The scene that he needed to do in his audition was an interview. A staff member acted as the interviewer, and Aiden was to act out the part of a war veteran.
By the script, he guessed that he was a veteran of World War 1.
"Tell me about your experiences in the war? How were you enlisted?"
The staff member playing the interviewer took a seat in front of him and asked. With this, the audition had begun, and from this moment, Aiden needed to get into the mentality of the character he was playing.
He was not himself anymore.
He felt his surroundings change, and Lincoln and Franklin disappeared. This was the effect of his system during acting.
Even if it was just an audition, he lost himself entirely in the scene and thought of the characters as real people. So it was kind of a special zone that he gets himself into during acting.
Although it was very different from the white light during singing, it was still something that had helped him a lot.
"Uh, I-I think it was due to conscription." There was a bit of hesitation in his voice, like he recalled some bad memories. Even his accent has changed a bit to a British one. "An order was passed that all men needed to join the Army. They said the queen wanted her people to fight for the empire. So I had to join because of that."
"What happened in the army?"
"We began with training. We were trained and thrown into the battlefield. Now that I think of it, I saw many terrified soldiers and many other soldiers who wanted to get glory in the war. Somehow, they were the first ones to die."
There was no remorse in his eyes like this was a tale of the past. But Lincoln noticed that one of Aiden's fingers was slightly shaking, emphasizing that the horrors of war still affected him.
The scene continued with the next question.
"There's one particular incident during your time in the Army. Your whole battalion died, with you being the only one who survived. What exactly happened then?"
The staff member didn't really seem like an interviewer with his tone, but Aiden didn't mind it. Instead, he was fully focused on his own part.
"We were ordered to stay put in a trench, but the Germans found out and attacked us. It was unexpected, and my battalion tried to retreat. But people got injured and died. My friend, Steve... I can still recall that... that treacherous night.
I had known Steve since the day I joined the Army. We spent most of our World War in the trenches. One night, I was talking to him, who was next to me in the dark. He didn't answer. I reached over to see if he was asleep and put my hand into his shattered brain case. He had been shot in the night."
Aiden took a deep breath like his mind flashed these stories of past trauma. His eyes had turned a bit hollow now, and with his lips quivering, he actually seemed like someone who had survived a world war.
"What happened after that?"
"I... They transferred me from one battalion to another." He took a breath, his eyes darting to the side, trying to find something. "Somehow, I always survived like death didn't like me. I knew she was smiling at me, but she wasn't ready to embrace me. At that time, the only goal was to survive one more day, but... now, the nightmares... they haunt me... they have taken away my sleep, my hunger, and my will to live."
"Did you make any other friends?"
"I did, but then they died, so I stopped trying to make any." There was a lonely smile on his face. "Making friends in the Army can give you traumas more than anything. I learned that the hard way."
The staff member nodded sheepishly, a bit influenced by his acting. Then, fumbling his words, he asked the final question.
"Di-Did the war teach you anything?"
Aiden thought for a bit before answering the question. Actually, this was not in the script. Although the question was there, there was no answer, so it was up to the actor to think of an answer, and it was a way for Lincoln to know if they truly understood the character.
"The war, well, it did teach me a lot." A lot of indescribable emotions passed through his eyes in an instant. "A friend you are laughing with could be on the ground with a bullet in his head at any moment, and you might be the same the next day. Nothing stays forever in a war. And if I have learned anything in this long life of mine, it is this: in love, we find out who we want to be; in war, we find out who we are."
Saying that Aiden laughed a bit and ended his audition with one final sentence.
"You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on having both at once. And when all the wars are over, a butterfly will still be beautiful."
***
After the interviewer concluded Aiden's audition, the staff told him that he would be notified of the results later. And after his audition, Lincoln and Frank decided to take a lunch break before continuing with the others.
While having lunch together, Lincoln couldn't help but say his honest thoughts.
"He's perfect!"
"Who?"
Franklin asked like he didn't know, but Lincoln didn't seem to mind.
