The Best Movie Actor In Hollywood!

Chapter 109

The gates of Edwards Air Force Base swung open, and out streamed a hundred or so male actors, ready to head to the nearest airport and board a charter flight straight to Morocco.

The shooting schedule for Black Hawk Down was tight. Producer Jerry Bruckheimer was already in Morocco handling preparations, and director Ridley Scott had also arrived early, waiting for the cast to assemble.

At the end of the ten-day training camp, nearly everyone was relaxed and in high spirits.

The only exception was a young man walking at the very back, trailing about ten meters behind the main group.

Tom Hardy, dragging his suitcase, stepped out of the base gates alone, his chilling gaze fixed on one of the men ahead.

Johnny Lee Miller.

That pig had literally sacrificed him for his own gain.

After that day, he had, of course, refused to voluntarily leave the cast. But Miller had called his agent, and under immense pressure, Tom could only back down. Even with his respectable family background, it didn't change the fact that he was just a minor actor, powerless against the giant Hollywood agencies.

Although his agent had promised to compensate him in other ways, Tom still felt utterly betrayed.

He had treated Miller as a friend, a partner he could work with. And what did Miller do? He didn't hesitate to make him a scapegoat the moment it was convenient.As the actors in front began boarding two buses, Tom walked over to the SUV that had come for him. He glanced back at the buses, which, under the brilliant sunlight, seemed to radiate an icy coldness.

"I want to be a star!" Tom clenched his fist. "No, I have to be a star! It's the only way to get my revenge on Miller, and to make that vile, sinister, and despicable bastard Matthew Horner pay!"

He tossed his bags onto the back seat, climbed into the passenger side, and told the driver, "Back to Los Angeles. To the airport."

Tom had considered it before, after the setback on Band of Brothers. Hollywood was too dangerous, thorny at every turn, riddled with traps and venomous snakes. It was better to return to England, build his career there, and then come back to Hollywood once he had made a name for himself.

The SUV sped past the bus, kicking up smoke and dust. Inside, Miller silently watched the departing vehicle through the window.

He knew Tom was upset and resentful, but he didn't care. He was just trying to save his own skin.

What was on that tape was a risk he simply couldn't afford to take.

Suddenly, a burst of laughter came from the front of the bus. Miller looked up to see that hateful Matthew and James boarding one by one. They both walked right past him as if he didn't exist, heading toward the seats at the back.

The thought of having to work with people like them for an extended period made Miller's stomach turn, but for the sake of that recording, he had to endure it.

"So," James asked Matthew in a low voice as they settled into the less crowded rear of the bus, "he's still holding a grudge against you?"

"Of course," Matthew replied as if it were obvious. "But we've reached an agreement. I'm going to wait until filming is over before I give the recording to him."

They had just received the detailed shooting schedule yesterday. His character's scenes were scheduled relatively early, so he expected to be almost completely finished by the end of January or early February of next year.

James asked in a whisper, "Do you really have the recording?"

"No," Matthew shook his head. "I lied to Miller."

"What?" James unconsciously raised his voice, then quickly covered his mouth before speaking again in a hushed tone. "You're a damn good liar."

Matthew sounded rather helpless. "What else could I do? They had stun guns. It was the only way I could think of to protect myself."

James, however, said with admiration, "Come on, Matthew, don't make excuses. You're one hell of a liar."

It was hard not to admire someone who could so effortlessly deceive a man like Miller.

Soon after, Ben Foster came over to them. Matthew thanked him for what he'd done that day. If Ben hadn't called James, who then showed up at the door with several other actors, he might not have been able to trick Miller so easily.

But deceiving Miller had consequences. Where was he going to get a copy of that recording?

Matthew's idea was to stall for as long as possible until the film was finished. Then he would just leave and not worry about Miller, who, as far as he could recall, wasn't destined to become a particularly bright star anyway.

The production team of Black Hawk Down didn't care about personal conflicts between actors, as long as it didn't interfere with the actual filming.

After that day, Bearded Jack, who was in charge of the cast at Edwards Air Force Base, had approached him with questions. While Matthew hadn't gone into specifics, he admitted to having a minor conflict with Miller and Tom. Jack simply told him not to cause trouble on set and showed no intention of getting involved.

After getting off the bus and boarding the production's chartered plane, the hundred or so cast members bustled about, finding their seats and looking around. Aside from a few flight attendants, everyone on board was male.

This cast was even more testosterone-fueled than Band of Brothers, with virtually no women. Even the behind-the-scenes crew was almost entirely male.

According to James, after a few months of filming in Morocco, the local dark-skinned girls would start looking sexier and more beautiful than Marilyn Monroe herself.

Although, Matthew vaguely recalled that Morocco wasn't a completely "black" country.

With hundreds of male actors on a plane, the most interesting activity was hitting on the flight attendants, and Orlando Bloom, the crew's resident pretty boy, was the first to make a move.

Orlando wasn't a star yet. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, the film where he had a significant role, wouldn't be released until next year.

Matthew had seen the entire The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and Legolas was undoubtedly one of the most memorable characters. By the time the first film came out, Orlando Bloom was sure to become a massive hit, easily eclipsing the likes of Josh Hartnett and Johnny Lee Miller.

Unfortunately, Orlando Bloom had landed his role in Black Hawk Down before the release of The Lord of the Rings, a very minor part for a modest fee.

After arriving in Morocco and taking just one day off to recover from jet lag, Matthew joined the rest of the cast and threw himself into his work.

Ridley Scott had taken over the project midway, but Black Hawk Down had long been in the hands of Jerry Bruckheimer. Even after the original director, Simon West, had departed, pre-production never stopped. Thanks to Jerry Bruckheimer's prowess as a producer, filming began only a month behind schedule.

The political significance of the film was enormous—so much so that even someone as politically unaware as Matthew could feel it. The Moroccan government and the Pentagon had provided the production with immense support.

The Moroccan government not only authorized the presence of Delta Force and Black Hawk helicopters for filming but also mobilized its own army to assist in the shoot.

In Matthew's opinion, this had a lot to do with the fact that the actors and crew would bring a great deal of revenue to Morocco. A significant number of Hollywood films featuring deserts and Africa, such as the Star Wars prequel The Phantom Menace, were being shot there.

Many media outlets had even dubbed Morocco the "Hollywood of Morocco."

There were no scenes for Matthew's character, Sergeant Hoot, on the first day of shooting, but he left the cool hotel and went out onto the yellow sand to see the set and the scenes with his own eyes, hoping to get into the right mindset more quickly.

When it came to dedication, Matthew's attitude was never in question.

The set was in complete disarray. Since the scenes were set in Somalia, the extras had to be hired from Africa. Although they were all local Moroccans who looked Somali, the extras spoke different languages, making it difficult for even an experienced director like Ridley Scott to manage them.

After watching for a while, Matthew was surprised to see some of the black actors making rather ridiculous faces at the camera during filming.

"The director must be tearing his hair out right now," Matthew muttered, standing under a shady canopy. Orlando Bloom, who was also hiding from the sun while observing the shoot, remarked, "There's nothing we can do. We can't fire them."

Matthew turned to look at him with a puzzled expression. Orlando, who seemed quite reserved, explained specifically for his benefit, "One of the conditions for the Moroccan government's support was that we had to use Moroccans as extras."

"So that's how it is," Matthew nodded with understanding.

Filming continued. Matthew watched while chatting with Orlando, a man who had immediately made a good impression on him.