Tuesday, October 10, 2023
11:40 AM
Xolo Maridueña, or, more exactly, Ramario Xolo Ramirez, although by this point almost no one in the industry called him that anymore, was on his way to the offices of Second Take Films.
Leaning back against the passenger seat, he absentmindedly watched the scenery through the window while his manager, Brandon, drove.
He was on his way to an audition, and not exactly an ordinary one.
It was for one of the lead roles in Chronicle, Owen Ashford's next film. A roughly thirty-million-dollar project in which, if he got the part, he would practically be one of the co-leads.
The drive continued in silence for several minutes.
"Nervous?" Brandon finally asked, glancing at him from the corner of his eye.
Xolo took a few seconds to react, pulled his gaze away from the window and replied, "A little, yeah..." he admitted.
It was strange.
He had been doing this for far too long to get nervous before an audition.
His professional career had begun in 2011, when he was still just a kid. First came commercials and small jobs. Then, the following year, he landed a regular role on an NBC drama series that stayed with him for three seasons. But the real breakthrough had come years later.
In 2018, he began playing Miguel Diaz in Cobra Kai.
The series ended up becoming an international phenomenon and, with its arrival on Netflix, his face became recognizable around the world.
Now, in 2023, he had taken another step.
Movies.
And not exactly with a small production, either.
His film debut had been starring in Blue Beetle, a DC movie with a budget of more than a hundred million dollars.
The box office had not been what the studio had hoped for.
But that did not change the obvious.
At only twenty-two years old, Xolo had more than a decade of professional experience, had been one of the central characters in one of Netflix's best-known young-adult series, and had just carried a superhero blockbuster as its lead.
He had worked with actors like Ralph Macchio and William Zabka for years. Also with George Lopez and the rest of Blue Beetle's enormous cast. He had gone through red carpets, press junkets, conventions, international interviews, and shoots with hundreds of people around him.
In theory, an audition should no longer impress him all that much.
In fact, after landing the lead role in a DC movie, he had thought he probably would never feel like this again.
And yet, there he was.
Nervous about walking into an office to compete for a role in a thirty-million-dollar movie.
Although thirty million was hardly insignificant, either. Chronicle was still a major production, far removed from an independent film made with minimal resources.
But Xolo knew the budget had nothing to do with his nerves.
He looked back out the window.
The problem was who was making the movie and how badly he wanted the role.
Brandon nodded slightly, as if he understood perfectly what was going through his head, "Well, you're about to meet the Golden Boy. I guess being a little nervous is pretty normal," he commented with a smile.
Xolo turned his head toward him, "Golden Boy?" he repeated, raising an eyebrow.
He knew perfectly well who he was talking about.
"Owen Ashford," Brandon replied, as if the nickname were the most natural thing in the world.
Xolo let out a small laugh, "Another new nickname?"
"He's got a few. But I'm pretty sure I read this one in an article recently," Brandon said.
Xolo shook his head slightly, still amused, although his expression soon became somewhat more serious, "Yeah... Today I'm finally going to meet him. We have the chemistry read."
Up until that point, he had never met Owen in person.
That was only his second visit to the Second Take Films offices. The early stages of the process had been done remotely, through recordings and virtual meetings, so the first time he had gone there he had only met part of the team.
He had spoken with the casting director, with one of the producers and, of course, with Matt.
Matt had turned out to be pretty similar to the version of him that constantly appeared in Second Take Films' videos.
That had surprised him, he had to admit. Though he was less chaotic in person.
During a casting session he was much more focused, obviously, but he still had the same energy.
Owen, on the other hand, had not been there.
Until today.
That contributed quite a bit to his nerves.
The chemistry between the two characters was one of the most important parts of Chronicle.
Their characters were cousins. They had been practically inseparable during childhood before growing apart over the years, and a large part of the movie revolved around how they rebuilt that relationship.
If the dynamic between them did not work, he would not get the part.
They had to work together.
Xolo rested his head against the seat again.
He and Owen were practically the same age. In fact, Xolo was a few months older.
Xolo had been working professionally for more than a decade.
