Shadowing Practice: Thor - Tom Hiddleston Interview - Learn English Speaking with Video
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110 sentences
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First of all, I want to get clear.
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How were you pronouncing your character's name?
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Loki.
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Loki.
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Because I swear Anthony was saying Loki all the way through.
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Well, he's Welsh, so maybe that's...
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I think he says Loki.
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Loki like that in his deep gravitas, sincere way.
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Yeah, there you go.
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Loki.
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And so how many times have people said you've given a Loki performance?
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A few times initially when I got cast, my friends were like...
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In fact, I got given by one of my best friends a very, very tiny key.
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And it was supposed to be my talisman for the...
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He said, it's for a low door.
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It's the key to a low door.
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I was like, nice one, Tom.
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I see what you're doing there.
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And of course, I saw the film yesterday and I genuinely really enjoyed it really enjoyed it.
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It was great fun.
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What got me about what you had to do?
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It's that helmet.
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I mean, what was it like having to wear that all the time?
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Yeah, well, you know, it is in the comics.
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Loki has a pair of satanic horns on his head the entire time.
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So if I didn't do that, I think I probably would have scrimped on the character in some way.
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But it also makes you stand up straighter.
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But the costumes were They were so beautifully made, but they had a weight to them.
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So when you've got film lights shining on you, it can get quite hot under there.
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And then if you put what I used to call the steel balaclava on my head, there's nowhere for the heat to go.
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So my brain would slowly turn to scrambled eggs.
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Which is, I think, why Loki is so angry all the time.
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But, you know, it gives you so much.
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It's like, I remember reading something where Christian Bale was trying not to complain about wearing the Batsuit
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and how hot it was in there.
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Of course it gets hot when you're wearing heavy costumes, but you get to be a superhero, so there's no complaints.
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Absolutely.
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I mean, right at the end of the film, there's a bit where you have to lay down with your head back.
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Were the horns getting in the way there, or did they have special horns for laying down scene?
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They didn't, no. No, I guess it's just, it all feeds into the mix in a way when you're shooting.
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You have to roll with the punches and go with the flow.
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And I do think that the weight of the whole costume
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and the weight of those horns on my head kind of fed into Loki's distress in that moment.
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He's really not in a happy place in his own mind at that point.
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So any kind of discomfort just goes with the territory, I think.
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When you first got the role, what did you know about comics?
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What did you know about Norse gods?
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Did you quickly go to Wikipedia?
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I knew about the mythology.
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Also, as a child, I had a pack of Marvel superheroes' top trumps with all of their vital statistics.
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So I knew Thor and Loki in the Marvel context through that.
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But from day one, it was just about immersing myself in the world of the comics.
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And the more I read, the more of a fanboy I became in my own way.
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In a way, they're such extraordinary stories.
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The size of them, they're so deep and rich, and they kind of take you in different directions.
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And very cool.
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I mean, if you read a few, did you read the one where Thor gets turned into a frog?
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Did you read that one?
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I must have done, yeah.
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I don't remember that one specifically right now.
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I was just wondering whether you'd like Loki to do that in any sequels.
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I do remember that, actually.
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It's one of his, yeah, there's an element of the sort of shape-shifting aspect of Loki, which I always liked.
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You know, I remember there's a version where he turns a whole street of cars in New York into ice cream.
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And then he goes down and turns whales on Earth into sea serpents, just to see how the sailors cope, and those kind of things.
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So he does a lot of kind of magic spells, which I don't get to do so much in this one, but hopefully in the future I will.
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Well, you just mentioned that.
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it seems now definite that you're involved somehow in Avengers at the very least.
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I don't know that's true actually.
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You don't know?
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I know that Loki will come back.
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I really don't.
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I know that Loki's gonna come back in some capacity, lurking in the shadows in some unpredictable way.
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But I actually don't know that it's gonna be the Avengers, so...
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I would just kind of assume that from the post-credits scene.
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Oh, I see, yeah.
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Well, we'll...
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I don't know.
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Who knows, man.
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And I mean, obviously the other big thing about this film, as opposed to your usual superhero film, is Kenneth Branagh directed it.
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I know.
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I mean, you know, what was it like having him as a director and how did his big Shakespearean background, did that come into it at all?
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Oh, I think so.
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I mean, I think he's such an amazing storyteller
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and he has a kind of mastery of the beats and twists and turns of what really makes a good story.
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And Shakespeare's plays are full of kings and queens and princes who are all competing for each other's affection and pride.
