Chapter 201: The Role of a Tool Person

Chapter 201: Chapter 201: The Role of a Tool Person

The surrounding actors watched with bated breath.

Keira Knightley subconsciously covered her mouth, whispering in amazement to Henry Cavill beside her:

"My god... their chemistry is terrifying. It doesn’t look like a temporary cameo at all. This tension is stronger than many main scenes."

Henry Cavill nodded vigorously, his eyes full of admiration:

"This is the improvisational ability of top-tier actors. No need for a pile of lines. One look says it all. Mr. Nicolas is clearly only doing a cameo for one scene, yet he’s completely invested, not perfunctory at all."

A few young extras watched with shining eyes, whispering among themselves:

"Is this what Best Actor level performance looks like... it’s so shocking." 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ

"They have such a good relationship privately, yet they can be at each other’s throats in the scene without breaking character at all."

Assistant Director Jack leaned into Irene’s ear, his voice kept extremely low, his tone full of praise:

"Irene, look at them... this reaction, this chemistry, it’s so inspired. To be honest, their expressive power is even better than the second male lead in the script. If this clip is released, it’ll definitely explode. Should we add a few more scenes for Nicolas?"

Irene’s eyes didn’t leave the monitor. The corners of her mouth curled up slightly into a faint smile:

"I know they’re acting well, but no matter how well they act, the focus of this movie can only be Jack. Besides, we always have to give newcomers a chance to grow."

She paused, her tone calm and clear-headed: "Furthermore, our movie isn’t aiming for awards. It’s not made for professional judges to evaluate. We only need to please the general audience and get the box office results. If the acting is good enough and the audience likes it, that’s enough."

Jack was stunned for a moment, then nodded thoughtfully. His gaze fell back onto the set, his eyes holding a bit more understanding.

In the center of the set, this short scene of several dozen seconds between rivals passed smoothly in one take.

The moment Irene shouted, "Cut! Perfect!"

Nicolas immediately dropped his seriousness, burst into a laugh, and reached out to pat the cage bars:

"Johnny, that look you just gave me, I almost thought you were really going to break out of prison!"

Johnny also laughed heartily, taking off his hat and waving it:

"That hit you gave the bars just now was really hard. I thought you were settling a private grudge!"

The two looked at each other and smiled, relaxed and in sync.

Applause immediately rang out around them as everyone cheered for this brilliant cameo scene.

After resuming work, because of Nicolas the ’tool person’ and that improvisation-filled scene with Depp, the atmosphere on set completely relaxed. The suppression was swept away, and the filming went ridiculously smoothly.

Irene had specifically placed this scene as the first one after resuming work because she had calculated that Pirates of the Caribbean was an adventure comedy, not a serious documentary. If everyone had long faces,

they wouldn’t be able to capture that crazy and free pirate vibe, and the movie would surely fail. Now it seemed Nicolas’s addition worked even better than she had expected.

Nicolas stayed comfortably on the island. After finishing his cameo scenes, he didn’t leave immediately. Every day, he carried a fishing rod and soaked himself by the reefs of various small islands, occasionally egging on the local fishermen to go sea fishing.

When the crew finished work, they could occasionally see him showing off a large, shimmering silver fish. Even the opah, which locals said was hard to catch, was actually caught by him after waiting for two days.

Afterward, his agent called him for three consecutive days to return to Los Angeles to look at scripts, even threatening that if he didn’t return, the agent would fly over to personally drag him back.

On the day he left, he carried a pile of shells and dried fish he’d caught, waved his hand, and boarded the plane nonchalantly. Even his formal goodbye was casual, making him look exactly like a tourist on vacation rather than a cameo actor.

After he left, the pace on set remained light. Daily life became detailed and real. There was no deliberate fooling around, yet comfort was everywhere.

When work started in the early morning, the props team would arrange Captain Jack’s hat, compass, and flintlock in a row. Every time Depp came, he would touch them one by one, pick the most crooked hat to wear, and mutter to the prop master, "This one has more of a wanderer feel."

Keira and Henry were always huddled by the monitor, reviewing the previous day’s footage and whispering about positioning and tone. Keira would occasionally break into laughter, covering her mouth and squatting to one side until her emotions settled before starting again. There were no exaggerated performances, only a small cuteness hidden within her seriousness.

During breaks, no one went out of their way to be funny. Most just found a place to rest.

The lighting technicians and cinematographers sat on the beach, using sticks to draw camera blocking diagrams and chatting about the light and shadow angles from earlier.

The script supervisor girl squatted to one side, munching on a sandwich while checking scene numbers. Vera held the schedule, checking the subsequent filming plans with Irene. Occasionally, the sea breeze got in her eyes, and the way she frowned and rubbed them looked exceptionally real.

Local fishermen would occasionally bring fresh coconuts and fruit, placing them on the tables in the rest area. Whoever passed by would just pick one up, insert a straw, and drink slowly.

When Depp wasn’t filming, he would sit under a coconut tree, using a small knife to carve little wooden pirates. Once finished, he would casually hand them to the staff nearby. Almost everyone on set had one of his hand-crafted items.

There was a scene filming a chaotic crowd at the harbor with dozens of extras running around. Someone accidentally tripped and fell onto the sand.

Before the staff could step forward, they laughed and climbed up themselves, brushed off the sand, and got back into character. No one complained throughout the process. They were incredibly in sync.

Irene sat behind the monitor, watching this scene with the corners of her mouth unconsciously turning up. Assistant Director Jack handed her a bottle of water and said softly, "Everyone’s in the right state now, relaxed yet energetic."

Irene nodded and didn’t say much, her gaze still fixed on the set.

There were no forced comedic bits or exaggerated interactions. Just a group of people working toward the same goal, with small bits of warmth and ease hidden within the busyness.

The sea breeze carried a salty, damp scent, and the masts of the Black Pearl swayed gently. The images on the monitor were vivid and lifelike. Everything was progressing in the most natural and comfortable direction.

In the evening after work, the crew would walk along the beach in twos and threes. Some picked up shells, some chatted about tomorrow’s scenes, and some just quietly watched the sunset.

There was no noisy clamor, yet it was more moving than any forced liveliness, and it better fit what an adventure comedy set should look like—free, relaxed, and full of drive.

This was the ideal state in Irene’s heart.

...

As soon as the notice for equipment maintenance was posted, the entire set breathed a sigh of relief. After working continuously for over half a month, everyone was looking forward to this day to catch their breath.

Irene simply waved her hand and gave the whole crew a full day off, letting everyone relax properly on the island.

Johnny Depp had long been envious of Nicolas’s daily hauls from sea fishing. Now that he was free, he immediately approached Irene, shaking the fishing rod he’d just borrowed from a fisherman, his eyes sparkling:

"Irene, shall we go out to sea? If Nicolas could catch an opah, maybe I can catch a shark to bring back."