Owen had not even become well known until 2022. It was just that, since then, his rise had been difficult to compare with that of any other actor from his generation.
Xolo could easily be considered one of the best-positioned young actors his age.
He had 3 million followers on Instagram, starred in a series known internationally thanks to Netflix, had just led a DC movie and was represented by one of the biggest agencies in Hollywood.
He was hardly an unknown actor trying to get his first opportunity.
But Owen was in another category.
In just over a year, he had starred in Paranormal Activity, The Spectacular Now and Good Will Hunting.
Three movies that, combined, had grossed more than five hundred million dollars worldwide on total budgets of less than twenty million.
He had won an Oscar, awards at Sundance, Cannes, and had one of the largest social media followings among all actors. On top of that, he had a massive YouTube channel and his own production company, which was already becoming one of the most famous indie companies.
Lights Out, although Owen had not starred in it, belonged to him and had passed $100M in four days. In a few days, the movie would have a higher box office total than Blue Beetle despite costing far less.
Owen was now producing, financing and starring in Chronicle.
Xolo understood perfectly why this carried a little more weight than a normal audition. It was not just about getting another job.
After everything Owen had touched over the past year, appearing as his co-star in his next movie could mean another huge leap for his career.
"You're going to be fine," Brandon said after a few seconds, "You've already made it this far. There were a lot of people competing for the role and now there are only a few left. Just go in, do the same thing you've been doing since you were a kid and let them decide."
Xolo smiled faintly.
He liked how easily Brandon summed up the situation.
As if doing a chemistry read with an Oscar winner to star in one of the most anticipated movies of the following year were simply another afternoon at work.
'He's right,' Xolo thought, breathing slowly.
In the end, it was still an audition. He just had to act, like always.
When they arrived at the Second Take Films offices, there were still about five minutes left until twelve, the agreed time.
After checking in at reception, they were shown to a waiting area. Brandon took a seat beside him while Xolo pulled out the pages they had sent him for the test once again.
It was not as if he needed to study them again.
He already knew the scenes.
Even so, he went over them again in silence, his eyes moving across every line. More than memorizing them, it gave him something to do and made sure he was not overlooking any detail.
Five minutes could feel surprisingly long when you were waiting for someone to call your name.
Shortly after twelve, an assistant appeared from the hallway, "Xolo, we're ready for you."
He looked up. Finally. He put the pages away and stood up.
"Good luck, kid," Brandon said, giving him a light pat on the back.
"Thanks," Xolo said with a small smile.
Brandon stayed behind in the waiting room. That part no longer involved him.
The assistant motioned for Xolo to follow her, and he started walking down the hallway behind her.
With each step, the voices from reception grew more distant. Until they finally stopped in front of a door.
The assistant opened it, "Go ahead."
Xolo stepped inside.
It did not take him long to recognize three of the people he had already seen during his previous visit. Samantha, the casting director, was sitting beside Adam, one of the producers. Matt was next to them.
But this time, there was someone else.
A young guy dressed in black, who at that moment was looking at his phone screen.
Owen Ashford.
"Hey, Xolo!" Matt greeted him as soon as he saw him come in, walking over with a smile and holding out his hand.
Xolo smiled almost by reflex, "Hey, Matt. How are you?" he asked as he shook it.
It was difficult to stay too tense around him.
Xolo had already noticed that the first time. Matt had a pretty distinctive energy. Enthusiastic, relaxed, and extremely tryhard whenever he started talking about something he cared about.
It still felt strange to him that the director of the movie was practically the same age as he was.
Up until then, every director Xolo had worked with had been considerably older than him. By years, if not decades.
Matt was the exception.
That did not mean he seemed out of place.
Quite the opposite.
He knew what he wanted from a scene and, more importantly, he knew how to communicate it. The directions he had given Xolo during the previous audition had been simple, but they had completely changed the way Xolo delivered some of the lines.
Then there was his résumé. He had already directed two successful horror movies. Even if Owen had been the most visible face of those productions, it was obvious Matt was not there by accident.
