108: Question the fanatics, understand the fanatics, and become a fanatic!

However, Director Director Yuan Lang, though finding Chen Fang’s appearance suitable, didn’t hold too much expectation for him.

He heard Wu Zhengxuan say that Chen Fang was good at playing villains and could even portray the duality of a gang boss. But EErdo was merely an antagonist to the protagonist, not a purely evil person; his image was more complex and three-dimensional, making it quite difficult.

Director Yuan Lang smiled, “Teacher Chen, we’ll follow the normal procedure. Please start with a self-introduction.”

“Alright.”

As Chen Fang introduced himself, Li Kaiming’s gaze swept over everyone, clearly sensing that their attitude towards him was much more amiable and friendly than towards the previous few.

Heh, a bunch of snobs.

Just then, his gaze met Chen Fang’s.

Li Kaiming pursed his lips and nodded slightly in acknowledgment.

The next moment, he lowered his head, looked glumly at the materials on the table, and closed his eyes heavily.

Ah! It was all those other people’s fault for bending his spine too. It was all this prevailing trend’s fault!

After Chen Fang’s brief 30-second self-introduction, the casting director stood up, “Teacher Chen, I’ll play the blacksmith opposite you. Please.”

“Alright, thank you.” Chen Fang walked over and stood on a low stool.

“Teacher Chen, what is this for?”

“EErdo arrived on horseback. I think for the opening dialogue, he hasn’t dismounted yet, so I’m standing here to raise my eye level.”

“Hmm, no problem.” The director smiled.

Li Kaiming, in the second row, had a hint of surprise flash in his eyes.

He had heard that some actors nowadays didn’t even bother to memorize their lines, just reciting numbers. He had thought thatTraffic Star would be even more inclined to muddle through, but he didn’t expect Chen Fang to actually seriously consider the scene and perspective design.

Li Kaiming put down his pen, interlaced his fingers to support his chin, and earnestly looked towards the stage.

The casting director stood in front of the table with the words “Forging Platform” written on it.

Director: “Action.”

…

Blacksmith (casting director) with a simple and honest smile, “Excuse me, sir, are you here to buy a sword?”

EErdo (Chen Fang) looked slightly down, his eyes devoid of emotion, and said calmly, “No.”

The blacksmith asked in confusion, “Not to buy a sword? Then what are you here for?”

EErdo dismounted, took two steps forward, his hands clasped behind his back, his posture tall and straight, “My master has nightmares every night and suffers from severe insomnia.”

“If you’re sick, you should see a doctor. We’re blacksmiths here.”

EErdo snorted, flicked his long robe, and turned to walk away, “Seeing a doctor is useless.”

“My master said,” EErdo looked upwards, a hint of reverence in his eyes, but the next moment his tone became a bit ruthless, “as long as his dream demons are killed, he can sleep soundly.”

When he said the last four words, “sleep soundly,” his ruthless tone carried a hint of piety.

The director sat up straight.

Within a single sentence, the emotions were subtly adjusted multiple times, yet the overall balance was maintained, without appearing abrupt.

This mastery of lines is definitely top-notch among his peers!

Moreover, his ruthlessness is different from the previous actors!

Others’ ruthlessness was overt, while his was restrained, making people recoil, which perfectly fit the identity of a high-ranking official and villain like the Nine Gate Admiral.

This is a pleasant surprise!

…

The blacksmith asked, “Who is your master?”

EErdo turned back, tilted his head, and squinted at the blacksmith behind him, his chin slightly raised, exuding immense pressure, “Qianlong.”

The director’s eyes were full of admiration.

This segment was performed exceptionally well; loyalty, ruthlessness, intimidation, and a hint of elegant demeanor cultivated by elite education were perfectly displayed on him.

The director said, “Alright, let’s begin the second segment, please.”

The second segment was about the Nine Gate Admiral EErdo at the execution ground, preparing to oversee the execution of Fong Sai-yuk’s father, Fang De.

