Rise To Stardom - Chapter 60

Chapter 60: Secured Role
As the effects of [Deep Dive] waned and deactivated, Kyle’s eyes blinked a few times and shortly after, he found himself back in the auditioning room.

There was a wave of silence that permeated every corner of the room.

As the young man stared at the fear-stricken staff member he had been auditioning with, a wry smile tugged on the corners of his lips.

“Too much?” he asked, a wave of panic in his eyes as he tried to remove the pen which had been lodged into the plastic table.

Due to the effects of [Deep Dive] he hadn’t realized that the pen actually punctured through the table.

“I’m so sorry.” he quickly added, an apologetic look on his features as he finally dislodged the pen, placing it gently on the table.

“N-No. It’s… it’s fine…” the staff member playing the mafia boss finally shook off his fear as he coughed a bit.

Kyle had seriously terrified him with his acting as he gradually changed demeanors leading up to the pen-jamming moment.

His sapphire eyes especially, reflected so much danger and malice in them as he stared into it, to the extent that his breath got caught in his throat for a split moment.

The young man on the other hand, glad that he didn’t overdo it as he had initially thought, turned to face the panel of judges.

Currently gazing at the director, a man with combed-over, dirty-brown hair, who had glasses framing his black eyes, Kyle awaited his verdict.

Glancing over to the other man, one with a fairly bulky build, permed blonde hair, a mature gaze, along with a well-trimmed beard and a moustache, Kyle figured that he was probably the producer.

“Well Mr. Kestis, we’ll contact you in a few days if you got the role.” Mark finally broke the silence, a subtle, barely noticeable thin smile, adorning his lips.

“You may take your leave now.” he calmly gestured towards the door.

“Thank you, sir.” Kyle lightly bowed, leaving the audition room a few seconds after.

He really hoped he had gotten the role because frankly, he wasn’t able to gauge everyone’s initial reaction after his audition due to trying to dislodge the pen from the table.

No sooner had he left though, Tom, with his classic scissor haircut and similarly dark-brown eyes, glanced over to their Director with a knowing gaze, sharing the exact same sentiment as every other person in the room.

“You’re gonna cast him, aren’t you?” Hank then said what was on everyone’s mind.

“Of course I will.” Mark replied as a matter-of-fact, penning Kyle’s name down for the role.

Hearing him being so sure of it, Hank and the rest of the crew agreed too.

Considering how many times Mark had talked about all the qualities of Alex’s multi-faceted character, they all knew for sure that the young man who had just left, clearly embodied every single aspect the best he could.

From the way he dressed in a stylish all-black, had a good grasp on Alex’s character, down to the way his roguish and playful demeanor could switch to a dangerous one at a moment’s notice; all of it was near perfect.

Even the bit where he had asked to come back in again, his vibe changing, along with the way he suddenly stabbed the desk with a pen, a particular gesture that wasn’t even in the script as he was required to slam his hands down instead, Kyle had truly embodied the vision of Alex Hunt in Mark’s mind.

In addition to all that, was the fact that the young man was very handsome and he also had a very nice build, hinting at the fact that he had been staying in shape way before the auditions.

This, really, was just an added cherry on top because, first off, it would significantly shorten the number of months required to get him in shape for the role and secondly, Hollywood, clearly liked their handsome actors and actresses, especially if it was a talented one.

That alone, could pull some people to the movie theatres.

Due to all these, Director Mark and the rest crew genuinely looked forward to seeing him on set very soon.

‘Kyle Kestis huh…’ the producer on the other hand, mused to himself as the next auditioning actor was called in.

‘Gotta hand it to Oliver. He truly has a knack for finding good actors.’ Hank stroked his small beard, remembering that his one-time business partner had mentioned the name to him just last year October, requesting if there were still any available roles in the movie.

* * *

(Three days later…)

Sitting at a small café in SoHo, Manhattan, Kyle propped his chin as he stared at the busy street through the windows.

The last few days had been a much needed breather for him, one he had used to the fullest to binge-watch a lot of shows, binge-read a bunch of novels Christina had recommended, along with also binge-reading a bunch of newer issues of some comic books he had been missing out on.

Waiting for Oliver to be done with his phone call, one that would decide whether he got the part in the audition or not, Kyle opened up his system.

___________________________

{Kyle Kestis} – Exp. Points (10750)

⸶Skills⸷

| [Soulful Vocals (P)], [Growth Spurt (P)], [Appraisal(A)], [Resonance (P)] – {C}], [Charisma (P)], [Polyglot (P)], [Deep Dive (A) – {C}], [Recollection (P)], [Scene Stealer (A)]…

* Exp. Points can be used to create skills.

