The surroundings were quiet. Matthew stood in the center of the classroom, and Rachel McAdams stood two meters opposite him. Lacking props, she gestured with her hand to form a gun, pointing it at Matthew's head.
David Astor's teaching focused on practicality, and it could even be said that it was directly aimed at the Hollywood film and television industry.
Whether it was the previous dialogue scenes and the scenes of losing family members, or the kidnapping scene Matthew and Rachel McAdams were preparing to perform, these were all common tropes in Hollywood movies and TV shows.
The script Matthew and Rachel McAdams received was not complicated. Matthew played a tough guy whose daughter was kidnapped, while Rachel McAdams played the kidnapper threatening him.
"Hand over the goods!" The dimples on Rachel McAdams' face completely disappeared. Her sharper facial features, combined with subtle muscle adjustments, made her entire face appear particularly sinister. Especially with her lips deliberately parted to reveal two rows of tightly clenched teeth, it conveyed a sense of ruthlessness. "Otherwise, your daughter dies!"
Matthew had already thought about his role earlier, especially after David Astor's explanation of dialogue scenes, which had resonated with him. This scene depicted a tough guy and a kidnapper entangled in words, and fundamentally, it was also a dialogue scene.
Therefore, he couldn't just stand there foolishly moving his lips like characters in Japanese anime.
Normally, when someone is kidnapped, especially with a gun pointed at them, most people would be scared, lose control of their emotions, and cry or scream. This is very normal.
But in some scenarios and for some characters, this approach is not suitable.
For example, his current character is a tough guy!
What defines a tough guy? In the movies Matthew had watched, Bruce Willis in "Die Hard," Arnold Schwarzenegger in "Terminator 2," Sylvester Stallone in the "Rambo" series, and Tom Cruise in the "Mission: Impossible" series had all interpreted it in their own ways.
Matthew believed that such a tough guy must be very calm.
"Where have you hidden her?" Matthew's face was cold. "I won't give you anything until I see my daughter."
As soon as these two lines were spoken, David Astor frowned slightly but said nothing.
"This young man named Matthew Horner has good looks," he kept watching the two perform. "But his acting skills are not commendable."
Even without close scrutiny, he could tell that Matthew Horner was imitating Tom Cruise, but unfortunately, he only captured Tom Cruise's cool side, not the other side behind the tough guy persona.
The two continued their performance, but their expressions were starkly different.
Matthew always kept his eyes wide, maintaining an imposing, cool tough-guy demeanor, but to outsiders, it was always the same expression. Rachel McAdams, however, was completely different. Her acting might not have been exceptional, but against Matthew's backdrop, she appeared natural and expressive, especially utilizing subtle changes in her eyebrows, the corners of her mouth, her eyes, and her facial muscles to make her expressions more suitable for the atmosphere of the dialogue.
Everyone present could see that the two actors' performances were not on the same level.
Even Matthew himself realized it.
Rachel McAdams looked particularly petite, but as soon as she was on stage, her entire aura changed. Matthew felt a single word: reasonable.
This girl's breathing was reasonable, her movements were reasonable, and even her raised eyebrow and pursed lips were reasonable. He couldn't keep up with her rhythm at all. This was a critical problem. According to the script, both characters were tough, but his character was the dominant one, and Rachel McAdams's was slightly weaker. Yet, Rachel McAdams perfectly portrayed the weakness of a kidnapper facing a super tough guy.
If he had to find a suitable analogy,
Matthew thought she was the master mason on a construction site with a trowel, while he was just a temporary laborer swinging a sledgehammer to cause destruction.
Matthew's last half-minute of the scene was entirely following Rachel McAdams's rhythm.
"Stop!"
All the lines finished, David Astor called out, then walked over to Matthew and Rachel McAdams.
Matthew nodded slightly to Rachel McAdams.
Rachel McAdams, no longer looking sinister, also nodded slightly, her beautiful eyebrows immediately furrowing. She had upstaged him just now.
Indeed, it wasn't entirely her fault; the male actor opposite her performed too generally. But in a scene like this, she couldn't even control her intensity... Rachel McAdams shook her head, knowing that her acting was far from good, let alone being able to control it freely.
As for the male actor opposite her, Matthew Horner, he was passable at looking cool and acting tough with his excellent looks, but his acting skills were truly lacking.
