Shadowing Practice: Michael B. Jordan on Taking His Mom to Golden Globes, Playing Twins in Sinners & Miami Vice Rumors - Learn English Speaking with YouTube

B2
Shadowing Controls
0% completed (0/120 sentences)
Our first guest on tonight's very handsome show will undoubtedly be nominated for every award they've got for not just one but two excellent performances in the movie Sinners. It returns to theaters January 23rd. Please welcome Michael B. Jordan.
⏸ Paused
All Sentences
120 sentences
1
Our first guest on tonight's very handsome show will undoubtedly be nominated for every award they've got for not just one but two excellent performances in the movie Sinners. It returns to theaters January 23rd. Please welcome Michael B. Jordan.
2
Oh man, what's up y'all?
3
How are you?
4
I'm doing great, man. I love coming here, man.
5
Well, I love having you. I'll tell you, you look good, but you smell even better.
6
Thank you.
7
You smell very good. How are you? You were at the Golden Globes last night.
8
Was your first Golden Globe nomination.
9
Our first nomination. Yeah. Wow. That's a problem. I mean, I had fun, but my mom stole the show. Mom stole the show.
10
Your mom did steal the show. Your mom, does she know she's all over the internet today?
11
I'm pretty sure all her girlfriends are like texting her and sending her every meme and every clip possible. For sure.
12
So, you brought your mom as your, you mom came along to the show. And I saw your mom at the Critics's Choice Award also. I talked to her for a little while and uh which is nice. You bring your mom, but then you know the monologue happens and Nikki Glazer uh she's you she's aggressive for sure.
13
Yeah. A little bit little bit little bit.
14
And if you didn't see it, well, here we have the tape.
15
We got two Michael B. Jordans. When I saw that, I was like, Nikki Bjerkin because that was awesome.
16
I'm sorry, Michael. It's your mom. Your mom.
17
Just a little just a little little sip.
18
No, that was funny. She Nikki's great, man. She Your mom Did your mom get uncomfortable when women openly lust after you?
19
I I I think by now she's used to it, so she just gives a little eye roll and just kind of keeps it pushing. She doesn't really uh she doesn't really respond too much.
20
Yeah. You um Yeah. Your mom when you bring your mom, I was thinking about this because, you know, our moms know each other, friends.
21
Yes. Um and I hope that my mom doesn't expect to be taken to these shows now herself.
22
Am I am I am I making it hard on you right now?
23
You know, now that I think about it.
24
Yeah. But um what are the downsides to bringing mom to uh an award show like this?
25
Downsides to bringing mom in an award show? I don't know. She can hang. We went out afterwards. We went to, you know, after she went to the after party.
26
Yeah. After party, you know, we had a little fun. She was dancing and stuff.
27
So she she mama mama had a good time.
28
Yeah. I don't I don't I don't really think it's a downside to bringing mom to an event. I think it's only upside. She doesn't like scold you for anything. Uh, keep an eye on you.
29
Me and mom, we I think we we have a lot of inside jokes. So, we have a lot of time people watching throughout the night. So, it's it's fun. She's my little partner in crime.
30
And you're I know you're working on your next movie while this is all going on with all these award shows and all this stuff.
31
I am. I'm in the uh I'm in the edit right now. Um my my director's cut at the at at the moment for Thomas Crown Affair.
32
You are directing and starring in the Thomas Crown. It's a big deal. That's exciting. And you're living in London. You're making uh this while you're in London, right?
33
Yeah, for the past year year and some change. I've been in the UK uh filming it. So, I just got back right before uh uh Thanksgiving and I've been here ever since.
34
How do you like it over there?
35
London's nice.
36
Had you ever lived in another city overseas before?
37
Uh yes, only while filming though. Like every every time I go to a different country for the most part, it's us I'm usually working. Um do you miss home at all when you're over there?
38
I miss a lot of things back home for sure. Uh food being one of them. I think when the food here is like uh is well yeah when you get used to having a lot of great Mexican food. I mean the food there is great food in London but it's different from here.
39
You won't find Mexican food in London.
40
And if you do you don't want to go there. I don't know if you want to try the Mexican food. I don't know.
41
It's it's it's far from Mexico. Yeah.
42
Far far. It's a very good distance from Mexico.
43
And I this is something that really appeals to me. You and I did this happen while you were over there. Were you invested in a football team, a soccer team over there?
44
Yes, that was before I Oh, before you went.
45
Yes. Yes. Yes. This was like a business opportunity that came up to me a few years ago.
46
And uh and I've always loved soccer, but I just I love sports, like, you know, in in general. So, the opportunity to get involved on a ownership level of a of a a sports franchise, that was uh you know, was right up my alley.
