Shadowing Practice: Nobody Can Handle Cillian Murphy's NONCHALANT Personality - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Did you make a choice not to be on social media or was that being taught to you?
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I'm too old for that, you know.
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No, you're not.
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Yeah.
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Well, enjoy tonight and thank you very much indeed.
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Thank you.
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Thanks.
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Killian Murphy might just be the most nonchalant celebrity on the planet.
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He is super laid back and he has this incredibly dry sense of humor that catches people completely off guard.
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Like the time a reporter revealed to him on camera what Matt Damon had said about him behind his back.
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Matt Damon told me that Killian is the worst dinner companion imaginable.
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They keep making memes out of Killian because he's so, he doesn't mask it.
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He just doesn't mask it.
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When Killian sat down for an interview alongside a very young Tom Holland, The interviewer could not help but point out their significant age gap.
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But in true Killian fashion, he handled it in the most nonchalant way possible.
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But can we just discuss Killian because he's born in the 90s.
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I have a real issue with people born in the 90s.
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They make me feel so old.
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Did you guys feel that on set?
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You're like, he's so young!
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No, actually, no. He's alright.
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He can look after himself.
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He's Spider-Man.
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Yeah, he's a good one.
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One of Killian's most iconic roles is that of Tommy, Shelby and Peaky Blinders.
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But there is one specific thing about that character that he really does not like.
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Back in 2020, Killian acted in the post-apocalyptic film A Quiet Place Part 2.
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During the press tour for the movie, he was asked about surviving an apocalypse in real life and his answer completely caught everybody off guard.
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In 2017, Killian attended the Berlin International Film Festival to promote his movie The Party, And during a Q&A session,
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an audience member addressed him in a way that left him visibly confused.
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You have been working with a legend.
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How is it?
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Are you asking me or him?
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The young boy.
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It's Killian.
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His name is Killian.
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The young boy's name.
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I'll take that as a compliment, I think.
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Not quite sure.
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Two years ago, Killian took home the Oscar for Best Actor for his performance in Oppenheimer, and when he first found out he was nominated,
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his parents had a very wholesome way of celebrating the news.
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We had a hug and then my mom brought out the sponge, she had made a sponge cake, so she had a sponge cake.
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It's a true story.
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What did she say?
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Here's the sponge cake.
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Killian is known for being very laid back in interviews, but every now and then he gets so comfortable that he just completely loses track of what is going on around him.
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And it is one of the funniest things to watch.
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Yeah, it was an awful day really.
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And I remember when we first started that day, Normally you'd get dressed and then you get called to set, but we were all sort of cool outside and lined up where they just poured buckets of
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Jelly all over us and it was freezing cold
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and it felt very realistic to me very very realistic You
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want to get it right you want to be respectful
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and honorable to the men and women involved So we definitely thought about that every day Am I answering that as well?
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You don't have to, you don't want to, we can move to the next session if you want Sure
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Killian's sarcasm came out in full force
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when a reporter asked him about Harry Styles cutting his famous long hair for their movie Dunkirk.
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Earlier in the video, Killian told us he is too old for social media, so it is no surprise that when he was asked to read out emojis in an interview,
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he had absolutely no idea what he was doing.
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Luckily, Emily Blunt was there to help him out.
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Keeping his personal life private is something Killian has always taken very seriously.
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And despite all the attention that comes with being a famous actor, he has found a surprisingly clever way of making sure people don't dig too deep.
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I think the more boring you are in real life, the less people are interested in you.
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So I tell people I have an extraordinarily boring life.
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It's actually incredibly exciting.
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Killian has worked with some of the biggest names in Hollywood over the years.
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He shared the screen with Leonardo DiCaprio in Inception, starred alongside Christian Bale in The Dark Knight,
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and headlined Oppenheimer alongside Robert Downey Jr. But out of everyone he has ever worked with, nobody can bring out his dry humor quite like Jamie Dornan.
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The two acted together in the 2016 film Anthropoid, and their interviews during the press tour for that movie were absolutely hilarious.
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Did you know Killian before personally at all or was it just from afar or...?
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Here we go.
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What does that mean, here we go?
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Where are you going?
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No, we'll see what happens.
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I was a massive fan of his work.