No one directed movies that worked that well while being completely incompetent.
Much less twice, on top of the short films he had already directed.
It was also well known that he had worked alongside Owen on revisions to the Lights Out script, eventually earning a co-writer credit.
Now the same thing was happening with Chronicle.
"Good, good," Matt replied, giving him a friendly pat on the shoulder before walking him over to the others.
"Hello again," Samantha said.
"Hi," Xolo replied.
He exchanged a few words with her and Adam before, inevitably, his gaze shifted toward the last person in the room.
Owen had already put his phone away and stood up.
"Nice to meet you," Owen said, holding out his hand.
"Nice to meet you too," Xolo said with a slight smile on his face.
The handshake was brief and ordinary. For the first time, Xolo could actually look at him without a screen between them.
Black, slightly wavy hair, styled in a way that looked messy until you realized it had probably taken some effort to get it to look exactly like that.
Fair skin, defined features, pronounced cheekbones and a narrow but firm jawline. His eyes were light and stood out even more because of the contrast with his dark hair.
He was wearing a black shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows and a watch that Xolo did not need to recognize to realize it probably cost a lot of money.
Nothing particularly extravagant.
But he did not look like someone who could disappear into a crowd.
That was exactly the problem. Xolo already knew Owen was attractive.
This was Hollywood. That barely deserved a second thought.
He had spent practically his entire life surrounded by actors and actresses. Half the people he knew professionally could easily front a clothing campaign.
What caught his attention was something else.
Andrew.
From what he had read in the script, Andrew in Chronicle started out as a victim.
An isolated guy with no friends, quiet and socially awkward.
Someone used to lowering his gaze, staying at the edges of a room, and going unnoticed even with twenty people around him.
There was resentment inside him, but at first it was buried beneath years of insecurity, frustration and silence.
Andrew would have to look harmless and convey a certain fragility. The kind of person others could ignore without even meaning to.
Xolo discreetly looked at Owen again. That was not exactly the first impression he gave off in person.
'He would've fit the role of Mark or Steve better...' Xolo thought.
But of course, Andrew was the protagonist of the three. He was the one at the center of everything and the one who ultimately ended up becoming the "villain."
Owen was spending thirty million dollars out of his own pocket, so it made sense that he would want to play the main character.
If this had been a completely traditional casting process, Owen probably would have had a few things working against him before he even started acting.
How well you visually fit the character mattered, as did what you conveyed the moment you walked into a room.
Even if you were Leonardo DiCaprio.
There were things makeup, wardrobe and acting could change tremendously, of course. But they could not completely transform a person either.
But Xolo remembered that Owen had won Best Actor at Cannes. So right now, he was very curious to see him act as Andrew during the chemistry read and find out just how much he changed once he got into character.
"Alright, let's begin," Matt said, giving a small clap.
Xolo nodded and his expression changed almost immediately.
Owen, for his part, returned to his seat.
It was not time for the chemistry read yet. First, they wanted to see Xolo perform the new scenes they had sent him.
The minutes began to pass.
Matt would call out which scene he wanted to see, stop one whenever he needed to correct something and, every now and then, ask him to repeat it in a different way. Sometimes it was a small change in tone. Other times, a more specific direction.
Xolo followed each adjustment without much trouble.
He had been doing auditions for too many years to tense up over a correction. He tried one version, listened to what Matt wanted and tried again.
For about thirty minutes, they focused entirely on that.
Until Matt finally looked at Owen, "Alright. Your turn."
Owen stood up and walked toward the center, where Xolo was.
This time, yes, the chemistry read.
Matt told them which scene to start with and, the moment they began, Xolo understood a little better what he had been thinking earlier.
Owen changed.
It was not exaggerated, nor immediate in some theatrical way. He simply stopped seeming like the same person who, a few minutes earlier, had been sitting there checking his phone.
The posture was the first thing.
His shoulders slightly hunched forward, taking up less space while standing, his gaze never quite staying on the other person for too long.
Even his voice was different, less confident and quieter.
Xolo had to admit that it worked.
