The Best Movie Actor In Hollywood!

Chapter 700

"I'll do one last check."

The stunt coordinator stood beside Matthew, checking the safety equipment on his body. "This will only take two minutes."

Matthew stood silently on the lift, letting them double-check the safety cables and harnesses. He then put on his suit jacket, grabbed another rope, and just as they had rehearsed, pulled the line taut with both hands. Planting his feet against a high-friction wall designed for the stunt, he began to slowly descend.

Once in position by the window, he turned and gave a thumbs-up to Christopher Nolan, who then called for the start of the take.

Matthew’s arm strength was considerable, his hands covered in the rough calluses worn in by years of training. He had practiced more complex descents back when he first filmed "Black Hawk Down." Just last year, he had also undergone similar training in preparation for "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra."

He had to perform the stunt himself for this scene, as it required a close-up shot from the side.

Matthew continued his slow descent, heading toward the designated spot and bracing himself for what came next.

Then came the most difficult part of the scene.

The initially taut rope suddenly went slack.

Matthew plunged downwards, dropping three or four meters before the rope snapped taut again. Using the force of the rebound, he stabilized his position.His face tensed as he looked up.

Above him, of course, was the camera lens. His expression quickly returned to one of calm composure. Gripping the ropes with both hands and bracing his feet against the wall, he reversed his direction, climbing back up to the glass window before stopping.

Thanks to the safety harness, he hadn't expended much energy.

Matthew climbed onto the ledge, cut through the glass, and slipped inside the window.

After the call to "cut," he unhooked the safety line and ducked through the passage behind the window, where a lift platform was waiting.

As soon as he stepped onto the platform, someone immediately came over to help him remove his suit jacket and unfasten the harnesses hidden underneath.

Matthew flexed his hands, which were a little sore, and stepped down. The crew was taking a short break, and Christopher Nolan walked over, taking a seat in the chair next to Matthew to use the time to explain the next key points.

"You're in good shape. Very good shape."

It was clear Christopher Nolan was pleased with Matthew. "Keep yourself in this condition for as long as you can."

A makeup artist was touching up Matthew's face, so he could only give a slight nod, unable to speak properly.

Christopher Nolan continued, "However, there's one aspect you need to improve."

Once the makeup artist was finished, Matthew turned his head toward Christopher Nolan and asked curiously, "What aspect?"

Filming had been underway for a while, and he'd always felt he was rising to the challenge. This wasn't just his own opinion; it was the general consensus among many crew members, including Christopher Nolan himself.

Although his acting skills might not have reached the level of perfection prized by the Academy, a decade in the film industry and leading roles in several major productions had given him a wealth of experience and profound knowledge to draw upon. As a result, the role of Cobb was proving to be less difficult than he had anticipated.

Matthew knew perfectly well this was the result of shooting film after film. Thanks to his constant work on set and in front of the camera, the role of Cobb felt somewhat easier than playing Robert Neville.

"The film's setting is absurd," Christopher Nolan said, making no secret of it. "But its style is grounded in realism, and your scenes in particular must feel completely realistic."

Matthew nodded gently. "I understand."

But Christopher Nolan continued, "We don't just need a realistic style; we need to make the audience feel that these dreams are reality." He gestured as he spoke. "If we want the audience to experience the dreams as real, the actors' performances—especially yours, as the lead—are crucial."

Matthew thought for a moment and said, "So, the audience needs to believe the dreams are real through the character's experience."

"Exactly," Christopher Nolan added. "Dreams feel real while we're in them. It's only when we wake up that we realize something was actually strange."

Matthew thought the last line sounded vaguely familiar, and then it hit him: wasn't that a line from the script?

Christopher Nolan checked the time, stood up, and said, "You've done good work, much better than I expected, but you can do better! You need to strip away any detachment or deliberateness from your performance and make this character a man with real feelings."

He emphasized again, "Cobb isn't a character. He's a real person who exists on this set."

Matthew said nothing, but he nodded.

Then, Christopher Nolan walked away and went back to the director's monitor.

Matthew seriously pondered Christopher Nolan's words: how could he make his performance even more realistic?

Perhaps it would have been a difficult task for other actors, but Matthew had thoroughly studied the films Christopher Nolan made after "Batman Begins," when he transitioned into more commercial filmmaking. Whether it was "The Prestige" or the Batman films, they all possessed an extraordinary level of realism.

No one could deny that the comic-book fantasy elements of "The Dark Knight" had all but vanished.

So, what was the acting style of the lead performers in these typically realistic commercial films by Christopher Nolan?

Matthew had his own take on it: hatred and suffering!

Therefore, he was prepared to further amplify the emotional and expressive aspects of his subsequent scenes in that direction.

To that end, he not only needed to work hard on his performance but also collaborate closely with the technical departments, especially makeup and cinematography.

During the subsequent shoots, Matthew asked Christopher Nolan for permission to review the finished takes.

As a rule, Hollywood directors rarely let actors watch the dailies, a practice that effectively reduces potential disputes between the director and the stars.

For instance, a director might shoot a take they're perfectly happy with, only for the lead actor to feel it wasn't good enough...

In the vast majority of cases, actors without enough clout find it difficult to challenge the director.

However, Christopher Nolan was no ordinary director, and Matthew was no ordinary actor, so his request was quickly granted.

Of course, Matthew simply observed the footage and almost completely refrained from making any comments.

Realism was so crucial to the cinematography, to every aspect of this film. Nolan didn't want the dreams to reflect some drawn-out departure from reality; he wanted them to feel just as solid as the real world.

In this film, the characters sometimes don't know that what they're seeing is a dream, so the visual boundary between reality and the dream world had to be seamless, with few exceptions. Christopher Nolan wanted the audience to know the difference, and for the most part, the film's sense of reality came from the environment itself, not from camera techniques.

While maintaining a sense of realism, Nolan was able to create a subtle feeling of surprise or unease when necessary, without pulling the audience out of the story.

Moreover, Christopher Nolan always did everything he could to ensure the camerawork didn't look overly complicated.

The story's structure was complex enough, but as filming progressed, Matthew could tell that Christopher Nolan was not a fan of structurally complex shots. It seemed his secret was to make everything as simple and efficient as possible.

This afternoon featured another scene. The crew had moved to the eleventh filming location, and Matthew's character, Cobb, was to be jolted awake from his dream by taking a step back and falling backward into a bathtub full of water...

Matthew fell into the tub and was soaked to the bone. Fortunately, they got the shot in a single take.

His scenes for the day were finished. He went to the dressing room to remove his makeup and change clothes, then returned to the set to continue observing the crew at work.

Although he was not destined to become a director in this life, he wanted to be a top-tier producer and make a fortune, so he paid close attention to everything happening on set.

Watching Anne Hathaway film a scene as Mal, Matthew suddenly recalled a plot summary of "Inception" that he'd once seen in a pirated version online.

The specific details were long forgotten, but he vaguely remembered the person claiming that the entire film was a dream—that Cobb had a dream on his way home, and the so-called story of his wife, his crime, the "Extractor" persona... all of it was part of the dream and had no connection to reality.

Just as Matthew was lost in thought, a crew member approached him.

"Mr. Horner." The crew member's expression was rather strange. "A young woman has arrived... claiming to be your girlfriend."