The Legendary Actor - Chapter 82

“I’m sorry, Ryan.”

It must be Renly Hall, after much deliberation, Rodrigo finally decided to give the role of Paul to Renly.

Rodrigo knew it was a risk, giving up his first choice, giving up the social advantages that Ryan had, all of which would undoubtedly put “Buried” in a difficult position; but Rodrigo was also clear about his goal, which was to make a classic work, and he didn’t want to give up the quality of the work itself for the prospect of commercial promotion.

Renly’s performance succeeded in impressing him, convincing him, and even bringing unexpected inspiration, and so he had no reason to refuse.

It was a dilemma, but Rodrigo had no regrets. For independent films, quality is always the first benchmark, not star power or commercial value.

The words finally came out without much hesitation. Rodrigo originally thought it would be very difficult, but after saying it, his heart felt relieved, and he could clearly hear the sound of a big stone falling to the ground, which made him become more determined, “Thank you very much for coming to New York in person and giving so much valuable advice. But, the movie has already been decided to feature another actor.”

Ryan’s expression obviously froze, the smile stiffened at the corners of his mouth, it was almost untenable, he laughed awkwardly in stupefication, “Oh, what does that mean? What do you mean you’ve decided to sign with another actor?”

Rodrigo seriously thought about it and decided to tell the truth, “After the conversation and analyzing just now, I think that there are more suitable candidates for the role of Paul Conroy.”

Ryan’s smile still hung at the corners of his mouth, but it was barely possible to maintain, his face darkened little by little, no better than the bottom of the pot. Rodrigo’s words were like a slap in the face, flinging him so hard that it felt hot.

Rodrigo paused a bit, but still explained, “You were able to come over to New York personally, which is undoubtedly a great honor for me, and I still feel a little unreal even now. But work is work, and the filming of “Buried” is going to be very challenging, and the character of Paul is far more complex and profound than one can imagine, and you are a good actor, no, a great actor – otherwise I would not have invited you personally, but you are not the most suitable actor for Paul.”

Ryan only felt his cheeks hurt, just now he was still pointing out the script and structure of “Buried” giving his own ideas, looking forward to the great work on this production, but now it all ended up with such a result. He just felt as if he was stripped naked, naked in front of the public, the feeling of shame from the soles of the feet burned all the way to the top of the head.

“I’m sorry.” Rodrigo once again expressed his apologies, sincere attitude not only was professional but heartfelt. You could see that he did it completely out of rational considerations, without any personal factors mixed in.

It was precisely this professionalism that humiliated him, and made him unable to get angry.

He, Ryan Reynolds, has been an actor for nearly a decade, and last year was a hit with “The Proposal”, but was rejected by an independent work with less than three million dollars? He also personally came to New York from Los Angeles to express its importance for him, but still was rejected? What’s worse, it was rejected at the end of the audition after the invitation was extended by the other party? Because of professional reasons?

Ryan clenched his teeth, and he did not resist the urge to clench his fist as well. The muscles beneath the suit were trembling slightly, keeping the smile that had almost begun to twist, all while tried to squeeze a sentence out word by word from his teeth, “Like you said, work is work. I can understand that.”

“To be honest, I still look forward to working with you, I hope the next production we will have a chance.” Rodrigo said, still with a sincere face.

“Of course. Of course.” Ryan nodded repeatedly and paused, “Wait, you just said I’m not the most suitable actor for Paul?” Ryan was now a little dizzy with anger, all thoughts are focused on his own rejection of the matter, as he even forgot to ask who was more suitable.

Rodrigo hesitated for a moment, using words that seemed very careful and cautious in nature, “About your excellence, there is no doubt about it. It’s just that, after exploring, we felt that Paul should be a more blue-collar, coarser, more unruly character. Obviously, you have a superhero vibe about you, which is a slight deviation from the setting.”

Ryan knew that all this was nonsense, obviously Rodrigo did not want to offend him, so he was naturally unwilling to tell the truth. He took a deep breath, but the boiling in his chest still could not be calmed, he had to take a deep breath again, “huh.” With a dry smile to hide his agitation and anger, “So … er …” his brain wasn’t even able to function properly, “So. Who was the last actor you guys picked? Is it someone I know?”

Rodriguez was a little hesitant. Now Ryan is angry, being just rejected, the timing is obviously not appropriate; moreover, if he told Ryan of the final choice being Renly, who just finished the audition before him, he can not predict whether Ryan’s anger will affect the shooting of “Buried”.

“Haha.” Rodrigo gave an exaggerated dry laugh to cover his emotions, “We’re just an independent film, how could we possibly attract so many famous actors? Honestly, I still have a heartburn even now after missing out on you.”

Words of praise also failed to calm Ryan down a bit. He lost, no matter how much he whitewashed the situation, he just lost.

“Scarlett.” Rodriguez’s sight caught Scarlett’s figure, as if seeing a savior, and hastily called out to, “Sorry to keep you waiting.”

Scarlett’s side surrounded by several young people, exuberantly talking about something, was holding a book she just finished signing. Scarlett showed them a smile, and then walked over, “You boys finished the work?” Scarlett put her hands on Ryan’s shoulders, but noticed that Ryan’s shoulders were tight and scary, but she didn’t mention anything and said without moving, “So can we go see the exhibition now?” Scarlett leaned into Ryan’s ear and aggravated her tone, “Remember? We have an exhibition to see today.”

The words finally brought Ryan back to some sense, “Of course, of course I haven’t forgotten.” Ryan also stood up and took Scarlett’s waist, “Rodrigo, it was a good conversation today. I hope we can continue to stay in touch afterwards.”

A simple sentence, but Scarlett heard the implication – did it mean that the “Buried” did not work out? Otherwise, why not just “will” keep in touch, than “can” keep in touch?