He still had the same face, obviously, but now it was much easier to imagine him as Andrew.
There was something awkward about the way he avoided certain looks or took a fraction of a second too long to answer. He looked like someone used to measuring what he said before opening his mouth.
Although he was not simply shy either.
That was what made it interesting.
There were moments when Xolo could catch something else behind that attitude. A contained irritation. A line Andrew delivered with apparent normality, but which Owen let fall in a way that made it obvious there was something underneath.
Then they moved on to other scenes.
Some showed a much more relaxed relationship between Andrew and Mark, once they had started rebuilding the closeness they had shared as children.
In those parts, Matt seemed especially focused on how they responded to each other, whether the jokes sounded natural or whether the silences felt comfortable.
They repeated several of them. Changed a few lines and improvised a little on others.
Until they reached the more tense scenes from the final stretch.
Now there was an unpleasant confidence in Owen's voice, as if he were genuinely convinced that he was the only one who understood how things worked.
When they finished that scene, Matt took a couple of seconds before speaking.
Then he gave them another direction and they continued.
Between retakes, small adjustments and a few additional scenes, almost another half hour passed before they finally called the audition finished.
Xolo sighed, somewhat exhausted.
He did not leave immediately. He talked with Matt and the others for a few more minutes, no longer acting. Finally, he said goodbye to everyone.
"Thanks for coming," Matt said.
"Thanks for having me."
He left the room and the assistant accompanied him back to reception.
Brandon was still there.
He was looking at his phone when he saw him appear. He put the device away and stood up, although neither of them said anything yet.
Xolo simply gave a small nod and the two of them walked toward the exit.
He did not want to start analyzing the audition in the middle of the offices. Brandon seemed to think the same. They reached the parking lot, got into the car and closed the doors.
Only then, while Brandon started the engine, did he ask, "How did it go?"
"Good," Xolo replied with quite a bit of confidence.
Judging by the reactions from Matt, Samantha and even Owen himself, who was clearly the one who revealed the least about what he was thinking, he had come away with a good feeling.
Especially about the chemistry read.
Matt had seemed satisfied with several of the scenes. Xolo did not know exactly what they were looking for or how closely they had matched the idea they had in mind, but he had felt that he and Owen worked well together.
Brandon turned his head slightly toward him.
He knew Xolo well enough to know that, although he was confident, he did not usually walk out of an audition saying it had gone well for no reason. If he said it in that tone, there was probably a reason for it.
"That's great... I told you," he murmured with a smile.
Only a few seconds later, he added curiously, "What was it like acting with Ashford?"
It was not every day that someone got the chance to test scenes face-to-face with someone who had already won Best Actor at Cannes.
Xolo thought about it for a moment, "He... is good," he finally replied, "They're not exaggerating as much as I thought."
Brandon laughed, "Someone who acted the way he did in Good Will Hunting, I doubt they're exaggerating."
"I know, but it's different acting face-to-face with that person," Xolo said.
He had seen Good Will Hunting. He had thought Owen's work as Will was excellent. He had carried the movie without being overshadowed by actors like Bryan Cranston, Emma Watson or Ethan Hawke, and that already said quite a lot.
But watching him on a screen and acting opposite him were two different things.
In a finished movie there was always a certain distance. There, on the other hand, Xolo could directly see what Owen was doing at every moment.
It had not been luck.
Nor a character that simply happened to fit him perfectly.
Xolo had been playing sports for years, so the comparison that came to mind was fairly simple.
It was like being a really good twenty-two-year-old soccer player and finding yourself training with another player your same age who happened to have talent on the level of Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo at that age.
You were still good. But the difference was there.
Not because the other person had more experience, or because he had started earlier, but because he simply had something more. He made something that required more effort for everyone else look easy.
That was what Xolo had felt acting with Owen.
'Maybe I'm exaggerating...' he thought a few seconds later, with a slightly strange expression as he realized the comparison he had ended up making.
He decided to leave it at that.
Now all that was left was to wait.
…
Back at the Second Take Films offices, Owen was in his office, completely unaware of the comparisons Xolo had just made about his level as an actor.
