh
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yeah that's right I mean we you know that's what's
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so odd for me about making a film like this one is
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that in England I've been accustomed to you know that
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if you if you make a film at all that's really it you're you're clever to have done
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that you get a slap on the back and
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if anyone goes to see it that's just an additional bonus but no one particularly cares about that.
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And so this was very frightening, yeah, because it matters this sort of big budget uh big budget very frightening
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and um i mean nice big trailer and all
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that kind of stuff and mobile telephone and uh you know nice food and all that but
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i think all that's really down to uh how much you take advantage of it
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and i didn't i don't think i really took enough advantage
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of it oh well tom arnold did tom arnold really yeah yeah hard to believe yeah isn't
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that bizarre you know please all american men are not like i love tom arnold
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but please don't judge us all by Tom.
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And you know, he's very, very good.
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He is very, very funny in this film.
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The two of you, it is the most, not that you're sort of a comedy team, but in these scenes where you are, it is really amazing.
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I would never have thought, boy, you work together as if you've been doing this for years and years.
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Yes, it's strange, it's strange.
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Because he has an interesting, you know, all actors, I think, have a sort of thing they fall back on.
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I blink my eyes a bit too much and other people do make funny noises in their throat and stuff.
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his kind of tick as an actor is to hit the nearest english person
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and this is this is this is what he does
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and you probably see 80 80 of the scenes he'd say
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hey why don't why why don't i hit you in this scene
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and uh chris would say yeah great
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and then he'd he'd hit me yeah also and then
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when he got bored of that he started to kiss me
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which was worse and so i we went back to the hitting oh yeah
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as you say make it a triple bad week right yeah yeah yeah yeah now the uh robin now working with Robin.
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Did you know Robin Williams prior to this?
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Well, obviously, I knew who he was.
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Right, but you hadn't.
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No, I'd never met him.
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I'd never met him.
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No, that was...
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And he's a very nice chap.
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Very, very hairy.
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That was the first thing that surprised me.
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He is hairy.
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He is hairy.
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I just...
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I mean, really, amazing.
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There were days I thought we were doing Congo, and it was...
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He was...
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Tremendously nice.
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I mean, but, you know, he couldn't be more supportive.
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You have to meet Ed Asner.
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I think you'd get along.
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Oh, really?
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A very hairy actor.
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Yeah, right.
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But it's odd.
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I never heard an actor described as hairy.
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Well, it was just the first thing I noticed.
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They said, here's Robin Williams.
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And, you know, I took a step back.
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I go, wow.
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But having said that, as I say, very supportive and very funny.
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Too funny for me.
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I like, you know, that was the thing.
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I thought, I'm doing fine in this film.
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And then he comes on to do his few weeks.
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And, you know, by the end of the first day, you want to slit your wrists.
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Because he's sort of legendary for i know having him as a guest it's almost impossible to any following
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because he improvs and he bounces off the walls
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and i wondered in the movie you you can't really say
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to robin here's the script here are the lines do this
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and then the other actors follow that whereas i could see
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you know i've known him for a long time working the clubs i can see where he's free -forming
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and i could watch you in the film trying to follow
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we're just trying to get you know my line in occasionally
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but that's all right you know I mean the bottom line is he's bloody funny
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and it works
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and that's that's it you know damn him you you play
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what you play a child psychologist yeah yeah I'm a child
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psychologist who's terrified of children that's really the what happens and
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and I have a perfect life you know I've got lovely this is where everyone snickers again
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because I have a perfect career perfect girlfriend and everything's going fine
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and then this bombshell comes out of the blue because she suddenly gets pregnant by mistake and I can't handle it.
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That's really what it's about.
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Now we have a clip.
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What scene is this?
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Do we know?
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This is just towards the end when her waters break and we have to go to the hospital.
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Oh yeah, in the restaurant.
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Okay, let's take a look.
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Scene from nine months.
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That's a nice still.
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What?
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My water broke.
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We'll get you another.
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No, my water This water broke!
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This water broke?
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Yeah.
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Samuel, stop!
