Chapter 120: Audition for a Role

After the match, Link returned to New York and transferred the $4.2 million he earned into his account. The prize money for this match was $10 million.

According to the pre-match agreement, he and Tyson split it 7:3, with the winner taking the larger share. After splitting it with Dynasty Promotions 6:4, he only had $4.2 million left.

He then contacted Franco and bought the Yorkville apartment for $3.2 million. The real estate crisis was still ongoing, and New York's housing prices had fallen a lot. Buying real estate at this time was also a reasonable investment.

He handed over the remaining money to Kathy Wood, the manager of Vanguard Asset Management Company, and bought some technology stocks such as Amazon, Apple, Google, Netflix, and YouTube while the stock market had not yet risen.

It wouldn't be difficult to become a billionaire by 2010 when the stock market recovered.

"Link? Are you Mr. Link Baker?"

At the Rooftop Music Bar on Third Avenue in Manhattan, Link was reading the newspaper when a surprised voice came from beside him. Link looked up and saw two young men and women in their early twenties, both looking at him with excited eyes.

"Hello!"

"Mr. Link Baker, I'm your boxing fan. Can I have your autograph?" The young man said, holding a sketchbook.

Link nodded, signed for them, and took a photo with them. The two fans then left happily.

After he defeated Tyson, Dynasty Promotions did a lot of publicity work, spreading the news all over the world.

Now his fame in the boxing world was even greater than when he became the world champion, and he had more and more fans. Coupled with his videos on YouTube, he was often recognized when he went out shopping.

"Hey, Link, it really is you."

Hearing someone greeting him from behind, Link turned around and saw Paul Walker with blond hair walking over with a wine glass. They had worked together once in the "Fast & Furious 4" crew in Miami last time, and they didn't contact each other much, so he didn't expect to meet him here.

"Paul, you're in New York too?"

Link waved and invited Paul to sit down.

Paul smiled brightly and said, "Yes, I'm here to promote my new movie. I saw in the newspaper that you beat Tyson again. You're really amazing."

"Tyson is too old. If he was younger, I wouldn't be his opponent," Link shrugged and said.

"Haha, you're too modest. Last time at the bar in Miami, you said you couldn't race, but after getting on the road, you left us far behind in less than ten miles. Your skills are no worse than professional racing drivers. When can we race again?" Paul Walker patted his shoulder and laughed.

This guy was a racing fan, and he couldn't stop talking about racing. Link smiled and said, "Okay, next time I go to Los Angeles, I'll look for you. If you lose, you leave your car behind."

"No problem! It's a deal."

Paul Walker extended his fist and bumped it with him.

After chatting for a few words, Paul Walker got up and left. His new movie, "The Lazarus Project," had just been released recently. It was a thriller and suspense film. This guy was also ambitious. After the success of "Fast & Furious," he would also take on some niche films, trying to transform.

After seeing Paul Walker off, Link continued to read the script on the table. After a while, a middle-aged man in a black wool coat came to the booth. He was in his forties, white, with brown curly hair, and looked very energetic.

This person was Darren Aronofsky, the director of the movie "The Fighter," whom Link had an appointment with today.

Director Darren was also from New York. His representative works included "Requiem for a Dream," "The Fountain," and the recently released "The Wrestler," as well as the future "Black Swan."

"The Wrestler" was also a sports-themed movie, telling the story of a popular professional wrestler in the 1980s from glory to failure. This movie received a good response after its release, and at the Venice Film Festival in August, he won the Best Director award for this movie.

It was also for this reason that Relativity Media, the producer of "The Fighter," found him to direct this movie, and the script in Link's hands was also sent by him.

"Mr. Link, I'm sorry I'm late."

"It's okay, I just arrived too."

Link stood up, shook hands with him, and invited him to sit down.

After Director Darren sat down, he stared at Link for a moment, "Link, although I know you're a world boxing champion, seeing you in person is still a bit surprising. You don't look like a boxer."

"Oh?"

Link called the waiter to order a cup of coffee for Director Darren.

Director Darren spread his hands and said, "Do you know Mickey Rourke? The male lead of 'The Wrestler.' He used to be an actor and switched to boxing at the age of 29. Because of multiple facial injuries, his facial muscles are stiff, but your facial muscles are very flexible, and you have a literary temperament. It's hard to believe that you are a world boxing champion."

Link laughed, "That's because my technique is relatively good, and it's difficult for ordinary people to hit my face."

Another reason was that he recovered faster and more thoroughly from injuries than ordinary people, so injuries would not affect his muscles and appearance.

Director Darren nodded, "I've watched your matches. At first, I just wanted to understand your fighting style, but after watching two matches, I became your fan. Your boxing skills are amazing, perfectly combining speed, strength, and technique. Every match is very exciting."

