From Flower Vase to Film Emperor in Hollywood

Youth, sunshine.

Kindness, sincerity.

Willing to help others, yet without trying to impress, low-key and humble, even a bit shy; unintentionally displaying amazing talent, yet turning away, deeply concealing merit and fame.

This was the impression Sam had from the unexpected encounter at the cafe that morning.

Silently, the image of a brand new Spider-Man emerged in his mind, colliding with his own perception of Peter Parker.

Sam was slightly stunned.

Now he finally knew why he was so impressed with Anson. The scene that morning, even placed in a "Spider-Man" movie, wouldn't feel out of place at all. It was completely the image of a friendly neighborhood in New York, the appearance of a high school superhero gradually becoming clear and definite in his mind.

But…

Anson was too handsome.

Ian's earlier complaint was correct, that was Sam's thought, but that was Ian's opinion. In Sam's view, he still thought Anson's appearance was too outstanding—

With such height, such physique, such appearance, how could he be an unknown otaku in high school, and even be ostracized by his classmates?

Unreasonable.

However, that wasn't important.

Sam wasn't interested in asking, because he already knew the answer in advance; but now, from Anson's attire, he understood the essence.

The essence of Peter Parker being an ordinary high school student.

Sam developed a little interest, just a little.

So.

Sam spoke, "Your backpack."

Ian's words were interrupted. They were about to give Anson the script, asking Anson to perform a short scene on the spot, which was also the main part of today's audition.

The focus was on letting the actors see the script and perform immediately without preparation. This not only showed the actor's improvisational explosive power, but also showed the actor's most familiar and natural way of acting. They wanted to see if this way of acting met their requirements.

Just as Anson was about to step forward, Sam's intervention interrupted the flow.

Everyone's eyes turned towards Ian; but Ian glanced at Anson, then looked at Sam, and gave Anson a look of understanding.

Anson understood and also looked at Sam.

Sam's reaction arc was a bit long, not only his expression was like the sloth Flash, but also his words and actions, "What's inside?"

"Books." Anson replied, turning around and walking towards the door—

Including Ian, they all showed curiosity.

These were all veterans, and the actor's movements couldn't escape their eyes. From the moment Anson entered the room with a backpack and a skateboard, they raised the alarm.

In every way, this should be something the actor had prepared in advance.

If that was the case, they often did the opposite, deliberately ignoring those pre-prepared props, and even breaking the actor's prepared routines.

However, the little surprise was that Anson directly put down his backpack after entering the door, without flaunting, as if the backpack had no effect.

Calculation and counter-control, from the very beginning, a psychological war had already begun.

But no matter what, Ian and the others didn't plan to look at the backpack, completely disrupting Anson's plan. As a result, the backpack still came into view.

Now that things had come to this, Ian also wanted to see, what kind of medicine was Anson selling in his gourd?

Books?

Why books?

Ian thought that there should be a camera in the backpack.

The reason was very simple—

Although the script was currently in a completely confidential state, he had seen all the communication between the agent and the producer in private. Some rumors were inevitable. Ian didn't mind. On the contrary, he could see clearly what path the actor's performance had taken and what connections had been made to get the news.

In the script, Peter Parker once worked for a newspaper and provided many photos. Photography, this was one of Peter Parker's personal hobbies.

It was conceivable that currently more than one actor expressed their "secret" love of photography in different ways, and some even brought cameras with them.

However, Anson?

Ian was full of question marks.

If Anson knew Ian's plan, he would be shocked.

Edgar hadn't found out about the photography detail, but Anson had already seen the movie in his previous life. Of course, he knew about Peter Parker's part-time job. When Anson considered how to shape this character, photography was naturally also within the scope of consideration, but he finally gave up on this idea.

Because the characteristics were not obvious.

Photography, this was indeed a hobby, but more of it was just a way of expressing the movie:

In 2000, digital cameras hadn't been fully popularized yet, so photographers often carried professional bazookas.

Those equipments were not only not romantic, but also clumsy.

When Peter Parker took the bazooka around to take pictures, his classmates thought he was an otaku, or joked that he was secretly filming and peeping everywhere.

For the movie, this was an explicit factor, because the bazooka was particularly eye-catching, and a label could be attached immediately.

But for the actor, this couldn't truly delve into the character.

Like photography?

No problem, then what was the reason?

Why did Peter Parker like photography? When did he start to like photography? What did he like to photograph? Was it just an interest as a decoration, or could it be related to the plot?

Only by deeply exploring this information could the character be made alive.

In fact, what Michael liked in "The Princess Diaries" were also explicit factors, visible to the naked eye, direct and vivid enough, but here, attention needed to be paid to the difference in the character's weight. Michael was just a supporting role. He didn't need and wasn't allowed to have more space to develop edges and corners, while Peter Parker couldn't.

As the protagonist, Peter Parker needed to have these edges and corners.

So.

After careful consideration, Anson directly skipped these explicit factors and delved into the internal reasons—

Peter Parker's love for animals, his curiosity about biotechnology, etc., he liked to use cameras to record life, especially those animals that could be seen everywhere. Compared to architecture, scenery, and people, he preferred to record the animals living in the invisible corners.

In essence, what he liked was animals, not photography.

And this alternative and special hobby was the real reason why Peter Parker became a freak in the eyes of his classmates.

Then, the things Peter Parker carried with him, the answer also emerged.

First chapter.