The action movie started shooting!
The location was an abandoned industrial zone on the outskirts of Los Angeles.
Cassius noticed that low-to-mid budget indie films loved shooting in these places.
There were several productions rushing their schedules here at the same time.
The air was a chaotic mix of shouted commands from different crews and the booming sound of special effects explosions.
Cassius arrived early.
This was his first time joining a cast as a principal supporting actor. The feeling was completely different from his days as a generic extra.
He found the set for Undercurrent.
Checked in!
He received his own folding chair and a script with his character's name printed on it!
Inside, the pages were densely marked with his action beats and a few lines of dialogue.
The fight coordinator was still Mike.
Seeing Cassius, he walked over to say hi. "Hey, Cass! Ready to get beat up?"
His tone was much more familiar than at the audition.
"Hopefully not too much!" Cassius laughed.
"Today we start with the showdown between you and Jack in the warehouse."
Mike pointed to the dilapidated warehouse interior set built in the center of the location.
"Jack, get over here!"
The actor playing the villain's henchman, Jack, was a burly white guy named Tyson. He was tall, built like a tank, with a buzz cut. He looked like he could do some damage.
He walked over, sized Cassius up, and gave him a look that dripped with slight disdain.
In Hollywood, Asian actors usually weren't seen as physical threats by guys like him.
"Tyson, this is Cass. Your opponent."
"Cass, this is Tyson. You guys get familiar with the choreo first."
Mike demonstrated the pre-arranged fight sequence. It was much more complex than the audition, incorporating props and ground grappling.
Cassius focused intensely, mobilizing his [Physicality] attributes to memorize the moves rapidly.
When Mike demonstrated a high-difficulty dodge into a reverse arm-lock, his movement was so precise and fluid that a blue orb dropped.
[Physicality Attribute: Anticipation +3]
Cassius absorbed it instantly!
He felt his sensitivity to an opponent's movement trajectory sharpen just a notch.
It was time for Cassius and Tyson to spar.
Tyson clearly didn't take Cassius seriously at first. His movements were lazy and perfunctory.
Following the choreography, Cassius executed a swift lateral slide to dodge Tyson's jab, simultaneously using a prop steel pipe to parry, creating a crisp CLANG!
Clean, sharp movement. No wasted energy!
"Huh!"
Tyson's eyes changed.
"Not bad, kid!"
Tyson reset his stance, his tone getting serious. "You train?"
"Studied with some stunt guys for a few days!" Cassius answered honestly.
"A few days?"
Tyson clearly didn't buy it, but didn't press further. "Again!"
For the rest of the practice, Tyson got serious.
Cassius fully utilized the [Power Generation], [Coordination], and [Reaction] attributes he had absorbed recently.
Although his raw strength and size were far below Tyson's, his superior body control, anticipation, and sheer grit made his performance look impressive.
In one exchange, he even subconsciously adjusted his breakfall angle based on the force of Tyson's punch, making the hit look incredibly real.
"Cut!"
"Excellent! Cass, your reaction was very natural!"
The director shouted from behind the monitor.
He was adjusting the framing based on their movements. Seeing Cassius perform so well, he couldn't help but praise him.
They shot several takes in a row. Cassius was consistent, his movements smoother each time.
During a break, Tyson walked over with a water bottle and tapped it against Cassius's.
"Bro, I underestimated you back there. You don't move like a rookie. You got skills."
Cassius could feel the shift in Tyson's attitude.
During the afternoon lull, Cassius went to the craft services area to get coffee.
This area was shared by several productions, so people were coming and going constantly.
While he was waiting for the machine to brew, a raspy, flat female voice came from beside him.
"Excuse me. Just need to squeeze by."
Cassius stepped aside.
He saw a slender young woman bending over, fiddling with the vending machine.
She had messy dark brown hair, wore a simple T-shirt and jeans, and had a blank expression on her face. She looked familiar.
Kristen Stewart!
Cassius recognized her.
With Twilight blowing up right now, she was basically the idol of every teenager in America.
She seemed to be filming on the lot next door and had come over for snacks.
The vending machine was jammed. She pressed the buttons a few times with no response, then let out an annoyed tsk.
Cassius had just finished getting his coffee. Seeing this, he casually said:
"Try smacking the right side. Hard. Sometimes the contact is loose."
This was a trick he learned from dealing with broken appliances in his crappy apartment building.
Kristen turned her head to look at him. Her eyes held a hint of curiosity, but no celebrity airs.
She did as he said and gave the right side of the machine a hard smack.
Clunk.
A bag of Skittles fell out.
She picked up the candy, glanced at Cassius again, and the corner of her mouth seemed to curve up—barely.
"Thanks."
Her voice was still flat. Then she turned and walked away with her candy.
The whole interaction was short. No dramatic dialogue. Just like countless passing moments on a film set.
Cassius didn't think much of it. He took his coffee back to his own crew.
To him, it was just a slightly unusual encounter.
He was more concerned about how to nail the next scene without screwing up.
Back on set, filming continued.
Cassius immersed himself in the character and the action, constantly absorbing bits and pieces of attributes from Mike, Tyson, and even the camera operator who was focused on framing the shots. Mostly [Physicality] with a little [Rhythm].
When they wrapped the first day, the director specifically walked over to Cassius.
"Cass, you exceeded expectations today. The action scenes were very convincing. Keep it up."
Cassius thanked him and packed up to leave.
He felt tired, but mostly excited.
Relying on his own hard work, he had gained a foothold in this action-heavy production.
Walking out of the lot, he saw the crew next door wrapping up too. Kristen was walking quickly toward a trailer, head down, surrounded by staff.
Cassius looked away, feeling nothing in particular.
That was Hollywood.
One minute you might be sharing a broken vending machine with an international idol, and the next you're back in your small production wondering how to get beat up convincingly.
Filming quickly entered the second week.
Cassius got used to the rhythm. Makeup, set, listen to Mike explain the moves, fight Tyson.
He was like an efficient sponge, constantly soaking up every [Physicality] orb dropped on set: [Power Generation], [Coordination], [Endurance], [Reaction Speed]...
Most were +1 Grey orbs, but quantity has a quality all its own. His Physicality XP bar was climbing steadily.
Today they were shooting a fight scene in a narrow ventilation duct.
The space was extremely restrictive, making many standard moves impossible.
Mike was having trouble choreographing it. Every option looked awkward—either the movements were too big and unrealistic, or they looked soft and powerless.
"Dammit, you can barely turn around in this shthole!"
Mike scratched his head, complaining as he stared at the cramped duct set.