Chapter 54: Abilities More Important Than Acting

"Matthew Horner visited Britney at the hospital and stayed overnight; their romance is now confirmed!"

Even Matthew himself did not expect that he would hit the headlines of numerous tabloids in this way, suddenly becoming known to many.

"According to sources, Matthew Horner spent last night in Britney's hospital room," revealed an insider in a tabloid, which also included some adult-only descriptions as if the reporters had witnessed everything themselves.

Moreover, another tabloid published a photo of Matthew getting into a car driven by Rachel McAdams yesterday, accusing him of two-timing.

The identity of Matthew was also thoroughly investigated by the reporters and likewise made the news.

Many journalists were surprised that an actor like Matthew, who had performed alongside Angelina Jolie and Winona Ryder, and had played a significant role in Ridley Scott's new movie "Gladiator."

Matthew remembered the advice of his two agents, to always keep silent no matter the time or place.

"Helen!"

In a golf club in Orange County, southeast of Los Angeles, Helen Herman handed her golf club to a caddie and said to the middle-aged man standing next to her, "The person I recommended to you is not a nobody."

She came here not just to avoid Britney Spears's agent and record company but more importantly to meet this producer named Eric Bock.

"I know, Britney's rumored boyfriend," Eric Bock adjusted the brim of his sun hat, "Someone who had bit parts on the sets of 'Ghost Whisperer' and Ridley's 'Gladiator.'"

Helen Herman smiled and walked with Eric Bock to the next hole. She had done enough research to know that Eric's productions often needed a lot of experienced yet not too famous actors. Matthew was somewhat lacking in experience.

As they walked, Eric Bock said, "Helen, for this kind of thing, you should be talking to Tom Hanks or Steven Spielberg."

"I don't carry any weight with them," Helen Herman was aware of her limits, "And my father refuses to call them, so I had to come to you."

She had never considered using her father's connections, knowing that these significant favors should be saved for truly critical moments.

As they continued to walk, Helen Herman added, "Isn't this a war drama? There must be many roles besides Richard Winters, right? A lot of supporting roles?"

Eric Bock stopped and thought for a moment, then said, "There are indeed quite a few supporting roles. Alright, send me Matthew Horner's details, and I'll add him to the audition list."

"Thank you…" Helen Herman started to say but was interrupted by Eric Bock, "Don't thank me yet. I can only do this much. Whether he passes the auditions is not up to me."

Helen Herman nodded and said, "Thank you, Eric."

She knew Eric Bock was one of the lower-ranking producers in the crew; the real controllers of the TV miniseries were Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg.

In front of such big names, she had little say.

Since Eric Bock had agreed to help Helen Herman, he casually added, "The crew will hold auditions in Los Angeles before heading to the UK and France for training and shooting. All these roles are soldiers, so make sure your actor gets in good physical shape."

Thinking of Matthew's robust physique from years of physical labor, Helen Herman said, "You can count on that."

Eric Bock collected a golf club from the caddy and motioned Helen Herman to follow, "Come on, let's go to the next hole."

As they continued their game, when Eric Bock was in a good mood, Helen Herman spoke again, "Matthew Horner has a rough look, could he fit into a tough guy role?"

To be honest, she wasn't very confident in Matthew's acting skills. Compared to psychologically complex roles, the tough guy role in a war movie was easier and more likely to win the audience's favor.

Since it was just a minor role, Eric Bock did not object, waved his hand generously, and said, "No problem, just wait for my news."

Back in Los Angeles' Westwood district, Matthew stayed home and didn't go out. Early in the morning, he noticed paparazzi outside, and to avoid trouble, he skipped his routine morning run and stayed indoors.

Reading newspapers and books was part of his daily routine. His reading skills had improved significantly over the past few months, making reading relatively easy, though his writing skills had not progressed at all. Like a student who was bad at essay writing, his verbal skills were strong, but his written expression was completely different.

Fortunately, he aspired to be a Hollywood star, where poor writing skills were less of an issue.

Moreover, Matthew planned to improve his writing once his reading improved further. After all, in an era when online communication was rampant, one couldn't always rely on others to write on

 his behalf.

He had researched and found that blogs were now a thing in North America. He considered starting one to write posts and share behind-the-scenes photos, but computers were currently expensive, and his writing was not up to par, so he decided to wait.

Another reason was that Matthew had just bought a new phone, and last week, he purchased a used TV and video player set. He rented many films starring Marlon Brando, Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, and Daniel Day-Lewis and installed a large mirror on his apartment wall to study the acting styles of these renowned actors.

He also sought advice from an acting coach, David Astor, a non-academic old actor who taught him an unusual method to emulate the performances of famous Hollywood actors. Astor even provided a compilation of outstanding acting scenes from movies.

According to David Astor, as long as Matthew persisted, he might not become a leading actor, but his skills could reach the average level of regular actors.

Turning on the TV, Matthew inserted a VHS tape of "The Godfather" into the player and watched for a while. Like Marlon Brando in the film, he sat majestically in his chair. With no one else present, he could only observe himself in the mirror. For some reason, compared to Marlon Brando on the TV, he always felt his performance was lacking substance.

The standards of acting are indeed subjective, but that's after one reaches a baseline level of skill. For a novice like Matthew, the gap between him and well-known actors was starkly evident.

For someone with ordinary talent like him, improving in acting could only come through prolonged and extensive practice.

Those who are naturally brilliant actors are rare.

After watching "The Godfather," Matthew rewound the tape to the scenes that had made an impression on him, stood in front of the mirror, and started reenacting the performances of Marlon Brando and Al Pacino.

Though there was no audience and no one to give feedback, he took his practice very seriously, completely immersing himself in the film's characters and settings.

Including the twenty years he had lived on the other side of the Pacific, Matthew had never been so focused. Having been in the acting circle for several months, he clearly understood that for unsupported actors, opportunities were crucial. To seize and capitalize on fleeting opportunities required abilities that not everyone was born with.

He once read a widely circulated story about an actor on his smartphone. The details were vague now, but it roughly mentioned an Oscar-winning actor who, upon receiving the Oscar, told his acting coach that he had won. The coach dismissively replied that none of the students he had taught had inferior acting skills to his, and that winning an Oscar was not because of superior talent but merely because he had landed the role, which was nothing to brag about.

This story made a lot of sense in many ways, highlighting the importance of opportunities. Matthew had once agreed with this sentiment, but now he realized it was just a story, no different in essence from the motivational posts in his social media feeds.

In his view, the crucial part of the story was that the Oscar winner had gotten the role, and the others had not.

Why didn't those people get the role while the Oscar winner did? Was it a deliberate act of God or just luck? Neither. Securing and making the most of opportunities is a skill in itself!

This skill is often more important than the acting prowess emphasized by teachers.

Matthew continued to practice deep into the night until his stomach growled loudly. Peeking out, he saw no signs of paparazzi and decided to change clothes and head out to the Chinese restaurant he had visited a few days ago for lunch.

Elsewhere, as night fell and the streetlights came on along Hollywood Boulevard, Michael Sheen finished his dinner at a small restaurant and walked out.

After a period of recuperation, the injury on his buttocks had finally healed. Remembering the humiliation and the awkward moments with the doctor still infuriated him.

The doctor had told him that his injury wasn't severe initially, but eating inappropriate foods and drinking had caused inflammation and worsened his condition.

Michael immediately thought of the meal Matthew had treated him to and realized he had been set up.

Since he didn't know where Matthew lived and couldn't reach him by phone, he had spent the past few days loitering near Red Penguin Productions, hoping to find that despicable scoundrel and settle the score.