We soon arrived at the Disney Studios in Burbank, where the auditions for Prince Philip would take place. The closer we got, the more nervous I became. I had never auditioned for a speaking role in a movie before. I mean, yeah, I was technically in The Hunger Games, but that was for less than two minutes. I had more screen time in the behind-the-scenes footage on the DVD than I did in the actual movie—and I know that because I checked.
As I got out of the car, James, my agent, was already there waiting for me.
"Good morning, Mr. Riley," I said to him. "Any new updates on the audition?"
"Well, as you know, this is your final audition, so Elle Fanning, who plays Aurora, will be there. She's Dakota Fanning's younger sister, and you'll be reading with her," he replied, giving me a side hug.
He then turned to my mother and younger brother. "Hello, Ms. Wilson. It's lovely to meet you. And is this also a future movie star?" he continued, glancing at my brother with a smile.
"I'm just here for my game," my brother replied, barely acknowledging him.
"That's Lucas and he's not interested in becoming an actor, he's more of a sports and video games kid, if you know what I mean," my mother said.
"Alright, alright. Well, if everything's done, we can go inside if you'd like," James said, before my mother interrupted him.
"Can I take a few photos of him before his audition, if that's okay? There's still time, right?" she asked, phone already in her hand.
James, that traitor, threw a smirk my way, knowing how much I hated having my picture taken right before an audition. "Of course there's time, Ms. Wilson."
"Oh please, call me Sandra, James. We've known each other for a year now."
I sighed, knowing this would take a while, but at least we weren't running late.
(Break)
After the impromptu photoshoot was finished, we entered a building on the side of the studio lot where the final auditions would take place. I had already done one audition before, and this one was meant to determine who had the best chemistry with Elle Fanning.
We climbed to the second floor and entered a room with a few other people waiting, along with an older receptionist. From the looks of it, I had three other guys as competition.
"Hello, are you here for the Maleficent audition?" she asked, not even looking up from her MacBook.
"Yes, my client Xavier Wilson is here for the audition," James replied.
"Alright, take a seat. It'll start soon," she said, still not looking up.
We took the closest seats and sat down. I studied my competition. Two of the guys looked to be in their early twenties, one with light brown hair and the other a full blond. The last one looked even younger than me and had dark brown hair cut fairly short.
"Hey, are you also here for the audition?" I asked, moving to sit next to him. "I'm Xavier. I'm fifteen."
"Hi, I'm Timothée, seventeen, and yeah, I'm here for the audition too," he said. He was sitting with an older man and a woman in her mid-forties, probably his parents or guardians.
"You here with your agent and your mom too?" he asked, looking behind m.
"Yeah, I am," I replied, pausing before adding, "By the way, do you know who the other guys are?"
"Scouting the competition, huh?" he said with a smirk. He pointed to the guy with light brown hair. "That's Brenton Thwaites. He's been in a few things already, nothing too noteworthy, mostly shit in his home country Australia. The other guy? No clue." Then, with an amused glint in his eyes, he added, "If we're going off experience, it's probably between me and Brenton… unless you've got more."
Oh—so he was competitive like that. Actors like this were usually either really cool or complete assholes. No in-between.
"I'm probably worse off," I said, laughing it off. "I've mostly done commercials. The only real acting I've done was as a tribute in The Hunger Games, plus extra work in Transformers and the new Iron Man 3, and Star Trek 2: Into Darkness."
He looked me over again, seemingly reassessing me. "What agency are you with?" he asked.
"UTA," I replied casually, knowing that was a flex.
He was about to respond when my mom called out to me.
"Xavier, come sit down, the auditions are starting."
I turned to Timothée. "I'll see you soon," he said.
"Yeah, see you around," I replied before heading back to my seat.
"What were you talking about with that kid?" my mom asked.
"Just him and the competition. His name's Timothée," I said.
"His agent is Brian Swardstrom," James added, clearly sizing up the competition as well.
I blinked. "Who?"
"He's a respected agent from WME...well, was. He left during the Endeavor–William Morris merger. He represents clients like Tilda Swinton, Edward Norton, Damian Lewis, and Elijah Wood. If he signed that kid, then he must be very talented," James said, looking a bit too envious for my liking.
Well shit, he had just as much support as I did agent wise if not more. The more I learned about my competition, the less confident I felt.
