From Flower Vase to Film Emperor in Hollywood

Clearly, Rachel McAdams had no idea what Marcia was thinking. She didn't have the time or energy to observe the casting director's expression—her experience simply wasn't rich enough.

Having plunged headfirst from London, Ontario, into the dazzling world of Los Angeles, she was still disoriented, seemingly not yet fully settled. A year had flown by, and she still had no grasp of this city, this arena of fame and fortune.

In fact, she had just come from the café where she worked, without even having time to change out of her white shirt uniform; but now she couldn't be bothered, since the production team had no requirements for audition attire anyway.

Perhaps some wouldn't believe that an actress who had appeared in a TV series and a movie would still need to work at a café?

But in real life, such situations are countless, and even more seasoned actors than Rachel are no exception, often needing other jobs to make ends meet besides acting. Even being able to cover daily expenses solely through acting work is a rare and valuable threshold in Hollywood.

The acting profession is far from as glamorous as it seems.

The general public has this perception because the actors they see have already entered the spotlight or even stand at the top of the pyramid, showcasing the glamour of fame and fortune; but the world outside the spotlight is the vast majority of the truth about Hollywood.

At this moment, the only thought in Rachel's mind was:

Stay focused, stick to the plan you prepared, and that's enough.

Taking another deep breath, then exhaling slowly, Rachel told herself she was ready, then pulled out her phone and held it to her ear.

"...Ha, haha."

Laughter, gently escaping.

Rachel knew her weapon was her smile, a sweet and bright smile. She also liked to laugh, so in the improvisation part of the audition, she immediately brought out her trump card.

"She's completely lost it, totally drunk, she has no idea what she's doing, ha, it's just...it's just a mess, and I don't...I'm not sure I..."

"Anyway, you'll wish you were there, trust me."

As she spoke, the smile paused at the corners of her mouth, although her cheeks still held the expression, a hint of frustration and sadness crept into her eyes.

Rachel was trying hard, trying to lift the corners of her mouth, but her eyes still dimmed uncontrollably.

"Oh, Linus is fine, Linus is fine, I'm just, uh, I..."

"Are you going to wait until you get to Seattle to tell her or...?"

Hesitant, a hint of nervousness and shyness in her eyes, Rachel forced another smile, but it froze the next second.

"What?"

Rachel just froze like that, standing there dumbfounded, a layer of mist slowly clouding her beautiful eyes, as if one could see her heart slowly, gradually falling, the weight of freefall pulling her down quickly, but she forgot to struggle.

"Oh."

She said.

Then she smiled, revealing her smile again, but as the smile lifted, tears broke free from her eyelashes and fell.

Although her lips were always smiling, the bitterness spread uncontrollably on the tip of her tongue.

Rachel took a deep breath, trying to steady herself.

"No, I'm really happy, I'm just...I'm happy for you, I just want to..."

Marcia admitted she was a little pleasantly surprised—

Acting is, in fact, a matter of opinion. Some people think this performance is explosive, but others feel nothing. A truly outstanding performance is one that makes the audience feel the emotions and power, and draws the audience into it.

Before her, this sweet girl had done it.

Marcia couldn't help but be a little curious about who she was talking to on the phone and what had happened between her and the other person.

However.

For the role of Kaila, Rachel seemed...a little too sweet; and, her acting also seemed a little too exaggerated.

Marcia was envisioning the character of Kaila in her mind, inevitably getting a little distracted, and then noticed someone waving hello at the door.

Without thinking much, Marcia raised her hand to signal, "Just a moment."

Rachel: ...

Rachel's emotions were surging, her eyes were wet, ready to enter the final sprint, but she was suddenly interrupted, instantly pulled out of the character and the plot, and stood there dumbfounded, looking at Marcia in a loss.

She, this, what to do?

Marcia ignored Rachel and let the person outside the door come in.

"Sorry, for lunch, pizza or sandwiches? Or burgers? We have to order."

Rachel: ???

Marcia looked at Nicholas, "We had submarine sandwiches yesterday, how about burgers today?"

Nicholas shook his head, "Pizza, I've had burgers for three days in a row. I actually wanted Chinese food, but is it too late to order Chinese now?"

Marcia thought for a moment, "Then Chinese food it is, I'm craving it too. I have to have a serving of chow mein, as for the rest, you guys decide."

The staff member confirmed the menu with Nicholas again before turning to leave.

Although the other party was soft-footed, acting as if to disturb the audition as little as possible, Rachel was unsure how she should react—

Should she continue? Should she pause and wait? What exactly was happening now? Chinese food, why were they discussing Chinese food in a sad scene?

Who was she, where was she, what was she doing?

Rachel was still too young and naive. After a scene, she confused the acting situation with reality and couldn't help but start to doubt herself.

She was a little annoyed.

She tried to grab her attention, and tried to continue acting, but immersing herself in sadness and broken emotions was really not an easy thing—

It was like bursting into tears, then suddenly being interrupted, and the sad emotions could no longer continue, and instead, no tears could flow.

Now, Rachel was like this.

She was a little anxious.

However, the staff member lingered and didn't leave, so Rachel couldn't find an entry point.

Rachel felt a severe sense of frustration.

Finally, Marcia spoke, "Sorry, continue."

Rachel: ...

She couldn't smile, the problem was, she couldn't cry either.

Now Rachel's mind was full of absurdity, not knowing how to react, continue? How should she continue? Where had she just gotten to?

"I, uh, I don't know..."

"I just wanted, we...I..."

The emotion was broken, and therefore there was no way to continue. The lines came out like squeezing toothpaste, but what was even more frightening was that the lines she had memorized by heart also began to escape her mind, completely scattered.

Rachel was left hanging in mid-air, unable to go up or down. This feeling was terrible, she even began to hate herself, why couldn't she continue? Why couldn't she handle this situation well? Why did this scene make her feel worthless?

That sense of frustration and shame was not sadness, but dejection.

If she said, let's start all over again, would they agree? Or would they just kick her out?

For a moment, Rachel just stalled like this, standing there like a fool.

However.

Before Rachel could come up with a reason, there was a knock behind her, and the room door was opened again—

Again?

Will it ever end!