"Aiden. We saw his audition just now. No one performed better than him. His expressions have a subtle nature to them, and he understands acting."
"You seem to like him a lot."
Franklin said, tapping the table with one of his fingers. His attitude clearly said that Aiden's acting didn't really convince him.
"You don't like him?"
"I didn't say that. He's not bad."
"Your attitude says it." When Lincoln glared a bit, Franklin couldn't help but sigh. Although a producer has a lot of power, Lincoln was not a newbie and was well respected.
Moreover, as the movie was already mostly shot, Lincoln had a bit more power. So the studio won't want the shooting to stop in the middle no matter what.
"Look, I know he's good. But I still want the role to go to a popular actor. Maybe from India if you really want authenticity. We can promote the movie in the big market there. The ticket prices are not that high, but there's a massive market."
"After China, now India."
Lincoln understood how the world works, and at least Hollywood was mostly run on money. Because of that, Hollywood studios have tried hard to get more influence in other markets, like China.
It was great for their business, but sometimes, they would use popular actors from some countries and just give them a small role, but they would act like it's a big one during the promotions.
Because of this, their movies earn more in countries where a certain actor is famous.
"It's just better for popularity."
Franklin argued, but Lincoln wasn't really happy with it. Then, shaking his head a bit, he tried to present his point.
"Just trust me on this one. Going with a newbie is the better option with this character, and it will make the movie much better than using an already established star. And I think Aiden is that newbie."
Pausing a bit, he hesitated before adding one more line.
"Maybe he will become a star in the future, and we will be known as the ones who gave him his first break."
"Or we could go with an already established star. So let's just get someone like Vivaan Kapoor. He recently had a breakthrough in Hollywood, so we could take him for this role. Or we could just go with a middle eastern actor. They look the part."
Lincoln didn't say anything at that. Vivaan Kapoor was a pretty good actor in his eyes, but he somehow still wanted to go with Aiden.
"I still think Aiden fits the role better."
"He doesn't even look the part in my eyes. He's young and never experienced acting in front of a camera. It's very risky to give such a role to an unknown guy. You do know we will all be in trouble if the movie fails!"
Lincoln frowned hearing that. One of his biggest worries was [Shadow of War] bombing at the box office. If that happened, producers would surely not trust him, and it would be even harder to make a comeback for him.
Thinking of the box office, he ultimately doubted his decision to take Aiden.
***
Aiden was going back to his house after his audition. Sitting in the taxi, he has a confident feeling about the audition.
'Lincoln Bradley seemed impressed. Unfortunately, though, the same can't be said about the fat guy.'
He knew that the Director was the main person to impress while casting, but there were other factors too. Producers were one of them, and sometimes, an actor is cast just because he was marketable easily.
He could only wait to get notified. As he was thinking about that, his phone suddenly rang, and he saw that it was his mom calling from India.
"Hello, mom, how are you?"
He quickly picked it up and said. A female voice that seemed a bit angry came from the other side.
"Aiden, don't ask me how I am. Instead, tell me how you are. You don't even call me nowadays, and the only news I get of you is from the internet."
"Mom, I'm sorry I've just been busy these days. Everything is fine. I'm working hard, so most of my time goes into that."
"That doesn't mean you can't send me a text." His mom said, a bit disgruntled. Then, she asked. "And did you really get eliminated?"
"Yes, I did. That's why I'm back in New York. I'm back to attending auditions."
He could already imagine his mom frowning on the other side. She was apprehensive about him not being able to find a stable job. Although she didn't mind him going for acting as a career, her worries increased as time passed.
"If you are back in New York, then go meet your Uncle. He said you have not met him in months."
"I'm going to meet him in a few days. I need his help with some things anyway."
There was a pause when he said that. Aiden could imagine his mom sitting on a chair with worry and gloom in her eyes.
"Don't just go to him when you need help. And Aiden, try to give your best. Time goes by fast, and your only chance to prove yourself is gone before you know it."
It took a bit of a time for him to reply to her. In the end, he just said, "I will do my best."
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