From Flower Vase to Film Emperor in Hollywood

Nearby, Aasif Mandvi was wringing his hands.

This Indian-American actor from Mumbai had been working in Hollywood for over fifteen years.

Although he had never played a leading role or a significant supporting role, always playing supporting roles, big or small, with some lines, his acting credits already exceeded fifty, including many classics.

"CSI," "Law \u0026 Order," "The Sopranos," "Die Hard with a Vengeance," and so on.

In Hollywood movies, there is often a need for a minority role, and Aasif has become the representative face of Indian descent on the big and small screens.

Of course, Aasif being able to secure a role in "Spider-Man 2" was also for a similar reason.

The crew needed a pizza shop owner, but not a genuine Italian, but an ordinary person in Lower Manhattan making a living under the guise of authentic Italian pizza—

Thus, Aasif stood out from a crowd of competitors.

And now, he was about to perform a scene with Anson.

Aasif thought he would be very calm, entering the crew with a professional attitude, after all, he had been working in Hollywood since 1987 and had seen all kinds of scenes, while Anson was just a kid.

However, he still had insomnia last night.

Who knows, maybe "Spider-Man 2" would not become a turning point in his acting career, but it could allow his family to clearly see him performing on the big screen, and shut up those nagging relatives in the family.

He was flipping pancakes all night, with countless imaginations in his mind.

Imagining his parents seeing him, imagining those relatives being speechless, imagining them no longer treating him as a disgrace to the family, imagining them fawning over him and treating him as a source of bragging.

All kinds of scenes churned in his mind, unable to calm down, his mind was in a daze.

Then, Anson appeared before his eyes like this.

His heart was pounding like a drum, his mouth was dry, even more nervous than seeing Bruce Willis on the set of "Die Hard with a Vengeance," a dizzy spell.

At this moment, Aasif truly realized what the aura of a superstar was all about for the first time.

Greetings. Handshake. Conversation.

Positioning. Rehearsing lines. Practice.

It was clear that he was experiencing all of this himself, but Aasif had no sense of reality, as if his soul had left his body, wandering on the noisy street watching this scene.

This was something Aasif had never experienced in his fifteen-year acting career.

Aasif knew he had to wake up, he had to pull himself together, otherwise the crew would fire him, and finding an Indian actor temporarily would be a matter of minutes, even less than ten minutes, and he would be replaced.

However, the more nervous he was, the more anxious he became, the more nervous he was, the worse it got.

It was simply a disaster.

"Aasif, Aasif..."

The shouts, from far to near, exploded on his eardrums like spring thunder, suddenly pulling Aasif back to the ground, his heart exploding.

Aasif closed his eyes, "I will do well, I will definitely do well, next time, next time will be better, just give me one more chance."

NG, NG, they kept doing NG, was this the fourth or fifth time?

Moreover, it was all Aasif's fault.

Aasif knew what this meant, the first scene of filming should be the simplest and most relaxed, to get a good start.

Now, he had messed it up.

If "Spider-Man 2," such a project, was messed up because of Aasif, he couldn't imagine where his career would go.

A shadow quietly enveloped the crew.

Because he was too eager and too impatient, Aasif curled up into a shivering ball.

"Hey, Aasif, calm down, calm down, nothing is happening here."

Anson noticed Aasif's nervousness.

Sam Raimi was a little depressed, took off his headphones, and prepared to rush out from behind the monitor, what the hell was going on with such a simple scene?

But Anson raised his hand to stop Sam and signaled to give them three minutes.

Anson himself had experienced such a situation, the feeling was just not right, and it wouldn't change much because of the size or importance of the role.

As the industry saying goes, there are no small roles, only small actors.

So, Anson believed that this was not a big deal, just find the rhythm of breathing.

"Breathe, Aasif, breathe."

"People often think that breathing is the simplest and easiest thing, but after experiencing life's trials, you will understand that it is not so easy."

"Let me tell you a secret, before every performance, I adjust my breathing to remind myself not to forget this thing."

The unhurried and warm words allowed Aasif to regain some sense.

Slowly, slowly, the soul came back, and so did the reason.

Aasif finally calmed down a little, "Sorry, I ruined everything."

Anson chuckled, "No, you just delayed it by fifteen minutes. Don't worry, we're not in a hurry."

Pfft.

Aasif couldn't help but laugh, "I'm just... nervous, both expectant and nervous, I don't even recognize myself, I don't know what's wrong with me."

"Normal." Anson shrugged lightly, "In Hollywood, who isn't like this? The first thing you do every morning is to confirm your existence."

"If you accidentally see yourself in the mirror, you might even get a fright."

Maybe, plastic surgery? Maybe, a hangover?

Or maybe, taking off makeup?

"Hahaha." Aasif couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Anson handed over a bottle of mineral water, "Do you need to rest for a while? Or are you ready to try again?"

There were no special words, let alone so-called inspirational quotes, but Aasif's uneasy restlessness and anxiety calmed down just like that.

"Hey, you're the boss, I'm the one who needs to be nervous." Anson added.

Aasif finally completely relaxed, revealing a big smile, "If it weren't for the movie, how could I have the chance to scold Anson Wood?"

"Scolding Spider-Man, scolding him is much more difficult than scolding me." Anson casually threw out a joke.

The smile on the corner of Aasif's mouth bloomed without reservation.

Taking a deep breath, Aasif shouted in Sam's direction, "Sorry, one more time. I'm ready."

Sam didn't respond—

He was already under a lot of pressure, and as a result, the first scene of filming was continuously stuck, so how should this work continue?

He couldn't help but feel a little irritable.

But Sam was introverted, and even if he was irritable, he would mostly get angry with himself, without venting it on others.

So, Sam looked at Anson, casting an inquiring gaze.

Anson made an "OK" gesture, and Sam relaxed, raised his hand to signal, preparing to try again, if it didn't work, it would be time to get angry.

Aasif closed his eyes and took a deep breath, as Anson said, don't think too much, just focus on breathing, and pull all your attention back.