The Best Movie Actor In Hollywood!

Chapter 578

Early that morning, Matthew finished his breakfast and stepped out of the hotel to find

Emma in the waiting crowd.

"Good morning," he said, walking up to her.

"Good morning," Emma replied with a smile. "How come I didn't see you at breakfast?"

Matthew explained, "I went for a morning run, and by the time I made it to the restaurant, it was nearly empty."

Emma nodded and glanced around at the unfamiliar faces surrounding them.

"You're the only person I know here."

"Where's your agent?"

"He went ahead to the Palace of Nations to coordinate things." Emma held up a hand that was trembling slightly. "My hands are shaking. I've never spoken in front of more than a thousand people before."

She asked, "I looked up your speech from South Africa online last night. You were brilliant. Do you have any advice?""Of course," Matthew leaned in closer and whispered, "When you get on stage, just pretend you're on a movie set."

Emma gave him a puzzled look.

Matthew continued, "Hermione Granger just needs to treat these people like Muggles."

Emma smiled and was about to reply, but her gaze suddenly shifted to a point over his shoulder. "Is she looking for you?"

Matthew followed her line of sight just in time to see Natalie heading their way. Natalie had also spotted him and approached without the slightest hesitation, as if greeting an old friend.

"Matthew!"

The joy on Natalie's face was plain to see. "It's so good to see you."

Matthew smiled and opened his arms. "You too."

Seeing that Matthew was treating her just as he always had, Natalie also opened her arms and gave him a gentle hug.

They exchanged a few brief pleasantries, after which Matthew introduced them. "Nat, this is Emma Watson. Emma, this is Natalie Portman."

The two greeted each other politely just as a bus pulled up. When the conference organizers began letting people on, Matthew gestured for Emma and Natalie to go first, then followed them aboard.

As he stepped onto the bus, Natalie called out, "Matthew, over here!"

Emma, who had taken a seat in the row ahead of Natalie, heard her and shot Matthew a meaningful look.

Matthew walked to the row behind Emma and sat down next to Natalie.

One by one, other attendees boarded and took seats behind them.

As the bus started up and headed for the Palace of Nations, Natalie turned from the window and asked Matthew, "I remember you're a UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador, right?"

Matthew nodded. "I'm here on their invitation."

Natalie tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "And you'll be speaking on stage?"

"Yes, about the refugee crisis," he replied, then asked, "What about you?"

"My speech is on environmental protection and human rights."

Seeing that smile on her face again, vaguely reminiscent of her performance in "Léon: The Professional," Matthew suddenly recalled a quote he had once seen online: anyone who likes Natalie is actually just charmed by Mathilda.

"What are you thinking about?" Natalie asked, noticing Matthew's slightly odd expression.

"I was just thinking about Mathilda from 'Léon'," Matthew admitted, always particularly honest with Natalie. "Your performance back then was incredible."

"I hated that role!"

The compliment had clearly missed its mark. Natalie's brow furrowed as she said bluntly, "Until I was twenty, I refused every role that was anything like her. I didn't want to be the object of someone's sexual fantasies."

"I'm sorry," Matthew said sincerely, seeing her displeasure.

Natalie shook her head. "It's fine."

She looked magnanimous, as if completely unconcerned by what Matthew had just said, and continued, "I enjoy spending time with you."

Matthew felt a little embarrassed by her words, but he was a level-headed person and recalled what Helen had warned him about: that Natalie had been frank with him, but had also grown close to Brad Pitt and convinced Pitt to make her one of the producers of

"Cloud Atlas."

In doing so, she had managed to both work closely with Brad and remain on friendly terms with him...

However, this was all just speculation; Matthew had no definitive proof. The human heart, after all, was the most difficult thing to read.

Of course, if it were true, he didn't blame Natalie. That was the law of survival in Hollywood. It was far harder for an actress to climb the career ladder than it was for an actor, and the vast majority of actresses in Natalie's position would have made a similar choice.

Still, he and Natalie were in the same boat; neither of them was better than the other.

He had come to Geneva with far darker intentions than Natalie.

"By the way, Matthew," Natalie changed the subject. "There's something I've felt guilty about, with 'Cloud Atlas'..."

Matthew quickly raised a hand to cut her off. "It's fine."

He looked relaxed, not at all concerned. "The Wachowski brothers were the ones making the real decisions, not you."

He didn't wait for her reply before adding,

"I was sorry to lose the 'Cloud Atlas' project, too; it was fantastic. But I'm not short on projects. My agent's desk is overflowing with offers."

Matthew exaggerated, "They're piled three feet high."

Natalie said nothing, but she could guess it was true. How could a star of Matthew's caliber possibly be short of projects and roles?

"I originally thought I'd get 'Cloud Atlas' and would have to reorganize my work schedule for the next few years."

Matthew put on a casual air. "Honestly, it's better this way. Less stress."

He managed to convey both his regret over losing "Cloud Atlas" and the fact that it was hardly a significant setback for him.

"You have a work schedule planned for the next couple of years?"

Matthew answered nonchalantly, "Andrew Stanton at Disney is adapting 'A Princess of Mars' for the screen. He's asked me to star and produce, with a budget of two hundred fifty million dollars. Now I have to work with him to raise investment, which is a whole other headache to think about."

Just then, the bus stopped. Matthew looked out the window and said,

"We're at the

Palace of Nations."

Natalie got off the bus after Matthew, committing the information about the major project he had just mentioned to memory.

Soon after, she entered the main conference hall along with her two colleagues, Matthew and Emma.