"You did well," David Astor first said to Rachel McAdams. "What you lack most now is a large amount of long-term practice and enough acting experience."
He then turned to everyone and said, "Acting is a skill, and there is only one way to improve a skill, and that is constant practice. This is especially true for skills related to body control, like acting. Just as athletes are not born, but are developed through persistent training!"
Matthew didn't know how others viewed David Astor, but in the eyes of someone with enough life experience like him, what this guy taught was typical pragmatism.
Perhaps there really are acting geniuses in this world who don't need much practice, but Matthew knew he wasn't one of them.
Persistent practice! Matthew firmly remembered this phrase.
David Astor then said to Matthew, "Your problems are obvious: insufficient acting experience, and a singular and superficial acting style."
Hearing him say this, Matthew nodded very seriously. He was here to seek guidance.
"In such scenes, simply showing a cold face or a childish stubbornness might seem like adequate acting, but it ignores the details," David Astor continued to Matthew. "You acted very cold just now, but the problem is that your daughter was kidnapped. The script wants you to portray not just a tough guy, but also a tender, good father! Only being cold..."
He shook his head. "Do you think that's appropriate?"
Matthew also shook his head, and then proactively asked, "Would adding some worry and fear make it better?"
"It could," David Astor first nodded, then cautioned, "There are no specific quantifiable standards for acting; you need to grasp it based on the specific situation."
Among the fourteen people, most were intently focused on David Astor, listening carefully to his words. For many with less education and no systematic acting training, David Astor seemed very much like a good teacher.
Afterward, Matthew and Rachel McAdams exited the performance area, and another pair of actors came in to perform.
During this acting class, Matthew remained focused from beginning to end, afraid of missing any useful knowledge. Compared to talent and acting skill, he might be relatively low among everyone, but in terms of concentration, no one could match him.
Even Rachel McAdams, who seemed very serious, was far behind.
The morning class passed in a flash. Matthew even felt that time went by too quickly. Unlike the others who hurried away, he specifically chased out of the classroom to find David Astor, who hadn't gone far, and asked a question he considered very crucial.
"Mr. Astor," he asked politely, "What is the key to becoming a good actor?"
Although he wanted to be a Hollywood movie star, not just an actor, he knew the competition was fierce here. If his acting skills weren't even at a basic level, even if he got lucky and became famous, he would quickly fall to rock bottom, and that wasn't what he wanted.
"Matthew, right?" David Astor remembered him and thought for a moment before saying, "I believe actors should be humble, and not just superficially humble."
Hearing him say this, Matthew was confused and couldn't understand what it meant.
David Astor continued, "Perfect acting does not exist. Therefore, we must always hold reverence for beauty." He nodded to Matthew, "Being eager to learn is a good thing, a rare quality in Hollywood."
Perhaps noticing Matthew's unusual seriousness and focus during class, David Astor specifically added, "Keep it up, so that when opportunity arises, you'll have the capital to seize it."
He nodded to Matthew, turned, and walked away.
Matthew scratched his head. He understood the latter part of what was said, but the earlier remarks about humility left him somewhat confused.
He stood there thinking for a while, but couldn't figure it out. He simply walked towards the school cafeteria, had a quick lunch, and rested for a bit before heading to another classroom for the language class he had already registered for.
In this classroom, Matthew saw a few familiar faces. Some of the people from the morning class were also there for the language class, including Rachel McAdams, with whom he had performed a scene.
Seeing the empty seat next to Rachel McAdams, Matthew immediately walked over.
"Hi, Rachel," he showed a very pleasant personality and politely asked, "is anyone sitting here?"
Seeing Matthew's bright smile, Rachel McAdams also politely replied, "Hello, Matthew. No one, feel free to sit."
Matthew pulled out the chair, sat down, and asked, "What a coincidence, you also signed up for the language class."
"I had no choice," Rachel McAdams said with a hint of helplessness. "My agent said my accent was too strong and needed to be corrected."
Matthew laughed, "My agent said the same thing. She thinks my Texas accent is too country."
Rachel McAdams deeply empathized, "Isn't that the truth? My agent also thinks my Canadian accent doesn't sound good."
With a shared topic, the two gradually became more familiar with each other.
Meanwhile, Helen Herman used her connection with Ridley Scott to constantly communicate with the "Gladiator" crew, securing an opportunity for Matthew to truly get media attention.