'What the heck did I just watch just now?'
Phineas Flinch thought, looking up at Aiden on the ground. The scene had ended just now as he had stopped acting, but the audition he had watched kept repeating in his mind like it was on loop.
He kept asking himself what he had just watched till now.
The hairs on his arms were standing, and although he knew that there was no ghost in the room, Phineas felt that there was really something.
Aiden's performance had made him and the other people in the room believe that.
If he was being honest, he wasn't expecting too much from Aiden. He was a director that only wanted perfection and nothing else. Aiden was a good actor in his eyes, but Phineas believed that he was different from what he imagined Finn to be in his mind.
That was something that was not easy to go away as, like every other human, Phineas also had his own biases. There were better actors that he had worked with before that suited the role more.
At least that's what he thought before the audition that was merely a formality for him.
Aiden's performance truly managed to change his views.
When the audition had first started, Phineas had focused on Aiden's body language, expression and how real he looked in the scene, and he wasn't doing badly.
His looks were good enough for an 18-year-old character, and he seemed like someone who could imagine things well, but everything really changed in the second part of the scene.
The scene in which Finn would see the ghost at the same time.
The exact feeling when one sees a horrid ghost was something that was hard to portray.
In [Sherlock of the Shadows], ghosts were of different types depending on what they had done when they were human. The first ghost that Aiden would encounter was a very dark spirit that was deadly and horrendous.
Just the powers it held were the creepy kind.
One can't just imagine meeting such a monster and getting it right on the first try, but Aiden did it. The expressions on his face were one of fear, struggle and helplessness.
Phineas had been keeping an eye on Aiden's body; his legs were shaking a bit, and his eyes were fixated on something in front of him.
From the director's viewpoint, there was only air, but Aiden looked like he was actually facing a ghost.
Then his attempt to run away while falling and even the acting of something holding his leg was too realistic. His shouts were filled with a lot of pain and fear. Moreover, it didn't come across as over the top and felt very real and genuine.
Especially in the last scene, Aiden looked like he was about to cry due to the pain and distress he was feeling. The acting was so good that Phineas actually thought that he really saw a ghost.
Otherwise, it was hard to explain it.
'This guy's a bloody genius.'
Phineas thought and took a look around. Ava, the director from Titan studios and the old Executive, both of them were stupefied and shocked.
The old Executive even looked like he was a bit scared after seeing Aiden's performance.
The staff members were in the same condition, and it was only Wade who came out of his stupor and quickly ran towards Aiden as he was still on the ground.
"Aiden, are you okay?"
"Uh, yeah."
Aiden, who was still looking at the system notifications in front of him, nodded, hearing Wade's voice.
'I feel weird.'
He thought, thinking of the scene that he had just performed. Due to how much the immersion had gotten stronger, his heart rate had increased dramatically, and his back was soaked with sweat.
He took deep breaths to calm himself down and felt himself becoming better. He didn't know that the effect of a horror scene would be this much on his body and mind.
'That ghost looked too real.'
Thinking that, he got up from the ground, and Wade opened his mouth, his face filled with concern.
"Aiden, you looked a bit possessed there."
"Possessed?"
"Yeah, like there really was a ghost there. I actually believed that you were hurt for a second due to your painful scream."
Hearing that, Aiden looked down at his leg. In the immersion, the ghost fangs made him bleed, but there was nothing at that moment.
His jeans weren't even ripped.
'It's good that I don't have an actual injury.'
As he thought that, Phineas and Ava walked close to him with the old Executive just behind them.
"Aiden, that was too good. I almost fell off my chair due to your performance. It looked too real."
Phineas said, laughing. It looked like he was really happy with Aiden's performance, as a wide smile was constantly on his face.
"Yeah, I was surprised."
Ava said, having returned to a blank face, but Aiden could see that her eyes looked a bit different while looking at him. He had really made a good impression.
"He almost gave me a heart attack. I might not watch the show if there are scenes like this in every episode. Need to take care of myself."
The old Executive said, and Aiden tilted his head.
"Does that mean—"
"Yeah, I think we should all agree that you are the best person for this role. Just look at all the staff members. They are all affected by your acting."
Aiden took a look around, and indeed, the staff members looked like they were deeply affected. A lot of them were glancing at him from time to time.
The old Executive then looked at Phineas.
"Don't you think the same, Phineas?"
"Yeah," Phineas said with a determined expression. "I do want Aiden to perform a few different scenes, but I don't think anyone else would be able to perform even a fraction of what Aiden did. The actors who auditioned before him certainly weren't able to pull it off on the first try."
Phineas said, thinking of the auditions he had before with other prominent actors from the industry. All of them were young but hugely talented.
Still, Aiden's performance was too close to being real.
"I think the same. I'm pretty happy with the audition, and I don't even think I need to see more. So you can rest assured that the role of Finn Wheeler would be yours."
Ava said in the end with a smile.
Aiden took a sigh of relief hearing that. He had gotten the role quite easily and on the spot too. It was the first time that it was happening to him, so he felt that it was worth it to get scared by a ghost.
Before, he needed to fight for the roles, but this time, that hadn't happened, thanks to his strong performance.
Though, he did know that most of it was because of immersion.
For a series like [Sherlock of the Shadows], the world of the story mattered a lot and what made it unique. Having the ability to literally transport into this world was the biggest power Aiden had.
'I just need to be very careful that it doesn't start to affect me mentally.'
He thought, leaking out a sigh.
If not for the system security protocol that Aiden didn't even know existed, he would be unable to break out of the immersion when it was just getting dangerous. Thanks to it, he at least wasn't going to lose his mind because of his skills.
Anyway, it was going to be extremely difficult for him to pull off this role. He was sure that the ghost parts would be something easy, but Finn was a character that had a lot of shades and quirks.
At the same time, his powers would be slowly explored more as the story goes on, and his personality would also go through a lot of change.
'I need to work very hard on this.'
He thought in his mind.
***
"So, you are the one that Aiden recommended? You look good in that hoodie."
Omar said, looking up at the person standing in front of him. He was a tall, lanky guy wearing a hoodie. There was a light smile on his face as they talked.
Obviously, he was Harley Martin.
"Yeah, thanks for giving me this opportunity again."
"Don't bother with all that." Omar waved his hand around. "The director praised you a lot, saying you are a terrific actor and gave you the role because of merit. Aiden's recommendation just gave you the audition."
Omar looked around the set. It was the first day of shooting, and they were in a building. The movie's name was [Dark Eyes], and it was an action thriller with a simple premise of a chase between a former FBI agent and an assassin that was sent to hunt him down.
Harley was playing the role of the cold assassin.
"Still, I'm very grateful. It's my first big role."
"Then just act like it. Give a great performance that elevates the level of the script. It's a simple story, so performance matters a lot."
Omar said. The movie was something that relied more on the well-choreographed action scenes, good cast and fast-paced storyline, making it a very cool movie that ticked a lot of boxes despite being very cliche in the premise.
Hearing that, Harley just smiled.
"Don't worry, I heard a lot of times that I was a little crazy. I just need to project it in front of the camera."
