The Best Movie Actor In Hollywood!

Chapter 136

To ensure the actors could train without interruption, the production crew rented a small soundstage at Warner Studios, which, after some simple outfitting, was converted into a temporary training arena. Not only were weapon racks and archery targets set up, but the floor was also covered with firm foam mats to prevent injuries.

Matthew changed into his training clothes and walked out of the locker room toward the assistant the crew had assigned to him.

A young woman with medium-length black hair took the initiative to approach and greet him when she saw him. "Hello, Matthew. We meet again."

Seeing a familiar face as his assistant put Matthew in a good mood, and he immediately replied, "It's good to see you, Mira."

He walked over and asked, "So you decided to come to Hollywood to pursue your career?"

Mira took the work bag from Matthew's hands, carried it for him, and followed along as she explained, "I just got to Los Angeles this month. I saw a job posting for the show in the paper and applied. Since I'd already worked on The Mummy Returns, they hired me pretty quickly."

The other actors and the director had not yet arrived, so the two found a random spot to wait.

Mira took out a towel and placed it on a nearby shelf, then checked his water bottle to see how full it was. "The crew has electrolyte drinks prepared," she mentioned.

Seeing no objection from Matthew, she went to the refreshment area and brought back some electrolyte drinks and energy snacks.

Just then, the other actors began to file into the training hall one by one. Matthew glanced over, his eyes landing first on the lead actress.The actress had dark hair and looked to be in her late twenties or early thirties, with features that suggested she was of Asian or mixed-race descent.

The three other male actors were more familiar; he thought he might have seen them at the Angel Acting Agency. They had to be the three actors Helen Herman had recommended for the cast.

One of the three had a scruffy look, the second was tall and heavyset, and the third, who appeared to be in his thirties, was very thin.

Though their complexions varied, Matthew could see they were all white actors.

Fortunately, black actors weren't yet "coddled" by Hollywood at this time. He remembered following the industry gossip back then; a mid-sized production like this with an all-non-black principal cast would likely be furiously condemned for perceived racism in a few years.

A few other actors followed them in, mostly supporting players with action-heavy roles.

Soon, Tim Madsen, the action director, arrived. He exchanged a few words with the crew, and the actors were quickly divided into different groups.

As the film's lead, Matthew would, of course, be directed by Tim Madsen himself.

"I've watched all the footage you shot on the set of The Mummy Returns."

The two of them took up a full third of the training hall. Tim Madsen stood in the middle and said to Matthew, "I've designed a regimen for you that focuses on agility and strength."

Matthew knew that film choreography was entirely different from a real fight, and he didn't get a big head just because he'd practiced boxing and sparring. The slender Tim Madsen might not be able to beat him in a real bare-knuckle brawl, but he was undeniably a professional when it came to designing action for the screen.

"In the action sequences, you'll often be facing a 'one-versus-many' situation," Tim Madsen clarified. "Mathayus is an assassin and a warrior, but he's still human. When you're outnumbered, you can't just charge in head-on; you have to run."

Matthew nodded. "Talk is one thing, Tim. How about a demonstration?"

"As you wish," Tim replied, clearly not one to refuse.

He then proceeded to pick up a knife, a spear, and a bow and arrows in succession, demonstrating some of the meticulously designed movements.

"What do you think?" Tim asked when he finished. "Any thoughts?"

Matthew gave him a thumbs-up. "Brilliant."

Action in a film needed to be, above all, visually compelling. And while this film was taking a more realistic approach to combat and eschewing the trendy "sword dancing," it didn't fall back on the unremarkable action scenes of 70s and 80s Hollywood films.

Tim had Matthew start with the most basic training, such as how to hold a knife and draw a bow, all of which had to be done with proper form. Otherwise, it would look awkward and ridiculous on camera, first and foremost to the audience.

Compared to him, the absolute lead, the other actors had a much easier training regimen.

After all, this was a film shoot, not preparation for a real fighting tournament.

With a prop knife in hand, Matthew walked over to a large mirror and began to practice his strikes. Not far from him, the dark-haired lead actress was stretching in front of another mirror. He noticed she could effortlessly execute several high kicks, guessing that she either had formal training or was a dancer.

The actress noticed Matthew as well and approached him when he took a break.

"Hi," she greeted.

Matthew returned the greeting. "Hello."

He introduced himself. "Matthew Horner."

"Kelly Hu," the actress replied, introducing herself in turn.

Giving her an unobtrusive glance, Matthew gestured to where she had been standing and asked, "Have you studied dance?"

Despite the baggy training clothes, he could tell the actress had an excellent figure and a distinctive presence.

"No." Kelly shook her head, then added, "I have a black belt in karate."

Matthew was slightly taken aback; she didn't look like a karate practitioner. He couldn't help but smile. "That's surprising."

Kelly, however, looked at Matthew and said, "I heard someone on the crew mention that you practice boxing and sparring."

"Just a hobby," Matthew admitted. "I train more for fun and for my roles."

Kelly asked, "Does it help with filming action scenes?"

Matthew nodded. "Yes, quite a lot."

He was ready for a break anyway and simply stood there chatting with Kelly for a while. She was playing the female lead and would have many scenes with him in the future, so it was good to get acquainted now.

After talking for a bit, Matthew also learned some basic facts about Kelly. She had a connection to Japan, having studied both karate and Japanese swordsmanship there.

After about ten minutes, the two returned to their respective areas and continued their exercises.

Once Matthew had practiced with the swords for a while, Tim had him switch to training with a bow and arrows.

The training hall, temporarily converted from a soundstage, was enormous, with the four walls divided into separate zones. The side near the dressing rooms served as a temporary rest area for the actors, with doors on the left and right. The opposite side was a solid wall where archery targets had been set up, serving as the actors' practice range.

Taking a recurve bow, Matthew followed Tim's instructions, nocked a prop arrow, secured it between his fingers, and drew the bowstring.

The wooden bow looked solid, but the draw was smooth. Matthew easily pulled the string to its full tension, aimed the arrow at a nearby target, and released.

The arrow flew, sailing past the target and thudding against the wall.

He then nocked a second arrow and drew the bow again, this time with more precision. The arrow hit the upper part of the target.

Unfortunately, the arrows were blunt-tipped and couldn't stick in the target at all.

The morning training session passed in the blink of an eye. Matthew returned to the rest area, where Mira handed him a towel. He wiped the sweat from his face, took a drink from the bottle Mira offered him, and said, "Come on, let's get some lunch."

Seeing that Mira didn't move, he added, "My treat."

With that, the training session was over. Matthew was about to head to the locker room to change when the three male actors from his agency, Angel, approached him.

"Hey, Matthew," the scruffy-looking one said. "We meet again."

Matthew couldn't quite recall where he had seen him before but smiled politely. "Yeah, good to see you."

Mira, standing close behind him, lowered her voice. "Duff Villa."

Without missing a beat, Matthew extended his hand. "Duff, it's great we're working together."

Duff quickly shook his hand. "I feel the same way."

He introduced the other two actors to Matthew, gesturing first to the tall, heavyset one. "This is Clark Bernard."

Pointing to the very thin man, he said, "And this is Steven Brand."

Since they would be working on the same set in the future, Matthew greeted them both with a perfectly polite handshake.

However, the two men were clearly not as sociable as Duff. The portly Clark was fine, but the overly gaunt Steven kept his face taut and seemed a little withdrawn.

But Matthew didn't mind. The three of them were on a completely different level than he was.

After exchanging pleasantries, Matthew and Mira left. The other three watched them go, hesitating to leave.

"What are you standing around for?" Duff prompted. "Let's go."