“That was powerful,” Rhett said. “Cassie and I sometimes run lines back and forth after she’s finished the first draft of a scene. Just to let her hear the lines aloud so she can make adjustments. I’m very familiar with that scene. You really did it justice, Mac.”
“Are you sure you’ve never acted?” Dash asked. “I’ve never seen anyone do a cold read on a scene that was so on point. You hadn’t even read the scene. You had no idea what was coming. Your natural instincts came into play.” He looked at the two women. “Think of what he could do having actually read the script.”
Sydney looked at Mac thoughtfully and then asked, “Would you like to try it again?”
He said, “Sure,” not knowing if he was capable of a second round.
“I want you to try a few things this time,” she continued. “Bring me your script. Pull up a chair.”
Mac did as she asked and Sydney went over different parts of the scene. Where she wanted him to hold back. Where she wanted him to amp up. A place where she wanted a different word emphasized. It all made sense to him.
Suddenly, Josh Middleton burst through the door. “Looks like I’m late to party. Sorry. At least I got the Eric scenes in the can after a lot of coaxing.”
“Why?” Cassie asked. “Eric seemed perfect to us.”
Josh grimaced. “He’s a little too perfect. Eric’s worried that playing a serial killer will typecast him like Anthony Perkins after Psycho. He kept going on and on about how talented Perkins was and how he never really worked in classy roles after that because everyone in Hollywood and America thought he was Norman Bates. It’s okay. I talked him off the edge. Got what we needed.”
The director glanced to Mac. “We’re not going to need you, Mac. I spoke to Finn Jarvis on my way over here. Told him to free up his schedule because it looked like I’d be needing him.” He gave Mac a smile. “After all, you’re a stuntman. You’re used to delivering punches. Not lines.”
Anger flared inside him but Mac kept silent. He heard a quiet, “Oh, boy,” come from Dash and then Mac glanced to Sydney Revere and the glacial glare she gave Josh.
“That’s not your call,” she said, her words frigid enough to ice over a lake on a hot summer day. “That’s my role, taking in Cassie’s opinion. Sit down and watch, Josh.”
Frowning, the director took a seat, his arms crossed.
“Whenever you’re ready, Mac,” Sydney told him.
He took the script and flipped back a dozen pages to the beginning of the scene. Closing his eyes, he visualized where he was as it occurred. What he wore. How close the anger and hurt simmered just under the surface.
Opening his eyes, he nodded to Keely and then spoke his first line.
The second reading ran similar to the first. But this time, what Sydney had instructed added depth and meaning. Knowing what came ahead this time, Mac knew more about when to hold back and when to let go. It wasn’t merely words on a page. They were ones spoken from his heart.
He delivered the last line of the scene and sighed. Mac looked to Keely and saw tears swimming in her eyes. She nodded encouragingly.
“Mac?”
He went to the table and gave Sydney Revere his full attention.
“You nailed it,” she praised. “I still want to run a camera test to confirm but there’s not a doubt in my mind—or anyone here—that you’re a natural actor. You have the intuition. The insight. It’s a gift. Certain things about acting can be taught but some are so woven into your soul that they need to be allowed to surface and breathe. How did it feel to you?”
“It felt right,” Mac admitted. “Everything about it. As if I’d always known this was what I was supposed to do. Or maybe that I did it and loved it in another lifetime.”
Sydney smiled. “Mac Randall, would you be interested in playing Thorne Mayfield?”
Mac didn’t bother holding back his smile. “Absolutely.”
CHAPTER 4
Dash had champagne brought in and Keely lifted her glass as the group toasted Mac for accepting his first film role. She noticed Josh seemed subdued and made her way over to the director, pulling him aside.
“This is a good casting decision,” she told him. “Mac brings a fresh prospective to everything.”
“I know,” he said grumpily. “If I’d have known a stuntman could have this kind of raw talent to tap, I would never have called Finn.”
Sydney joined them. “Call Finn Jarvis. Right away,” she emphasized. “Throw me under the bus if you need to. Say what directors have said since the beginning of Hollywood. That no one listens to you. The producers ganged up on you. We decided to go in a different direction. Whatever. His ego will be bruised enough so massage it the best you can.”
“Will do. What about production? Any ideas on scheduling?”
“Work on some of the victim scenes for two days,” Sydney said. “Mac will need to be fitted. Read the entire script. Learn his lines. Let’s plan to shoot chronologically with his and Keely’s scenes for now. Ease him in. Once he has a couple of weeks under his belt, then you can go out of sequence as need be. I’ll text you the call sheets.”
“Okay. I think I’ll go see Finn in person. I have another project lined up after this. Maybe I can use him on it. I feel like I need to throw him a bone after this royal mess-up.”
After Josh left, Sydney hugged Keely. “You weren’t crazy at all. How did you know Mac had this kind of talent? How long have you known him?”
“My gut. I actually met him for the first time this morning. You know how it is. Sometimes, you just click with someone when you meet.”
Sydney’s eyes flicked across the room to Dash and she smiled warmly. “Yeah. I know all about that.” She looked back to Keely. “So, anything going on between you? The chemistry in that scene was off the charts. You two are definitely going to make movie magic together.”
Keely turned so her back was to the others. “This sounds crazy but I want to put my hands everywhere on him. I’ve never had such a strong physical response to a guy before. The fact that we’re working together? That would be a huge mistake.”
“Don’t shut your feelings down. Maybe delay them,” her friend suggested. “You do realize that’ll be hard, though, with as much time as you’ll spend together over the next few months.” Sydney laughed. “Oh, I’m one to talk.”
“I know,” she said, remembering back to days on the set as Sydney and Dash’s romance blossomed. “You have my word I’ll keep it professional between us. I’ll run lines with Mac before we come to set. He seems the type who likes planning in advance. The more comfortable I can make him with the dialogue, the better he’ll perform. I thought we’d start by getting him an agent. I think he’d like mine.”
“Have Mac at the studio tomorrow for wardrobe and makeup tests. We’ll streamline that process the best we can. He’s so close to Beau’s size that it may be minor adjustments in the clothing is all we’ll need. Then work with him tomorrow and the day after. Report to set on Thursday, ready to roll.”