47
What's your team over there?
48
Bournemouth Cherries.
49
And do you follow everything they do?
50
Are you keeping like a close eye on all this stuff? Yeah, you know, I'm I'm I'm not like a, you know, I'm not a a micromanager of any sorts, but I like to like, you know, see what's going on with the players and the trades and the wins.
51
We've been having an amazing, you know, last two seasons been phenomenal. So, the Cherries is the name of the team.
52
You're saying it like it's not intimidating or something like um what's up, man?
53
No, it's not intimidating, but I do think it's a good name. I think Okay.
54
All right. Yeah, cuz I always think of like what's the what do the what do the jerseys look like and that kind Do you get involved in any of that stuff?
55
I did. Actually, this was uh my my first uh season where I got a chance to um design a kit. They call the jerseys.
56
They're they're kits. They're not jerseys.
57
Kits, right? Yeah, that's right. Yeah.
58
They correct me all the time.
59
Right. Okay. So, you know, Okay. Yeah.
60
Setting you up to win. Setting you up to win.
61
So, you had you just decided I'm going to make a kit and they're going to wear that kit.
62
Yeah. I It would didn't happen quite like that, but but you know, I decided to make a kit and they ended up wearing them. So, how does that work? Do you sit down with a pen and paper and some magic markers and do you come up with the I I it's something like that or it just comes to me in in a vision sometimes, you know? Uh no, but but but me and a couple of the uh my creative directors, we we got together and we started building out designs and started messing around with different patterns and we came up with some cool some Do you run it by the players beforehand just to make sure they're not going to hate it?
63
I do not.
64
You do not.
65
I do not. We just hope they they like it and then they end up, you know, wearing it and it works out. Are you at all concerned about like if the team doesn't do well that you get blamed for it that people are like, "Oh, ever since this American came in, the Cherries haven't been fresh." I haven't thought about that, but now I'm going to have uh I'm have nightmares about that potentially happened. Thank you so much. Uh no, well, if you haven't had to think about it, then probably it's not a big a big deal. But then it's, you know, like like well, you know, Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mack, they got they went in on on their team at Rexom team. We actually played a friendly a couple of seasons ago. Our two teams, Rexman and B.
66
Were you guys at the game at that time?
67
We went. Yeah. No, I didn't. They didn't go. I was there.
68
You were there? Oh, yeah. I was there.
69
So, you're in a way a bigger supporter of your team than they are of theirs.
70
Whoa. Whoa. Is this a presidential debate or some trying to get? No, no, no, no, no. He We're definitely very competitive and what he's been doing with Rexom and, you know, the show and the doc and all that good stuff has been has been amazing. and he definitely blew that team up and I'm trying to do my version of that with uh Bournemouth as well.
71
Yeah. All right. All right. We're going to take a break. We're come back and uh talk about uh your fantastic movie Sinners. Michael B. Jordan is here.
72
We'll be right back.
73
These two going to be playing down at the old sawmill. It's the grand opening of our new joint, Club Juke. We going to have us a battle of blues.
74
It's going to be a real ring a dang ding just for us.
75
That is Michael Warden, Roy Lindo, and Miles Caitlyn Sinners.
76
I'm going to tell you something. I I mean this sincerely. I love this movie.
77
I love it. I I think it is a great movie. The every bit of it. This kid, he's like I mean his first of all, he's got a beautiful singing voice.
78
Incredible.
79
I'd never seen him before. Had you seen him in anything? This was literally his first uh time auditioning for anything.
80
He's going to be here tomorrow night um singing for us. Uh oh yeah, you guys are in for a treat.
81
You guys are in for a treat.
82
I mean, he learned how to play a guitar in two months for the for this movie.
83
So, he never played a guitar before.
84
Learned how to play it for this film and everything that you see him doing.
85
He you could see him playing it. Wow.
86
That's that's I don't know. That's depressing is what it is.
87
And I usually don't go in for scary movies cuz they're cuz they scare me.
88
This is what I know about you. So that's why it's a big deal that you actually went and saw it.
89
There's one exception though, a vampire movie I will consider because I think it's because they don't really die in a way, you know. I don't know what it is exactly, but I don't like a huge amount of blood, but I didn't feel like like there was a lot of that in the it was it was a lot of blood. Yeah, it was it was a lot of blood there. Um, that's one of my my my pet peeves that I found out that I didn't even know bothered me as much is being covered in fake blood is is woof. My wife I do want to tell you this. So, and she hates that I'm going to tell you this, but we're watching the movie and u my wife loves you by the way and as do I. But we're watching the movie and she goes, "This other guy looks just like Michael.