He probably would have found them pretty funny if he had heard them.
After all, Owen was not really someone who had started acting in 2022.
At least not from his own perspective.
In his previous life, he had been involved with acting from a young age and, from the age of eighteen, had begun working professionally in Hollywood.
By the time he died at twenty-seven, he had already accumulated years of experience, several major nominations and even an Oscar nomination for Supporting Actor.
So, although to the rest of the world his career seemed to have come out of nowhere a little more than a year earlier, for him, his experience in front of a camera went back much further.
After Xolo left, Owen had lunch with Matt and part of the team before continuing with the casting process.
There was still one more actor left that day.
Percy Hynes White.
In his case, Owen had a little more reference to go on than with the others.
Not because he had worked with him, but because of Jenna.
She had worked with Percy on Wednesday, so Owen had already heard about him several times before his name appeared among the candidates for Chronicle.
That also meant he knew the situation Percy was in fairly well.
Honestly, he felt a little sorry for him.
Percy had been working for several years, mostly in television, and had finally landed, with Xavier Thorpe, the role that gave him enormous international visibility.
Then the accusations on social media came.
An account began accusing him of alleged sexual harassment and, within a matter of days, the whole thing grew enormously. Posts, screenshots, comments and new accusations appeared, spreading across the internet at a speed that was impossible to control.
Later, several of those accounts disappeared.
One of the women who had been identified online as an alleged victim even came out publicly to deny that Percy had done what people were claiming in her name.
By then, however, almost no one seemed to pay the same amount of attention to the corrections that they had paid to the original accusations.
The case never turned into a formal accusation, nor did it produce conclusive evidence proving what had initially been spread.
But the professional damage had already been done.
Netflix still had not officially announced the full cast of Wednesday's second season, so publicly it remained unconfirmed what would happen with Xavier.
Owen, on the other hand, already knew.
He lived with Jenna.
She was not only the star of the series, but also an executive producer on the next season, and by then the scripts were finished, the new cast was practically locked in, and Xavier was not part of them.
Netflix had decided to move forward without Percy.
Whether it was because they believed the accusations, because they wanted to avoid any possible controversy, or simply because they considered keeping him an unnecessary risk, the result was the same.
Percy had lost the role that had just placed him in front of a worldwide audience.
That was why, when Second Take Films opened casting and submissions began arriving from different agencies, Owen immediately recognized his name among them.
Matt and Owen saw no reason to dismiss him outright over a controversy that had not resulted in charges or any clear conclusion.
So they did exactly the same thing they did with everyone else.
They gave him the opportunity to audition.
Then he passed the first stage.
Then the next, and against fairly broad competition, Percy had continued advancing until he reached this point.
They held the audition and, after Percy left, Owen, Matt, Samantha and Adam stayed behind for a few more minutes discussing what they had just seen.
It did not take them long.
Owen had already said what he thought about each of them and, when they were finished, he returned to his office.
Matt followed him. Not because he needed to talk to Owen, at least not exactly.
More because he seemed incapable of stopping himself from thinking out loud. They had to make a decision that same day and he was clearly undecided.
Owen had no intention of helping him too much.
Matt was the director.
Owen had already given him his impressions of each actor, what he had liked, what had worked best during the chemistry reads, and where he had seen problems.
Now it was his turn to decide.
Owen sat down behind the desk, opened his laptop and began working while Matt remained in the larger part of the office, slowly pacing back and forth with his hands clasped behind his back.
"Jaeden is a really good actor," Matt murmured, "That's not in question. But Mark isn't just the cousin, you know?"
Matt turned around and kept walking, "He needs to have a certain vibe. Something more... alternative and laid-back. Someone who fits naturally into different social circles, who clearly has friends and can move between groups without any problem."
He paused and added, "Next to Andrew, you need to feel that difference."
Owen raised an eyebrow slightly, but said nothing.
"With Jaeden, I just don't quite see it," Matt continued, "Especially with you as Andrew."
This time Owen did look away from the laptop and glanced at him, 'Are you criticizing me now?' he thought, amused.