"Don't worry too much about them, sweetie. Just make sure you have a good audition," my mom said encouragingly.
At that moment, a woman stepped out of the audition room.
"Hello. The auditions will begin now. You'll have three minutes to prepare, then you'll perform your scene. First up is Rian Volkov," she said.
The blond guy stood up.
(Break)
After Brenton and Timothée were called in as well, I was left alone in the room with my mom and brother. James had stepped out to take a call.
"Don't worry, bro. I've got a good feeling about this," Luca, my younger brother said.
I looked at him, surprised, he usually didn't care how my auditions went.
"Don't look at me like that. I've gotta earn my game," he added quietly, checking to make sure my mom wasn't listening. She had gone over to chat with the receptionist, she was always making friends.
I chuckled. "Of course you do."
"No, but seriously, do you really want to miss the chance to kiss a beautiful girl? Because if it follows the fairy tale, that's what you'll do," he continued, grinning.
I rolled my eyes. Alright, he does have his moments, I thought.
Before I could reply, the door opened and Timothée walked out with his mother and agent joining him. As he passed me, he wished me luck. I did the same.
My mom came over and squeezed my shoulder. "I believe in you, okay? Just do your best."
"Thanks, Mom."
I entered the room. Sitting across from me was a blond girl, Elle Fanning, and beside her sat Joe Roth, the main producer, along with Lucy Bevan, the casting director, and Robert Stromberg, the director.
"Hello, I'm Xavier," I said to Elle. I knew she'd done a few movies already, but my mind was completely blank right now, with only the audition in my mind and I couldn't focus on anything else.
"Hi, I'm Elle," she replied with a smile.
I smiled back, what else was I supposed to do? I was nervous.
I then turned to the panel. "Hi, I'm Xavier Wilson. I'm fifteen years old, and I'm auditioning for Prince Philip."
"Alright, Xavier. You have three minutes to prepare," Joe Roth said.
I focused. After a moment, we began.
"I'm ready," I said.
"Prince Philip is riding through the forest, lost. He stops near a river and encounters Aurora," Lucy explained.
"Should I use a British accent?" I asked, knowing fantasy films often preferred one, and luckily I learned to do several accents in acting class.
"If you're able to, yes," Robert replied. "You can start whenever you're ready."
I nodded and began.
I mimed getting off a horse and slowly approached Elle, sorry Aurora , putting on a surprised expression. She turned and flinched, looking surprised.
"Oh—hello!"
"I'm sorry to bother you, but I'm on my way to King Stefan's castle, and as you can see, I've become hopelessly lost."
"Can you help me?" I asked casually.
Aurora stepped back and fell.
"Oh, I'm sorry. That was my fault. I rushed in too…" I said, helping her up. As her face came closer to mine and our eyes met, I realized just how pretty she was in real life. My words faltered slightly, but fortunately that was in the script anyway.
After a moment, we both stepped back and continued the scene. It felt like it was going really well.
"Forgive me," I said.
"It's that way," Aurora replied, pointing left. "The castle."
"What's your name?"
"Philip," I said, taking a breath, still holding her gaze.
"Hello, Philip."
"What's yours?"
"Aurora."
"Hello, Aurora," I said, smiling. She smiled back. "It was nice meeting you, and once again, my apologies for being such a clumsy fool."
"You're forgiven."
"That's good," I said, adding a pause. "Well, I'd best be off… goodbye."
I turned away, miming getting back on my horse.
"Will you be back this way?" Aurora asked.
I looked back at her. Yeah—she's definitely pretty.
I gave her my best smile. "Nothing could stop me."
"Then I'll see you soon?"
"Very soon."
"Goodbye, Philip."
"Goodbye for now."
I walked a few steps away.
"Alright, scene. Thank you for coming in, Xavier. Your agent will hear from us within the next two days," Joe Roth said with a smile.
That alone gave me a good feeling. When I glanced at Robert and Lucy, they were smiling too. My cheeks flushed with a mix of embarrassment and pride.
"I nailed it." I thought to myself
"Thank you very much," I said, then turned to Elle. "Thank you, Elle. Goodbye."
If being polite earned bonus points, then I was all for it.
I exited the room to find James waiting with my mom and brother.
"So? How was it?" James asked.
I smirked. "Honestly, couldn't have done better."