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And really this is exactly that.
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This is a king and his two sons who are princes competing for his affection, love and pride.
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So I think what's wonderful about Cairn is he's got an appreciation for the genre.
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It's a huge sci-fi fantasy adventure epic,
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but wrapped inside that is a dynastic drama and also a kind of comedy caper romance as well.
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So it's really amazing what he's done, I think.
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I mean, when you originally met with him, what tone did he say he was trying for the film?
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Because I was quite surprised by the tone and how we embraced the comic so much.
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Yeah, I think he always wanted to make something classic and weighty.
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He didn't want to be too glib.
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And I don't think he was interested necessarily in emulating other comic book films.
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I think he wanted just to put his own stamp on it.
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I think he has an innately warm and redemptive heart.
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I think he wanted there to be some sort of redemption in a way.
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And it's a very pure story.
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It's about the hero's journey from arrogance to humility.
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So that was his story.
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And that's just been wrapped up.
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One final quick question.
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If you were a god yourself, what would you want to be the god of?
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Oh my goodness.
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At this moment in time, because I'm not as good as I would like to be, I'd like to be the god of piano playing.
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Excellent.
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There you go, because I'm trying to get better.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This B2 speaking lesson is built on the video “Thor - Tom Hiddleston Interview”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: Loki, film, comic. This video has 110 sentences and 1215 words to shadow. The speech runs for 6:49. The speaker talks at a natural 178 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
The 15 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| horn noun | /hɔɹn/ | A hard growth of keratin that protrudes from the top of the head of certain animals, usually paired. |
| superhero noun | /ˈs(j)upɚhɪɹoʊ/ | Any fictional crime-fighting character, often with supernatural powers or equipment, in popular children's and fantasy literature; a fictional hero who does… |
| costume noun | /ˈkɑsˌt(j)um/ | A style of dress, including garments, accessories and hairstyle, especially as characteristic of a particular country, period or people. |
| affection noun | /əˈfɛk.ʃən/ | The act of affecting or acting upon. |
| wrap verb | /ɹæp/ | To enclose (an object) completely in any flexible, thin material such as fabric or paper. |
| balaclava noun | /ˌbæl.əˈklɑː.və/ | A type of warm headgear covering the neck, head, and often part of the face, with apertures left as necessary, often made out of wool. |
| dynastic adjective | /daɪˈnæstɪk/ | Pertaining to a dynasty. |
| emulate verb | /ˈɛm.jʊ.leɪt/ | To copy or imitate, especially a person. |
| gravitas noun | /ˈɡɹævɪtɑs/ | Seriousness in bearing or manner; dignity. |
| immerse verb | /ɪˈmɜɹs/ | To place within a fluid (generally a liquid, but also a gas). |
| innately adverb | In an innate manner, referring to a property that is possessed merely by its nature. | |
| redemptive adjective | Causing, or relating to, redemption or saving; redeeming. | |
| satanic adjective | /seɪˈtænɪk/ | Evil, fiendish, devilish or diabolical. |
| scramble verb | /ˈskɹæmbl̩/ | To move hurriedly to a location, especially by using all limbs against a surface. |
| scrimp verb | /skɹɪmp/ | To make too small or short; to shortchange. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| come back verb | To return to a place. |
| go down verb | To descend; to move from a higher place to a lower one. |
| lay down verb | To give up, surrender, or yield (e.g. a weapon), usually by placing it on the ground. |
| stand up verb | To rise from a lying or sitting position. |
| wrap up verb | To cover or enclose (something) by folding and securing a covering entirely around it. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- How were you pronouncing your character's name?
- I see what you're doing there.
- What got me about what you had to do?
- When you first got the role, what did you know about comics?
- Did you read that one?
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 26 contractions and reduced forms, such as don't, you're, didn't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: affection /əˈfɛk.ʃən/, redemption /ɹɪˈdɛmpʃən/, appreciation /əˌpɹiː.ʃiˈeɪ.ʃən/, shine /ʃaɪn/, genre /ˈ(d)ʒɑnɹə/
- Long words — get the stress right: superhero /ˈs(j)upɚhɪɹoʊ/, balaclava /ˌbæl.əˈklɑː.və/, humility /hjuːˈmɪlɪti/, mythology /mɪˈθɑ.lə.d͡ʒi/, beautifully /ˈbju.tɪ.fə.li/
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 horn, superhero, costume.
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.