Matt was not even looking at him, "Besides, visually there's too much contrast. You're around six-one. Jaeden must be around five-seven. It's not that Mark absolutely has to be tall, but together you just don't quite convince me."
Owen looked back at the screen.
Matt moved on to the next one, "Cooper..."
He thought about it for a few seconds, "I have a similar problem with him."
Acting-wise, he did not have many doubts about Cooper Hoffman. He was good. Very good, in fact.
But it came back to the same problem.
Matt wanted Mark to have a different social presence from Andrew even before either of them said a line. He wanted it to be immediately clear why one of them could fit in easily while the other could not.
No matter how much Owen could transform his posture, the way he spoke or the way he carried himself to play Andrew, the overall image still mattered.
Matt just did not quite see that difference with Cooper.
That left two names: Xolo and Percy.
Matt stopped pacing for a few seconds.
The chemistry reads had worked better with both of them. Visually, they also fit much more closely with what he was looking for.
Percy was even slightly taller than Owen. He had longer hair, a somewhat more alternative look and the kind of vibe that could fit Mark well without needing to do too much.
Xolo did not have any problems in that regard either.
He was around six feet tall, so the height difference with Owen was small, and he also had enough presence not to be overshadowed by Owen or Steve.
"Now that I think about it..." Owen suddenly said.
Matt turned almost immediately. Judging by his expression, he seemed to be expecting some comment that would actually help with the casting.
"I think Percy had a movie with Jenna. They almost starred in it together... what was it called?" Owen continued, narrowing his eyes.
Matt stared at him.
Owen took a few more seconds, "Winter Spring Summer or Fall, I think."
Matt remained silent, "What does that have to do with anything?"
"Nothing," Owen replied calmly, "I just wanted to mention it."
And he looked back at the laptop.
Matt watched him for a few more seconds before shaking his head, "Didn't Jenna end up starring in it?" he asked, now genuinely curious.
"No," Owen said, continuing to type.
"It was filmed in November 2022. She was doing The Spectacular Now with me and A24, so the timing was too tight. She didn't want to finish one shoot and jump straight into the next without any break," he explained.
Owen remembered it because, after Percy appeared among the candidates for Chronicle and the subject of his situation came up again, Jenna had mentioned that she had almost worked with him on that movie.
In the end, not doing it had worked out pretty well for her.
Winter Spring Summer or Fall had not even been released yet.
The Spectacular Now, on the other hand, had already gone through its theatrical run, grossed more than sixty million dollars and was now available digitally on HBO Max.
Matt focused on what mattered again, "That doesn't help me..."
Owen looked up from the laptop, "Why are you making this so complicated?" he asked, "You've already decided."
Matt frowned slightly, "What do you mean?"
"Of the four who came in today, Jaeden and Cooper are out. You just explained why yourself. Xolo and Percy move on to the final stage. You don't have to pick the winner today," Owen explained.
Matt stood still for a few seconds.
It was true.
The whole point of that round was to narrow down the list. Of the four actors who had made it that far, they could keep two or, if there were too many doubts, three.
With Jaeden and Cooper, for different reasons, Matt just did not quite see it.
With Xolo and Percy, he did.
"Alright, I'll tell Samantha to notify each of their agents," Matt said as he headed toward the door.
"You're welcome," Owen murmured with a smile.
On Wednesday, they did the same thing with the candidates for Steve.
Another four actors came through the offices and, by the end of the day, Matt had narrowed it down to the two who had convinced him the most: Caleb and Rudy Pankow.
That left four possible combinations for the final round.
They would all return on Friday.
This time, it would no longer be about testing each of them only with Owen.
Xolo would go first and perform scenes with Owen and Caleb. Then they would repeat the process with Rudy. Later, Percy would arrive and they would do exactly the same thing.
Andrew, Mark and Steve together.
That was what Matt needed to see before deciding.
It was not enough for Xolo or Percy to have chemistry with Owen separately, nor for Caleb or Rudy to work well individually.
All three of them had to have good chemistry.
And with that, Friday brought the final audition test.
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