90
I was like, "What?" So, how' you how'd you break it to me?
91
I just started laughing. I couldn't I wish I was I was cool enough to keep it together and keep her going, but um and some gummies may have been involved in that.
92
Okay. Okay. Okay. All right.
93
All right. She did not know going in that you were playing Smoke and Stack. So, she was That's good.
94
That's a compliment. I I will take that as a full-blown compliment.
95
When you play two characters like that, do you get paid twice? Do you get paid double for that?
96
I I've been asked that question a little bit and I never thought about it before, but maybe I should I should consider that moving forward.
97
And this is not a joke, but this is a real question. Can you be nominated two times?
98
Can you get two best actor nominations for one movie?
99
I don't know the answer to that. You should have figured that out already because that would be something crazy.
100
I might I might look into that, but I'm not I'm not sure. That's a good That's a good question. Does anybody know that? I got to find something. Yeah, I got to find How do you keep them straight when you're playing identical twin brothers like that?
101
What do you mean? Like as far as just make I know they're different.
102
They're not, you know, they're I think that's probably part of why my wife didn't know it was you and both things because they do they look alike obviously, but there there's differences.
103
The mannerisms, everything. Like I start from by by uh creating backtories for all all my characters and these guys obviously they were born at the same time and they had they uh a shared childhood trauma. I think childhood trauma shapes all of all of us in our adult lives um and uh from from the way that they walked to the cadence of their their their their speech um the way they're they were at rest. Uh the the shoes I wore uh for Smoke, I had a size too big shoe because usually when you have big shoes on or you wear shoes that aren't fitting quite right, it's hard for you to move around and I didn't want and Smoke was a character that was pretty um in place. He he moved slowly and deliberately, but he didn't do a lot of extra movements. Stack on the other hand was a little bit more uh he was light, he was a little more buoyant. So I wore a half size too small shoe for him and and that was just easy for me cuz more fidgeting and just a little bit, you know, moving around a little bit. So that really helped me uh kind of in the in the physical body of of Stack. And then it was just, you know, the music to the the to the the grills that I had on and obviously the wardrobe and all those things help out a lot. And the phenomenal cast that I had an opportunity to work uh opposite.
104
Great cast. Really great cast and Haley Delroy and the music is unbelievable.
105
Yeah, it was really great. So, you know, you're only as good sometimes as the people around you. So, when you we were surrounded by incredible cast like that, it was really uh it was really helpful to say.
106
How do they do a How did they do the scene where you're fighting uh you you're you fighting yourself as an actor?
107
So, I have a a twin double.
108
Uhhuh. Uh and a and a twin stunt double for that particular moment.
109
A twin double and a twin stunt double.
110
Yes. So, twin double sometimes when I'm in Are they twins?
111
No, they are not twins. Okay.
112
The right lighting, if you squint and you know what I'm saying, and you tilt your head, they kind of look similar, but no, no, no, not not twins. Uh, so my twin stunt double, we would um I would do one pass as smoke and one pass is stack. And I would wear this thing called a Halo rig, which is like a a harness with about like 12 cameras that you get a 360 view of my performance. And I would do the whole scene with that halo rig on and then visual effects would take it from there.
113
And they put your head on the bodies of these guys and depending on what uh part of the this is just strictly for that fight sequence. Uh and depending on what part of the story or what character um is in control of that moment, that's that would be me in real time or it would be my twin stunt double with the facial.
114
Have you thought about using this technology for another Creed movie? Like Creed fights Creed. No, I think that's like Creed like 47.
115
Like when I if I ever get that far down in the cannon, then yeah, I might I might pull out that.
116
Is I heard a rumor or I read a rumor that you are going to be making a Miami Vice movie. Uh Crockett and Tubs with Austin Butler. Rumors. Rumors be rumoring.
117
Uh-huh. Listen, I I love I love Miami. Miami is is amazing place, you know.
118
That's a good way of answering it. Well, it's great to have you here.
119
Congratulations. If you haven't seen it, go see Sinners. It's back in the theaters on January 23rd. Michael B.
120
Jordan. Everybody. We'll be back with Jo.
4.9/5 on App Store & Google Play