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I'm trying to be sincere now.
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I was before, you know, he's been around a long time.
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And there's, there's...
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What's going on here?
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I mean, I don't know what you're talking about.
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No, but you know what I mean.
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He's been around years.
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Killian, you've been around so long now.
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I know, still here.
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Yeah.
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Chase Eccles is saying, Jamie and Killian, OMG.
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Talk to me, you guys, about filming, yeah, OMG on the God.
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I thought I was on the periodic table.
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Do you think you'd like to work with Jamie again?
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No. He's probably saying something very different.
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Are you saying nice things, or are you saying, like, extraordinarily nice things over here?
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I am.
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No, he's great.
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No, you're amazing.
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He actually said you'd be a great director. Did he?
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I'm very good.
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Irish people are just such good liars.
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When it comes to choosing and preparing for his roles, Killian has a very unique approach.
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I have this metric, you know, like reading scripts, and if you just read it in one go,
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and you don't go and have a cup of tea or cut the grass or what else would you have, what should we do?
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Emptying the bins, then you actually finish it.
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Very exciting life, Killian Murphy has.
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That's not every day because that would be too much.
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And prepping for the role, what's your prep process like?
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Like walk around my basement talking to myself.
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Really?
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And one time a reporter suggested Killian for a role in Game of Thrones, but the description of that character was not exactly flattering.
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Another role that many are saying you would be perfect for is in the television show, HBO show Game of Thrones, hugely popular.
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In the next season, the bastard son of Roos Bolton, Ramsay Bolton, needs to be cast.
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And George R.
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Martin describes him as someone with a fleshy appearance, with large, wormy lips and long hair and pale eyes.
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And so many people say that you would be perfect as Ramsay Snow.
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I don't know if that's a compliment or not.
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I'm not quite sure.
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Film premieres are a big deal in Hollywood.
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The red carpet, the cameras, the whole spectacle.
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Most actors live for those moments.
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But Killian has had a very different relationship with them.
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For him, film premieres are not exactly a priority.
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We introduced the film at Curloughby Berry last year at the festival there.
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The response was incredible.
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Killian didn't bother coming, but Sean and I were there.
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We all know actors never leave a premiere.
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They always stay for the whole movie, right? For sure.
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Where did you go, Killian?
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In true Irish fashion, I went to the bar.
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Killian likes to think of himself as a quiet, reserved person, but his co-stars on Oppenheimer tell a different story.
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Despite all his success, Killian has never let it go to his head.
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He is genuinely humble and he certainly does not see himself as a movie star, even when people tell him otherwise.
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You have screwed this up though, you know.
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In what way?
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You used to be an actor.
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Yeah.
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And now you're a movie star.
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Okay. Am I?
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Do you watch yourself back and think, God, I'm pretty good in this?
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No. You would never guess it from the characters he plays, but Killian has admitted that he is actually a shy person.
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I read that you don't love this, that sitting down to do an interview to promote a film.
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Hmm.
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I guess I'm realizing, I guess I'm just a bit, I'm just quite a shy person.
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So that makes me maybe potentially a s* interviewee.
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But they say acting is like the shy man's revenge, you know what I mean?
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Killian and Tom Hardy both starred in Christopher Nolan's blockbuster Inception.
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And during an interview for the movie, a reporter asked Tom Hardy about a scene where he had to dress up as a woman, but Killian somehow ended up right in the middle of the conversation.
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The first thing I have to ask you, the scene where the bar girl steals a Fisher's wallet, is that you, the girl?
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Yes, that is, yeah.
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Hours of makeup.
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How did that feel to be, you know, with the miniskirt and blonde wig?
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Ask Killian actually, he's more...
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He looked good.
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If I didn't know...
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You would know that.
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You would know.
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It doesn't matter where Killian is or what he is being asked, his nonchalant energy never goes away and it's absolutely hilarious.
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The Trix rabbit, do you have that over there?
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The what?
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The Trix rabbit?
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I've never heard of that.
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Your reaction tells me everything I need to know.
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In Tommy Shelby you created a sympathetic, relatable monster.
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What's in the business?
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I think they're young people that we don't understand what they're talking about.
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During a press interview for the movie Dunkirk, a reporter started repeating internet rumors about the making of the movie.