The position of Nine Gate Admiral was primarily responsible for guarding the nine city gates within the Capital’s inner city and for maintaining public order in the Capital. It held great power, roughly equivalent to today’s Capital Garrison Commander or the Capital Public Security Bureau Director.

In that era of imperial supremacy, as the execution supervisor, he had to possess sufficient deterrent power when dressed in official robes and leading an honor guard onto the execution platform under the watchful eyes of the common people.

The second segment had very few lines, mainly testing temperament and whether the actor could portray the aura of imperial authority under public scrutiny.

The previous 10 people all fell short.

A stagehand moved a chair to the actor’s performance area, to be used as the execution supervisor’s seat.

Chen Fang walked to the doorway and stood ready.

Director: “Action.”

…

EErdo’s steps were steady and powerful, his posture as tall and straight as a pine, his chin slightly raised, his gaze like a torch fixed straight ahead, his expression solemn.

He walked to the chair, lightly smoothed his robes, leaned forward, and sat down steadily, his movements unhurried.

Once seated, his legs were apart, his hands rested on his knees, his expression stern, his eyes glancing to the left, then quickly sweeping to the right.

The director almost couldn’t help but praise him and nod.

Very good!

His gaze is excellent!

He didn’t slowly scan the scene, but rather squinted at everyone, adding a villainous aura on top of his authority.

EErdo slightly turned his face, squinted at the audience below, his lips faintly curved upwards, his tone modulated, with a hint of coaxing, “As long as you reveal those rebels from the Heaven and Earth Society, and I get the roster, you won’t die.”

A female staff member in her twenties in the second row gasped.

Holy cow, he’s too handsome!

She suddenly understood what netizens meant by howling “Brother, kill me” in the comments section.

Ahhh, my goodness, she was about to blurt something out.

She quickly raised her hand to cover her mouth, hiding the smile on her face. But she could still feel her eyes sparkling as she stared at him.

Never mind, no shame, just let her stare a bit longer!

Question the fanatic, understand the fanatic, become the fanatic!

Director: “Good, that’s enough.”

“Thank you, all directors and teachers.” Chen Fang stood up and bowed slightly.

The director watched Chen Fang with his arms crossed.

His acting was so good it was unbelievable.

They had been given the audition segments in advance. Did Tianji Entertainment find someone to give him urgent training?

Even if he was trained, it didn’t matter, others also prepared. But now he was very curious about Chen Fang’s inherent ability.

The director turned his head to look at the casting director, and he also saw a hint of confusion and doubt in his expression.

The casting director seemed to notice his gaze, turned his head, and whispered, “Director, why don’t we add an impromptu segment?”

This is a common request in casting auditions, to test an actor’s performance ability and understanding of the role.

The director had the same intention, looked at Chen Fang, and asked with a smile, “Teacher Chen, you acted very well. You must have worked very hard these past few days, right?”

“Yes.” Chen Fang nodded, understanding the implication in the director’s words—you asked for outside help, didn’t you?

He did indeed ask for help.

He excels at playing evil, ruthless, or horror/supernatural roles.

But the segment just now required more complex emotions and expressions, so he consulted with company seniors on how to perform and practiced diligently at home for several days.

After all, if he could get resources for free, why waste negative emotion points? Since he signed the contract, he would milk the company dry! Not a single penny would be earned by them for free!

Moreover, from the segments given to him by the production team, he estimated that the plot and character settings of the legend of fong sai-yuk were largely similar to those of Fong Sai-yuk, so he also consulted with seniors on how to perform emotions that might appear beyond the audition segments he had envisioned.

After all, the system is just an aid; he can’t rely on it for everything. He also wanted to work hard himself.

After gaining evil, ruthless, horror, and supernatural acting skills, although his performance in other aspects wasn’t as vivid as if he were possessed, his control over expressions and muscles improved significantly, and after a few days of practice, the performance effect was quite good.