Chapter 486: Top-Tier Invitation

Chapter 486: Chapter 486: Top-Tier Invitation

It was clearly just a subtle transformation in temperament and physique, but when combined, it completely changed his on-screen texture.

The whole person looked exquisite and pleasing to the eye, with his aura fully unleashed, becoming increasingly handsome and charming.

Irene repeatedly looked him up and down, clearly sensing his transformation in her heart, yet unable to precisely articulate the specific changes.

She only vaguely felt that the current Henry Cavill was far more mature, eye-catching, and recognizable than last year.

During a break in the promotional shoot, everyone dispersed to rest.

Irene took the opportunity to walk over to Henry, who was alone by the window drinking water, stopped familiarly, and started chatting.

"I have rarely seen news of you in Hollywood film and television projects this year. I thought you took on some major production and went into seclusion to shoot," Irene said in a relaxed tone, carrying the casualness of old friends chatting.

Hearing this, Henry chuckled softly and slowly recounted his training trajectory over the past year: "This year, I deliberately avoided Hollywood blockbusters. Most of the time, I returned to my native Britain, rooting myself in stage plays and British dramas to hone my acting skills."

He confessed that after filming Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, he clearly noticed his shortcomings.

While breaking into the mainstream through blockbusters was indeed dazzling, his acting foundation, stage tension, and control over emotional details were still not solid enough.

Over-reliance on the cinematic packaging of Hollywood commercial films made it easy to get trapped in a single typecasting, gradually eroding an actor’s inspiration and basic skills.

Compared to assembly-line Hollywood blockbusters, British stage plays had much stricter requirements for line delivery, emotional explosiveness, physical details, and on-the-spot adaptability.

They could comprehensively hone an actor’s fundamental acting skills and precipitate their performance heritage.

Over the past year, he rooted himself in London theaters, participated in multiple classic stage plays, and guest-starred in high-quality British dramas.

He did not pursue exposure or trending heat, but solely concentrated on honing his abilities and precipitating himself.

Speaking of his experiences over the past year, Henry’s brows relaxed as he shared quite a few interesting behind-the-scenes stories and the rewards of his stage training, his tone sincere and grounded.

Growing excited in the conversation, he chuckled with a bit of helpless self-deprecation, proactively bringing up an audition regret from last year:

"Actually, during this time, I was not completely in seclusion honing my skills. At the end of last year, I also tried to go for a major IP audition, interviewing for an important role in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, but unfortunately I did not get selected in the end."

Hearing this, Irene instantly became interested and followed up by asking: "What role?"

"Cedric Diggory." Henry shook his head, his tone carrying a somewhat ironic and helpless regret:

"At the time, the production team screened age-appropriate actors across the whole of Britain, and a large batch of native British new-generation male actors participated in the auditions, making the competition exceptionally fierce.

I fought my way all the way to the final review, only to be cut down by the director on the grounds of being slightly older and having an overly mature temperament.

The director felt that Cedric needed an actor who was purer, greener, and possessed more of a campus youth vibe, while my state back then was too composed, lacking the lively childishness of a youth, and my adaptability was not enough."

Hearing this character’s name, cinematic memories from Irene’s past life instantly flashed through her mind, and her eyes suddenly lit up.

Cedric Diggory, an important role in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, was gentle, upright, sunny, and pure—an unforgettable, perfect white moonlight for countless viewers.

In her past life, the actor who played this role was none other than Robert Pattinson.

Deep down, she silently marveled at the marvelous trajectory of fate.

In her past life, Robert Pattinson would sweep the global stage and reap top-tier popularity thanks to the Twilight series, but in this lifetime, due to a twist of fate, he missed out on this project.

Edward was played by James Franco, and this September, the movie was also going to be released.

She wondered if Robert Pattinson, without the role of Edward, would still be able to achieve the same heat and traffic as in his previous life.

However, missing out on Twilight had still allowed him to land Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

If he missed out on this one too, his acting path would be much harder than in the previous life.

Looking at the faint loss in Henry’s eyes, Irene spoke gently to comfort him, her tone resolute and lucid:

"This cannot be considered a regret at all, let alone your failure. Actor auditions never have absolute wins or losses; it is nothing more than an issue of matching fit. Not landing Harry Potter does not mean you are not good enough. The role belonging to you will always be waiting for you ahead; the next one will only be better, more fitting, and better able to achieve you."

Her comfort was sincere and lucid, instantly smoothing away the slight regret lingering in Henry’s heart.

Yet upon hearing this, the smile on Henry’s face remained faint.

Instead, his brows were tinged with a layer of obvious hesitation and entanglement, his expression heavy and hesitating to speak, as if a weighty, hard-to-choose matter was pressing down in his heart.

Irene was keenly observant and saw through his worries at a single glance, speaking open-mindedly and composedly to give him confidence:

"If you have any concerns or entanglements, just speak your mind directly. There is no need to hide anything. As long as I can help or offer advice, I will definitely do my best to help you."

Receiving Irene’s proactive comfort and promise, Henry took a deep breath, finally letting go of the concerns in his heart, and slowly recounted his greatest entanglement and confusion recently.

"Actually, I have been hesitating about an invitation for a top-tier project recently. Since the end of last year, Columbia Pictures has taken the initiative to contact my agent, throwing an acting invitation at me, hoping that I can participate in a brand-new headlining project they are preparing."

Hearing the name Columbia Pictures, Irene slightly frowned, quickly searching her mind for recent Hollywood project trends.

Hollywood’s Big Six landscape was stable in 2004, and Columbia had recently not officially announced any heavyweight new projects, nor were there any rumors of preparations for a male-lead blockbuster.

The industry was dead calm, with completely no related wind.

Just as she was secretly puzzled, Henry continued to explain the reasons behind it, and thoroughly threw out the core reason that kept him tossing and turning, repeatedly tangled.

"Right now, Columbia’s focus is not on new project development at all. Their entire company’s core resources, manpower, and energy are all tilted toward group M&A work.

Sony acquired Columbia Pictures in full for $3.5 billion as early as 1990, making it a wholly-owned subsidiary. This year, the Sony group made another heavy-handed move, fully acquiring MGM film and television company.

The entire group is busy with M&A integration, resource docking, and equity sorting; the development pace of film and television projects has all slowed down and been shelved."

"And precisely because of this merger, I got an audition opportunity that almost every British male actor dreams of." Henry raised his eyes, his gaze complex, carrying anticipation, apprehension, and ultimate entanglement, as he slowly spat out that legendary codename:

"They invited me to participate in the selection for the brand-new James Bond."