The crew ended filming with a flurry of applause; Rian hugged everyone, and when he came up to me, he whispered in his Midwestern accent, 'I need to throw a party'—like a teenager telling his siblings he needs the house when the parents are away.
I was surprised at the gesture but his child-like smile and his impish height filled me with an almost paternal warmth and with no hesitation l whispered back, "Now?"
"Yes. Oh, are you too young? You need a fake ID to purchase alcohol." Rian smiled and theatrically went to look for something in his pockets. He held the word 'young' in his mouth as if it were a meal he wanted to savor.
"Do you have one? Just give me yours, we have the same name. Can you hold my hand too while you're at it ?" Ryan smiled.
"Sure. We look alike too. Right?" Rian smiled and saw Bruce nearby chatting with the makeup artist.
"Bruce! Hey. You think if Rian used my ID to get alcohol he would pass as me?" He was almost yelling due to the nearby conversations but as he got closer he lowered his voice.
"Isn't Ryan 21?" he said in that usual genial tone. Although the thought of Ryan—with his modelesque appearance—handing the ID to a tired Southerner (working in the middle of no-where) while trying to pass as the director who had that pudgy, middle-aged high school P.E. teacher physique, made him burst with laughter.
While Bruce had a giggle fit, Rian passed a 50 dollar bill towards the young actor and said, "Get the best".
***
The beers arrived with murmurs of "thanks"and bad jokes—that he needs to sit somewhere else because of the alcohol.
'I'm older than everyone here though'
There was wooden benches everyone in this empty parking lot. The crew invaded The Dug Out: an ice cream place that served burgers and fries with a grand American flag in the back. The place was empty before but now familiar faces sat on the picnic benches.
He sat next to Bruce who was reading the script intensely.
Ryan said, "Don't after the job you want to throw away the script as soon as possible"
Bruce looked up and his leather jacket reflected the dimming blood orange sunset. He flatly said, "You improv a lot didn't you"
"Yeah I guess I did what felt right in the moment".
"Hmm. I struggled a lot with that when I was starting out. Confidence. Then I met some good directors like Rian that helped me"
"Really? John McClane didn't know what he was doing?"
"Of course. If we were 100 percent the roles we inhabit then 100 percent of working actors would quit. Too boring"
"Except the Rock."
"True. Guy practically plays himself but you can say the same for me"
"No. I think I saw a different side or presence of you in that last scene" Ryan said with honesty.
"Well l hope. Who wants to be Old Joe" Both actors laughed.
Emily who heard the laughter joined them with a beer in hand. "What are you Joe's laughing at?"
Ryan said, "How you went working with Meryl Streep to us Joes."
She said in her colorful London accent, "I know. I tell myself that every morning that l have reached rock bottom"
Ryan and Bruce said at the same time, "But the only way is up".
She cringed and sat opposite of the pair , "No the only way is to…drink". She thought to herself:
'They are really an interesting duo: an aged wrinkle man and a Dorian Gray doppelgänger. But they work well with each-other'
She continued, "This was really a great shoot. Everyone was great"
Ryan turned around and said, "How much you had?"
"More than you handle. I'm not a drinker but something about this weather and vibe makes me one"
The humid, dry air was morphing into a windy and cold one that was common to the Louisiana natives. These three actors—all from varied places—surprisingly did not dislike the swift transition. Actually, they enjoyed it because they found solace or company in this change of climate. They studied and practiced for months to transform into a character, but nature did it without much fuss and seamlessly. Only one of the actors present felt a wave of competition rise beneath them to match nature's gift.