Shadowing English On Mobile

Learn English anytime, anywhere with the Shadowing English app. Improve your communication skills today!

Track your learning progress
AI grading and error correction
Rich video library
Download on theApp Store
GET IT ONGoogle Play
Shadowing English Mobile App

About This Lesson

In this lesson, learners will practice listening comprehension and speaking skills by engaging with a dialogue featuring the talented actor Michael B. Jordan. By examining his experiences at the award shows and his interactions with his mother, students will not only enhance their vocabulary but also improve their English pronunciation through shadowing techniques. This engaging content allows learners to immerse themselves in natural conversation, making it easier to adopt the nuances of spoken English.

Key Vocabulary & Phrases

  • Nomination - the act of formally selecting someone for an award.
  • Steal the show - to attract the most attention or praise in a particular event.
  • Eye roll - a silent gesture expressing annoyance, disbelief, or indifference.
  • Inside jokes - humor shared by a group that outsiders may not understand.
  • Business opportunity - a chance to earn profit by engaging in a commercial endeavor.
  • Ownership level - being a part of the management or control over a business.
  • Keep an eye on - to carefully observe and monitor something.
  • Soccer team - a group of players that engage in the sport of soccer, known as football in many countries.

Practice Tips

To truly benefit from this conversation, consider utilizing a shadowing app that allows you to listen and repeat phrases alongside the video. Here are specific techniques to improve your English pronunciation:

  • Break it Down: Focus on small sections of the dialogue, perhaps just a few sentences at a time. Repeat each phrase after hearing it to match the speed and tone of Michael B. Jordan.
  • Emphasis and Intonation: Pay attention to how emotions are expressed through voice. Notice the rise and fall in intonation, especially when discussing personal stories like award shows and family moments.
  • Shadow Speech: As you practice, try to mimic not just the words but also the rhythm and delivery. This will help you sound more natural in conversations.
  • Record Yourself: Listen to your own shadow speak. Compare it to the original audio to identify areas where you can improve, focusing on pronunciation and fluency.
  • Engage with the Content: After shadowing, try summarizing what you learned about Michael B. Jordan's experiences. This will reinforce your comprehension and increase confidence in speaking.

By consistently practicing these techniques, you will gradually improve your English speaking skills, making it easier to communicate effectively in various situations.

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.

☕ Buy us a coffee