"Thank you!"

After the waiter brought the coffee, Link took the initiative to shift the topic to the script "The Fighter."

Since getting the script, he had done a lot of work. First, he read books on acting and learned several acting theories.

Second, he found the contact information of Micky Ward, the prototype of the protagonist of "The Fighter," through Main Events and asked about his personality and hobbies.

He also took the initiative to find director Woody Allen and ask him for advice on acting.

Originally, he was very confident, but Director Darren said that he didn't look like a boxer, which made him a little confused about the director's thoughts.

"Link, have you read the script? What kind of person do you think Micky Ward is?" Director Darren asked.

Link thought for a moment, "A slow-witted and indecisive person."

Micky Ward's career had always been controlled by his mother, who was also his manager. He had no plans of his own. Later, he met his girlfriend and was controlled by her, falling out with his mother and family.

He had no personal ideas in professional matches and only listened to his brother's arrangements. His brother told him how to fight, and he would fight that way. After his brother went to prison, he listened to his coach's arrangements.

His fists were hard, but his boxing IQ was low.

When the protagonist had to choose between his girlfriend and coaching team and his mother and brother, he chose to escape.

In the end, his brother took the initiative to reconcile the two sides. Finally, his girlfriend and mother sat together, and he defeated the boxing champion Arturo Gatti in the ring, a Hollywood-style happy ending.

"Link, you are smarter than Micky in boxing. If you were to play him, how would you portray his dullness and slowness?" Director Darren asked, crossing his fingers.

When Link read the script, he found that this character was a bit like Guo Jing, the hero from "The Legend of the Condor Heroes." He was dull and slow-witted, easily influenced, but simple-minded and focused, which was also one of the reasons why Micky Ward could become a boxing star.

It was not easy to play this role well.

He specially sought advice from director Woody Allen, who suggested that he should have fewer facial expressions, speak less, speak slower, not move his eyes around, and be quieter in both language and actions.

Link followed Woody Allen's advice, put on a dull expression, and slowed down his speech, "Director Darren, what do you think?"

Director Darren stared at him for a moment. From a professional point of view, Link's performance was rough and immature, far worse than professional actors.

The only bright spot was that his performance had aura, and his appearance was outstanding and recognizable.

He was now thinking about whether to give the role to Link for these reasons.

In fact, handing the script to Link's agency was an impulse. When preparing for the movie "The Fighter," he planned to find a professional boxer to play the leading role, so that it would look more professional.

At that time, Link's match happened to be broadcast on TV, and he felt that Link's image was good and very suitable for this role, so he asked someone to give the script to him.

However, after reading many reports about Link, he found that Link and Micky Ward were two different types of boxers. One was dull, the other was shrewd, one achieved success late, and the other achieved fame at a young age. The more he looked, the more he felt the difference between the two was too big and not suitable.

Director Darren considered that Link was a world boxing champion and might not be interested in acting, so he didn't withdraw the script.

But two days ago, Link's agent suddenly called and said that Link was interested in this role and wanted to talk to him.

Out of respect for Link, he came to the appointment, preparing to politely decline Link in person. However, seeing that Link had some talent in acting, he hesitated again. Should he cooperate with Link once?

"Link, may I ask, you are a world boxing champion and have done very well in boxing. I saw the "New York Post"'s evaluation of you, saying that your potential is not inferior to De La Hoya and Mayweather. You are already so successful, why do you want to cross over and become an actor?" Director Darren asked curiously.

Link smiled slightly, "There are many reasons, but two are more important. First, I like acting, and I have the desire to perform; second, I want to promote myself and boxing through movies. When I won the gold belt, President Mendoza said that the gold belt is not only an honor, but also a responsibility. Every champion should regard promoting boxing as an obligation, so that more people can understand and learn boxing.

So when I saw the script of "The Fighter," I didn't hesitate to accept it. I think playing this role is not just acting, but also a way to engage in boxing."

Director Darren looked at him in surprise. He thought Link would say that he loved acting and that being an actor was his dream, but he didn't expect him to say that he wanted to promote boxing in this way. It seemed that he really wanted to be an actor, not just dabbling in it.

Director Darren hesitated for a moment and decided not to reject Link immediately.

Link had a good image and was very popular. He was also a professional boxer and had some talent in acting. These were all advantages.

The only disadvantage was his immature acting skills, but this wasn't a big problem. For a professional director, working with a talented actor was easier than working with a veteran actor.

"Link, this role is very important. I can't decide alone. I need to go back and discuss it with everyone. We may invite you to the production company for a second audition. I hope it won't disturb you."

"No problem, I'll wait for your call," Link said.

(End of Chapter)