Chapter 177: Big Shot

Chapter 177: Chapter 177: Big Shot

Seeing that their reasons made no sense at all, that person gave a mysterious smile: "Lillian Young has a powerful big shot backing her, that’s the real reason. Get it?"

The entertainment industry is a place of fame and fortune, and those big shots who can make major companies and top directors tread carefully are most likely the ones wielding power above the industry itself.

Everyone looked on with awe and envy.

Quite a few cast their onlooker’s gaze at Renee Morgan.

As a top star having her treatment outdone by a mere ingenue, losing both face and substance—she must feel awful, right?

Renee of course knows who Lillian Young is: a popular domestic idol star. As for whether she really has a big shot backing her...

She carefully recalled the dream she’d had—it was something that happened a few years from now. Lillian’s resources plummeted, and the media speculated that she and her financier had split.

Looks like the rumors aren’t baseless, then?

Renee pondered, noticing the others’ gossipy glances. She lifted her gaze openly and looked back at them.

On her beautiful face, not only was there no anger, there wasn’t even a hint of sadness—no sign of caring at all.

The crowd, feeling awkward, withdrew their gazes.

Lillian Young had hurried in, and left just as quickly. Her cheeks were flushed, her big doe eyes slightly naive, her smile deliberately cutesy, seemingly quite pleased with her audition performance.

Everyone watched Lillian leave, eyes full of envy.

Renee Morgan was up next, entering the audition tent right behind Lillian.

Director Lincoln and the producer were inside. Seeing Renee walk in, they stopped talking and scrutinized her carefully.

Seeing a bare-faced, makeup-free face, they were all momentarily stunned.

It was their first time seeing a female artist show up to an audition with no makeup on at all.

But when they really saw her features, they fell silent again.

Even without makeup she’s prettier than the meticulously made-up Lillian Young. Talk about living up to the words "I do what I want"—she really can pull it off, you can’t help but respect it.

The assistant director, seeing Director Lincoln and the producer just staring at that face and saying nothing, coughed awkwardly and reminded them to snap out of it. Then he turned to Renee and said, "If you’re ready, let’s get started."

The scripts Director Lincoln sends out are all just outlines—the one Warren received was no exception.

Renee thought the plot was quite interesting and agreed to audition. They then sent her a short scene, just lines with no character bio; she had to rely on the story description and dialogue, extracting the character’s purpose and personality herself.

Superficially, it’s giving actors a scenario for them to interpret and improvise with, no extra requirements. But the real expectations are already in the director and producer’s hands.

Lillian Young got the exact same scene and lines as Renee. Perhaps because she’d done so many costume dramas, her performance came off as intentionally fragile, too manufactured.

What they wanted was someone who appeared pitiful, but was actually steadfast inside.

In Lillian’s audition, they didn’t see this quality brought to life in the character.

They didn’t have high hopes for Renee’s performance either.

Lillian had been in the business for years and still couldn’t embody that trait, so what could a rookie possibly do?

Having read the script outline, when Renee saw the audition scene, she guessed the female character was the male lead’s childhood friend—someone he had to leave behind for the sake of duty, the female lead of the show.

Beautiful, gentle, kind—she seems delicate but is strong within. After enduring brutal revenge from a criminal gang, she didn’t spiral or collapse; she kept growing and transformed into a modern woman, helping others.

Unlike typical "love through adversity" tropes, the main couple loves each other but never becomes lovers. They keep missing each other, waving regretfully across the distance.

The plot opens with their budding feelings, when the girl is kidnapped and suffers days and nights of inhumane torment. When she’s finally rescued, she’s barely alive.

Her parents die in a car accident searching for her.

After these blows, she gets up from her hospital bed and walks out onto a rooftop.

When friends frantically find her, she’s buried in her arms, her voice lost and hoarse from crying, almost fainting. A friend holds her shoulders, and they hug each other tightly, sobbing their hearts out.

The girl wipes her tears and tells everyone not to worry; she just missed her parents and wanted to get some air.

The whole scene only gives two lines at the end:

"I’m fine. Just missing Mom and Dad... I wanted to come up and see them..."

"Don’t worry about me—I will live well. Before they are caught, I swear I won’t go seeking death."

The audition starts from the moment the girl walks out onto the rooftop.

There is no rooftop in the studio, so the actor has to imagine her steps as she walks up. No other actors are present; the part where her friend grabs her shoulders and they embrace, crying, is performed solely through imagination—her face pressed against empty air as if touching someone else’s cheek, crying with grievance, unwillingness, pain...

Then she says those lines.

When Renee mimed the steps out onto the rooftop, her whole aura changed. That sadness, desperate and overwhelming like a breached riverbank, made her squat down crying, but she didn’t immediately hide her face in her arms sobbing. Instead, she looked up, tears rolling down her face, gazing into the harsh overhead lights, her tears shimmering with helpless guilt and grief as she cried out loud.

No narration needed—anyone could understand her performance. The girl lifted her head to the sky, searching for her parents’ phantom images, letting sorrow rise from her heart.

When others find her on the rooftop, she raises her face from her arms—she doesn’t act faint or fragile, but lifts her hand to wipe away tears, though she can’t wipe them all off: one falls, then another, until she lets them flow, unable to speak, trying to contain herself, and ultimately failing when the friend hugs her, exposing her raw wounds and breaking down into a loud sob.

The most stunning part was her delivery of those lines—her emotions were full, precisely on point; there was both hatred declared against the criminals and the kind-heartedness of not wanting others to worry about her.

Director Lincoln and the producer could hardly believe that a rookie could put on this kind of performance.

Leaving aside other aspects, just her handling of several layers within the performance was beyond rookie-level.

This character is designed to look fragile, like a flower in a greenhouse, but possess remarkable inner tenacity.

That was perfectly captured in Renee’s upward gaze, letting tears fall rather than shrinking into her arms crying—her actions defined the character, and when she spoke those two lines, there was no contradiction, no split between interior and exterior.

A good actor always seeks truth; detail is the truth of the actor.

Very few actors truly grasp this, and she’s supposed to be a newcomer...

This role is difficult precisely because it requires a young, innocent girl to show her response after a major trauma—if she overacts, it looks fake; too little, and no one can empathize with her ordeal.

If you choose a young actress, the skills aren’t enough. Pick a mature one, and she doesn’t fit the age.