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I'm sorry, I'm sorry.
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You stupid rat!
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George, are you all right?
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I'm having chest pains.
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I'll call an ambulance.
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Well, look, I'm on the way to the hospital,
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if you'd like a ride. Where is Dr. Green?
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Get off the phone and try!
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Blimey scum!
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You, leave me alone!
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Leave me alone, you mad witch!
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Get off!
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I'm sorry, I'm sorry.
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Are you all right?
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My leg is broken.
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Help me.
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Yes.
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Help me.
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Help.
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Just stay there.
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Just stay there.
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what really made me laugh is usually
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when you watch chase scenes in movies they managed you know they hit the apple cart
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and they managed to avoid hitting people i just like the
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just keep hitting people with the car yeah yeah loading loading
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it was fun i've always wanted to run people over got
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the chance well it's terrific listen the movie opens wednesday nine
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months terrific terrific him hugh thank you for coming terrific sport and good luck to you
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Thank you.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This video has 261 sentences and 2593 words to shadow. The speech runs for 15:53. The speaker talks at a natural 163 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. 85% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| robin noun | /ˈɹɑ.bɪn/ | A European robin, Erithacus rubecula. |
| hairy adjective | /ˈhɛɹ.i/ | Having a lot of body hair. |
| terrific adjective | Very strong or intense; excessive, tremendous. | |
| incredibly adverb | /ɪŋˈkɹɛdɪbli/ | In an incredible manner; not to be believed. |
| supportive adjective | /səˈpɔɹtɪv/ | Providing support. |
| killer noun | /ˈkɪlɚ/ | One who or that which kills. |
| suffer verb | /ˈsʌfɚ/ | To undergo hardship. |
| trailer noun | /ˈtɹeɪlɚ/ | Someone who or something that trails (follows behind); something that is trailing. |
| ton noun | /tʌn/ | The short ton of 2000 pounds (about 907 kg), 20 hundredweights of 100 pounds avoirdupois each. |
| react verb | /ɹiːˈækt/ | To act in response. |
| sneak verb | /sniːk/ | To creep or go stealthily; to come or go while trying to avoid detection, as a person who does not wish to be seen. |
| preview noun | /ˈpɹiːvjuː/ | An experience of something in advance. |
| psychologist noun | /ˌsaɪˈkɑl.ə.d͡ʒɪst/ | An expert in the field of psychology. |
| topic noun | /ˈtɑpɪk/ | A subject; a theme; a category or general area of interest. |
| lesson noun | /ˈlɛs.ən/ | A section of learning or teaching into which a wider learning content is divided. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| get off verb | To move from being on top of (something) to not being on top of it. | |
| bounce off verb | To test (ideas) on someone. | |
| come back verb | To return to a place. | |
| come on to verb | To start to. | |
| fall back on verb | To turn to as a substitute; to rely on as a backup. | |
| fall down verb | /fɔl ˈdaʊn/ | To fall to the ground. To collapse. |
| get along verb | To interact or coexist well, without argument or trouble. | |
| go back to verb | To stem from; to originate in. |
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Present perfect continuous have/has been + -ing — an action that started earlier and is still going on | has just been harping · i've been working · you've been doing |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | I've never heard · has been · they've been |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | people who matter · people who you · people who are |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | are paralyzed · were booked · I've been accustomed |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 83 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, I've, don't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: bother /ˈbɑðɚ/, throat /ˈθɹoʊt/, sympathy /ˈsɪm.pəθ.i/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: shock /ʃɔk/, essentially /ɪˈsɛnʃəli/, occasionally /əˈkeɪʒənəli/, equation /ɪˈkweɪ.ʒən/, champagne /ʃæmˈpeɪn/
- Long words — get the stress right: incredibly /ɪŋˈkɹɛdɪbli/, psychologist /ˌsaɪˈkɑl.ə.d͡ʒɪst/, disappointed /ˌdɪsəˈpɔɪnɪd/, essentially /ɪˈsɛnʃəli/, occasionally /əˈkeɪʒənəli/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like robin, hairy, terrific.
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.