The Legendary Actor - Chapter 73

Although Rodrigo remained polite, Renly could feel the politeness and perfunctoriness, and he didn’t understand what was going on.

Is it because Rodrigo thinks he’s too young? Or is it because Rodrigo has invited Ryan to play the role?

Of course, Renly knows that he is at a disadvantage. He is too young, which is not good for Hollywood. The prime age for Hollywood actors is between thirty-five and forty-five, and more than eighty percent of the leading roles in Hollywood movies are kept within this age range, with young actors playing mostly supporting roles. This is one of the main reasons why it is so difficult for teen actors to make a name for themselves.

The age of the male lead in “Buried” is set at around thirty to thirty-five.

But whatever the reason, Renly came to the audition today to do his best and to get the opportunity to act. Today’s outfit was carefully chosen, and he had no intention of giving up easily.

“Thank you for the compliment. It shows that my first job has paid off.” Renly gave a smile of thanks, and Charles chuckled at the ease of the quip, while Rodrigo raised an eyebrow – “The Pacific” was Renly’s first film? It is not enough.

“I came here today specifically for the “Buried” audition. I’m relieved that you haven’t watched “The Pacific” before. These are two very different roles, and I’m a little more confident about today’s audition without the constraints of a fixed image.

Rodrigo couldn’t help but laugh out loud, the young man was truly different. All the other new actors were eager to promote their previous work in the hope that it would add to their chances of audition success, but he went in the opposite direction. Or does he just lack proper experience?

When you think about it further, it’s interesting that he chose to be in “Buried” out of an endless list of works, isn’t it?

“So, can we start auditioning now? Or do I need to wait in line?” Renly stood behind Charles, hinting that Charles was the actor auditioning for the role, a simple gesture that made Rodrigo and Charles both laugh.

Charles waved his hand repeatedly, “I’ll leave you to your work. Good luck! Good luck!” The first voice was addressed to Rodrigo and the second to Renly.

Rodrigo took a half step back and sat back down in the couch, “Can you say again, what was your name?”

“Renly.”

“So, you’re British?” Rodriguez, being Spanish, was not as sensitive to accents, but the London accent was still very distinctive.

Renly sat down across from Rodrigo, “I’m guessing that Paul is an American.” Renly switched to a fluent Chicago accent.

Rodriguez couldn’t tell the difference between a Chicago accent and a New York accent, but he could hear the difference between a British accent and an American accent, and his eyes lit up, “What kind of accent is that?” Accents are one of the most basic lessons in the European actor’s education system, but Rodriguez has always maintained that it’s never easy to figure out an accent really well: “I don’t think it’s a New York accent.”

“Chicago.” Renly replied with a smile, “I can also imitate Spanish accented English if it needs be.” This was indeed one of the basic required courses at the college, and Renly had found it so interesting that he had gone to Cambridge University’s linguistics department to talk to a professor and study it for several months.

Rodrigo didn’t pause for a moment, though he was getting more and more puzzled, “Why Chicago?”

“Heh, just a little speculation on my part.” Renly shrugged his shoulders, in fact, the information left in the union is really limited, there is no direct clue to see where Paul’s setting is really from. It was more than twenty years ago that he last watched “Buried”, his memory was a little fuzzy. Renly can’t remember if the movie mentioned this incident. “Construction engineer, Iraqi public servant, middle class, I guess Paul would be from the Midlands, and as a hub for construction companies, Chicago is definitely the most likely.”

Once an actor gets a script, preparing for a role is a very complicated and tedious process, from accents to dress, even hair and tattoos, these details are all part of the character, and it’s the part that the audience can’t see but can feel, which is exactly the part that shows the actor’s inner workings. Of course, if it’s just a popcorn movie, or a chick flick, then the preparation mode is naturally different.

Rodrigo’s brain felt like it had taken hit, as he was stunned for a moment. It was originally just a chat, but he didn’t expect that it would lead to such a surprising back story, or even him his lack of understanding of the script. He had to admit, he had a bit of a change of heart about Renly.

“Interesting, very interesting.” Rodrigo couldn’t help but gently tuck his jaw, with a look of interest in his eyes, “So, what other interpretations do you have for Paul’s character? In case you haven’t noticed, let me remind you that Paul is thirty-five years old, he’s married, has two children, and has a steady job.”

Rodriguez deliberately gave Renly a hard time, getting right to the point, and then he brought up the mountain that lay in front of Renly. He was curious how Renly would respond. Unwittingly, Rodrigo didn’t even notice that his thoughts about Renly had begun to change.

Renly spread his legs, his hands supported on his knees, his upper body slightly leaned forward, and faced Rodrigo with a strong, rugged face, as the street smell of a construction worker naturally came out, “I personally think we should look at the character of Paul in two parts. Or to be more precise, the performance should be better seen on two levels”.

“Buried” is depicted in the job listing left by the U.S. actors’ union: an American construction contractor, working in Iraq, is one day hit by a bomb, loses consciousness, and wakes up only to find himself trapped in a coffin, buried alive in the desert. He didn’t understand what was happening, and didn’t know what to do. All he had was a knife, a cell phone, and a lighter.

“First, a normal reaction to a critical situation.” Renly’s eyes grew focused, he knew what a tough situation he was in, not only did he have to overcome the shackles of age to get the role, but he also had to beat Ryan Reynolds, he had to do his best to do it. Common!

Rodrigo lifted his right hand, supporting his chin, and his eyes gradually grew deeper,