⸶Levels⸷

| Singing › Level 10

| Acting › Level 9

| Composing › Level 10

| Dancing › Level 6

| Instrument Mastery (Piano/Guitar) › Level 8/7

* Levels will increase in accordance to your growth.

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Having sung and played the guitar and piano so many times, and at so many bars and clubs over the course of the previous week, Kyle’s instrumental mastery had increased by a level each.

In addition to those changes were a noticeable increase his exp. points, a total of 2000 which he had gotten from the audition three days back.

But that wasn’t all as his acting skills had also gained a level increase, one that his system had generously rewarded him for.

This was specifically because he had added his own takes to Alex’s character despite being under the effects of [Deep Dive]; case-in-point; dressing up like Alex would and jamming the pen into the desk to further solidify his character’s tendencies to be dangerous if need be.

Musing to himself as he stared at the status screen though, Kyle pondered over the new skill he wanted to create.

This was a skill he had thought of the moment he had been informed that he would be required to do his own action and stunts a few weeks back.

It wasn’t that the young man was scared of doing the action and stunts themselves. No, far from that, he was really excited.

But, something else was bothering him…

Knowing full well that [Deep Dive] could make things far more realistic than the actual set might turn out to be, the skill was a sort of failsafe he had in mind to negate any such fears that might crop up during shooting.

‘But I’ll have to wait first. See if I got the role before actually creating it…’ Kyle closed the interface, his attention back on the busy streets of New York.

It was still a bit early, 7:12am to be precise and the morning sun gently kissed the skins of the busy NYC residents as they went about their day.

Remnants of the winter season could still be spotted here and there but for the most part, it was obvious that spring was slowly beginning to set in.

Taking a sip out of his coffee, Kyle soon watched as Oliver walked into the café, his expression casual.

Taking a seat from just across him, he awaited the news with a slight wave of nervousness.

‘I really hope I got the role…’

“You got the role!” Oliver declared instantly, almost as if he was reading the young man’s mind.

Instantly, a big smile bloomed on Kyle’s features and a genuine sigh of relief escaped his mouth.

“They’ll be sending both the contract, and the full-script over tomorrow so we can have a look at it.” Oliver smiled as he said that.

“Also, you’ll be required to go for a script-reading session with the rest of the cast next week.” the suave man added and Kyle nodded in understanding.

It was quite essential for most of the cast to get to know themselves before the shooting of any movie begins.

But more than that, he got his very first role in a movie!

If Kyle was being honest with himself though, despite knowing he had put in quite a lot of effort to bag the role, he still felt like he was very lucky.

So many other struggling and experienced actors must have also auditioned for the role and yet, he was selected amongst all of them.

The young man felt genuinely grateful for that.

“That aside though, considering your character has a lot of action and stunts you’ll need to pull off during the shooting of the movie, they also asked if you’d be willing to start training as soon as possible.” Oliver informed his ward.

“So, what do you say to that?” the agent gestured to him with an open palm.

“If the day after tomorrow’s fine by them, then yeah. I’d love to start training as soon as possible.” Kyle replied, a noticeable hint of excitement in his voice.

Hearing that, Oliver nodded and then said;

“Alright then. I’ll inform them.”

“Thank you.” Kyle gave his appreciation to his agent who simply nodded in response.

“So, do you want to celebrate? Head over to a bar? A club? You are of mature age after all?” Oliver then asked, a thin smile on his lips.

“Nah. I’d rather just read a comic book or something. Besides, I don’t like drinking.” Kyle shrugged, not even considering the idea.

“I suspected so.” Oliver smiled and said, his eyes already scanning through the menu.

Honestly, he had known for a fact that Kyle really had no flair for things like that but he still found it a bit refreshing whenever he asked every now and then, only to get the exact same answer.

It was a rarity for someone his age whom had just stepped foot into the Hollywood space to be so uninterested in stuff like that.

It was a good trait to have by his standards too and the agent hoped that Kyle would maintain that approach throughout his career.

‘It would really do him wonders…’ he thought to himself, calling over the waiter to order some snacks and a drink.

Kyle on the other hand, was already making his preparations down for his role as Alex Hunt.

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Passive Skill – [Action & Stunt Mastery]

Assimilate action and stunt choreography like they’re an extension of your being. Adrenaline boost is triggered during exciting and intense moments.

Exp. Points Available – (10,750)

Exp. Points Consumed – (10,500)

Exp. Points Left – (250)

___________________________

-Ding!

| High-end passive skill [Action & Stunt Mastery] has been created! |

‘I’m not even surprised…’ Kyle inwardly commented as he watched most of his exp. points go into the creation of said skill.

Slightly nodding to himself though, satisfied by the supposed effects of the skill he had yet to try out, the young man once again, looked forward to playing the role of Alex Hunt in the movie.