Entertainment: The Path to Best Actor for Talented Actors

It was almost 8 p.m. when I got back to my rented room in the basement.

Actually, the film crew finished work quite late, around six o'clock.

It just takes a lot of time to take the subway.

I've been quite busy filming these past few days, so I haven't had much time to do laundry.

He plans to do the laundry today.

Zhang Ze currently lives in a basement near Chongwenmen.

It's filled with small, partitioned rooms, specifically rented to people like him who are struggling to make a living in Beijing.

The room is not large; after placing a double bed, there is only a small area left, enough for a simple small table to put things on.

Even with these conditions, it would still cost 800 a month. Adding in other expenses such as water, electricity, and internet, the monthly expenditure would be at least 1,000.

There is a shared washing machine in the basement, but you need to pay to use the time allotted for laundry.

Zhang Ze bought two hours' worth of tickets for 5 yuan an hour.

After stuffing the clothes inside and setting the timer, I went back to my room to prepare dinner.

Because there is no gas, Zhang Ze usually uses an induction cooker to cook simple dinners.

I opened the door, took out the induction cooker, and prepared to cook some noodles.

The neighbor across the street opened their door.

A beautiful girl in her early twenties walked out of there.

The girl was wearing a sexy red halter-neck nightgown with a scarf draped over her shoulders.

To avoid filling the room with smoke, she would put the induction cooker in the hallway to cook, and then bring it back into the room after she was done.

Zhang Ze has lived here for almost half a year, but he doesn't know the girl's name.

All that was known was that the girl worked at a nail salon in New World.

The two looked at each other but said nothing.

Zhang Ze could see the disdain in the other person's eyes.

Maybe the other person just looks down on a poor guy like me who lives in a basement!

Zhang Ze thought to himself with a touch of self-mockery.

After a quick meal, the clothes in the washing machine were finished.

Zhang Ze was asleep in the early hours of the morning.

I was suddenly awakened by the shouting of the woman next door.

He rolled over, covered his ears, and muttered, "This woman is fucking awful!"

"Knowing that the partition is not soundproof, why are you shouting so loudly? Don't you have any shame?"

Thinking to myself, "It seems I need to move somewhere else. Not only is it inconvenient to travel back and forth for filming here, but listening to this every night is unbearable for anyone!"

……

It's the same photography studio as yesterday.

When Zhang Ze arrived early in the morning, the crew members had not yet arrived.

The couple next door were really going at it yesterday; they didn't finish until 2 a.m.

It kept him from falling asleep until almost dawn.

I woke up a little late this morning and haven't had breakfast yet.

Zhang Ze bought an ear of corn and two tea eggs from a nearby breakfast stall.

The crew filmed a few scenes at the beginning.

Around 11 a.m.

"Young man, come here for a moment, let me explain the play to you."

As the crew was getting ready, the assistant director grabbed Zhang Ze.

"You have two main scenes today: one is harassing a beer girl who sells alcohol, and the other is being beaten to death by a girl's boyfriend after harassing her."

"The sooner we finish filming, the sooner we're done, understand?"

Zhang Ze nodded.

"Do you still need to rehearse with that girl beforehand?"

"Director, may I ask about how to control the level of intimacy, since there will be physical contact with her?"

"You can pull your clothes to the sides, but don't leave anything showing. You can kiss her face and neck, but you can't touch her, understand?"

Zhang Ze said he understood.

The girl is very pretty and has a good figure.

Wearing a super short skirt, her long, slender legs were dazzlingly white.

Because the role she plays is a beer girl promoting beer at a bar, she dresses very sexily.

Zhang Ze, disguised as a thug working at a bar, takes a liking to the girl.

He cornered the girl in the backstage warehouse and harassed her.

Zhang Ze grabbed the girl, blocking her way, and opened his arms without touching her.

He used his chest to block her from running away, and kept pressing his mouth against the girl's neck.

A strange, wicked laugh escaped his lips.

Zhang Ze's acting skills are undeniable.

He perfectly portrayed the despicable behavior of a vagrant harassing a respectable woman.

He just didn't expect that his acting was so realistic that it scared the girl to tears.

With a loud "Wah!", she pushed him away forcefully and ran out crying.

This unexpected accident stunned everyone present.

"Assistant director, go check on that girl quickly and try to comfort her!"

The director quickly gave the instructions.

"Wow! Is she crying from fright?"

"Damn, that's a pervert. I thought this guy was really going to force himself on that girl!"

"This kid doesn't seem to be acting. Has he done that kind of thing before?"

The surrounding extras were whispering among themselves.

"Director, I..." Zhang Ze wanted to explain, but didn't know what to say.

The director patted him on the shoulder and comforted him, "It's okay, don't blame yourself. You acted very well just now, it has nothing to do with you!"

"Director, the situation has been calmed down."

"That girl just said she wasn't mentally prepared and was scared by this guy's acting; she thought he was really going to do something to her!"

When the director heard that everything was alright, he nodded and said, "It's good that you're alright. That kid's acting was really a bit weird; I almost couldn't sit still."

"Everyone to your positions, let's do one more take."

"Hey you, you better watch out this time, you hear me?"

The crowd burst into laughter.

The scene where he teases the girl was filmed in one take and it was done.

The director was very satisfied; the girl perfectly portrayed the fear one feels when being harassed.

Facial expressions don't lie.

The next scene is Zhang Ze being beaten to death by the girl's boyfriend in revenge.

The girl was a minor character with only a few scenes. She committed suicide by jumping off a building after being raped by the villain played by Zhang Ze.

The girl's boyfriend, in an attempt to avenge her, accidentally killed someone and was also sentenced.

It was only then that Zhang Ze realized that the TV series he was acting in was a police drama.

As for his name, he didn't know.

This is the tragedy of extras!

The girl's boyfriend is a major supporting character in this drama, played by a real actor, the kind who has formal training.

This was Zhang Ze's first time having a formal scene with an actor.

Yesterday's fight scene with the male lead doesn't count, because it only involved action and had no dialogue.

Zhang Ze has more than a dozen lines in this scene.

In the end, the villain died from talking too much; he was killed by the girl's boyfriend.

Zhang Ze's acting was phenomenal when he was about to die.

It truly portrays the feeling of someone who is about to die, wanting to live but powerless to do so.

"This kid's performance is very powerful. The way he looks and the way his facial muscles twitch are something that even professionally trained actors can't do."

The director and assistant director couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.

"Quack quack quack..."

After the director yelled "Cut!", thunderous applause erupted from the audience.

This was spontaneous applause, a recognition of Zhang Ze's acting skills.

After standing up, Zhang Ze hurriedly bowed and clasped his hands in embarrassment to the people around him.

He was genuinely happy to be recognized.

"You've got impressive acting skills. You really haven't taken any acting classes?"

The director walked up to him and looked at him strangely.

"No, really. I just bought a copy of 'An Actor Prepares' and read a bit of it these past few days," Zhang Ze replied with a smile.

"You really do have a talent for acting, you're born with it. With your skills, you could easily play a minor supporting role. You should take some time to attend an acting training course to improve your skills. Even with talent, you can't succeed without systematic learning."

"I will definitely learn if I have the chance."

Zhang Ze sensed the director's genuine goodwill and quickly agreed.

"Okay, if you don't have any connections, you can come to me. I have a friend who runs a training class. They're all graduates of the Beijing Film Academy, so I guarantee they have real skills."

Zhang Ze noted down the director's QQ number and left amidst envious glances from a group of people.