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But Killian wasn't impressed.
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But to try and keep people out there from getting into the shop, they hired models.
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Just to try and just can people.
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I don't know if that was just like a bit of an urban myth.
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You're reading the internet too much right now.
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Is that right?
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Yeah.
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Killian has worked with director Christopher Nolan on six movies.
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But when it came out that he was not cast in Nolan's latest film, The Odyssey, nobody expected him to be this happy about it.
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You've done six movies with Christopher Nolan.
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Yeah.
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The last being Oppenheimer.
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But you're not in the Odyssey and you said the feeling you have is Romo.
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Can you please explain to the people what Romo is?
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So it's a real gift to go and see Chris' films
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and watch them without having the terrible burden of looking at my own stupid head.
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Do you know what I mean?
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So instead of fear of missing out, you have...
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Relief of missing out.
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That's what Romo is.
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Before acting, Killian wanted to be a musician.
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But as it turns out, he is perfectly happy that it didn't work out for him.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This video has 184 sentences and 1892 words to shadow. The speech runs for 11:58. The speaker talks at a natural 158 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. 82% 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 |
|---|---|---|
| reporter noun | /ɹɪˈpoɹ.tɚ/ | Someone or something that reports. |
| sponge noun | /spʌnd͡ʒ/ | Any of various marine invertebrates of the phylum Porifera, that have a porous skeleton often of silica. |
| alongside | /əˌlɔŋˈsaɪd/ | Side by side with. |
| premiere noun | /pɹəˈmɪɚ/ | The first showing of a film, play or other form of entertainment, often held as a special event with celebrity guests. |
| incredibly adverb | /ɪŋˈkɹɛdɪbli/ | In an incredible manner; not to be believed. |
| mask noun | /mæsk/ | A cover, or partial cover, for the face, used for disguise or protection. |
| hilarious adjective | /hɪˈlɛə.ɹi.əs/ | Very funny; causing great merriment and laughter. |
| realistic adjective | /ˌɹɪəˈlɪs.tɪk/ | Expressed or represented as being accurate, practicable, or not idealistic. |
| rabbit noun | /ˈɹæbɪt/ | A mammal of most genera of the family Leporidae, with long ears, long hind legs and a short, fluffy tail. (Those of the larger kind are instead called hares) |
| bore verb | /boɹ/ | To inspire boredom in somebody. |
| compliment noun | /ˈkɑmpləmənt/ | An expression of praise, congratulation, or respect. |
| humour noun | /ˈhjuːmɚ/ | The quality of being amusing, comical, funny. |
| confused adjective | /kənˈfjuːzd/ | unable to think clearly or understand |
| awful adjective | /ˈɔːfʊl/ | Very bad. |
| chase verb | /t͡ʃeɪs/ | To follow at speed. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| bring out verb | To elicit, evoke, or emphasize (a particular quality). | |
| miss out verb | To miss an experience or lose an opportunity, etc. that should not be missed. | |
| come out verb | /ˌkʌm ˈaʊt/ | To be discovered; to be revealed. |
| come out in verb | to be afflicted by (a visible disruption of the body) | |
| dress up verb | To put on special or fancy clothes. | |
| end up verb | To bring to a conclusion. | |
| find out verb | To discover, as by asking or investigating. | |
| go away verb | To depart or leave a place. |
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | has always taken · has found · has worked |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | being taught · was asked · was nominated |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 41 contractions and reduced forms, such as don't, I'm, you're. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: bother /ˈbɑðɚ/, myth /mɪθ/, sympathetic /ˌsɪm.pəˈθɛt.ɪk/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: potentially /pəˈtɛnʃ(ə)li/, musician /mjuˈzɪʃən/, nonchalant /ˌnɑn.ʃəˈlɑnt/, fleshy /ˈflɛʃi/, preposition /ˌpɹɛpəˈzɪʃən/
- Long words — get the stress right: incredibly /ɪŋˈkɹɛdɪbli/, hilarious /hɪˈlɛə.ɹi.əs/, priority /pɹaɪˈɒɹɪti/, potentially /pəˈtɛnʃ(ə)li/, celebrity /səˈlɛb.ɹɪ.ɾi/
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 reporter, sponge, alongside.
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.