A warm touch came through, carrying the faint fragrance from her lips.
Jennifer Connelly froze completely, her mind going blank.
She never expected this young man to act so swiftly, completely disregarding the usual conventions!
However, after the initial shock passed, the sensation on her lips wasn't bad.
This youthful aura and his refreshing scent actually caused her, after a few seconds of daze, to subconsciously open her lips slightly and respond.
This subtle response seemed to give Landon a signal.
Landon's kiss deepened.
It wasn't until a loud "Whoo!" from Russell Crowe, who could no longer contain himself, and the low laughter of Christopher Plummer drifted from a distance that Jennifer snapped out of it, realizing what she had just done.
In front of everyone on set, she had kissed an actor several years younger than her, and she seemed to have even responded?
A wave of immense embarrassment and a hint of irritation instantly flooded her.
She jerked back, and the moment she left Landon's lips, in a mix of shame and anger, she actually bit his lower lip.
"Hiss—" Landon gasped in pain, instinctively covering his mouth. His fingertips immediately felt a bit of moisture; the skin was broken.
Jennifer looked at him covering his mouth, her face flushed as she glared at him fiercely. Her gaze was a mix of embarrassment, reproach, and a complex emotion she couldn't even sort out herself.
Without saying a word, she stood up quickly and walked away almost in a panic, leaving Landon sitting there alone. He licked the stinging corner of his mouth, looked at the faint red on his fingertips, and then at Jennifer's hurrying back.
Finally, he turned his gaze toward Russell Crowe, whose shoulders were shaking with laughter, and Christopher Plummer, who had an "I knew it" expression. He shook his head helplessly, but the corner of his mouth couldn't help but curl into a playful arc.
In the corner, Zoe covered her mouth, trying hard not to laugh out loud, but her eyes were bright—as expected, her boss never disappointed.
Now, life on the crew was likely to get even more interesting.
However, thinking of Rachel, Zoe felt a bit indignant again.
During the first few days, the filming schedule was concentrated on the main storyline of Nash, played by Russell Crowe.
Landon, playing Charles, didn't have a chance to appear yet.
He hung around the set like a loafer, occasionally helping to hand things over, but mostly just sitting quietly not far behind the director's monitor.
When filming began, Landon would focus intently on Russell Crowe's performance.
He observed how this Method acting superstar used subtle facial twitches to show the first signs of Nash's paranoia, and how he used tense shoulders and wandering eyes to depict his isolation.
He watched very seriously, sometimes quickly jotting something down in the margins of his script.
He understood that his character, "Charles," existed entirely within Nash's mind. His acting rhythm and emotional intensity had to be consistent with the state of Nash as portrayed by Russell.
And since that rehearsal of the kiss scene that ended with a bitten lip, miraculously, Jennifer Connelly didn't show any anger or deliberate avoidance.
On the contrary, after that day, she naturally started hanging out with Landon.
During filming breaks, she would often walk over and sit next to Landon to watch the playbacks together, discussing the handling of a certain scene in low voices.
During breaks, she mostly stayed with Landon, sometimes just reading their scripts quietly, and sometimes chatting about things outside the set.
This, of course, wasn't entirely Jennifer's initiative.
With more contact, Landon also discovered that this actress, hailed by the outside world as a "Hollywood Intellect," truly lived up to her name.
When she talked about her studies at Yale and Stanford, there was a unique brilliance in her eyes.
She was fluent in Italian and French, could quote Italian poetry at will, and even critique an old movie in French.
Her intelligence wasn't ostentatious; it made people feel comfortable.
Once, Landon held a French phrase and casually asked Jennifer about its pronunciation.
Jennifer patiently corrected him and explained the original meaning of the phrase.
Landon thought of the story about a mouse learning to bark like a dog to scare away a cat, and felt that learning an extra foreign language wasn't a bad thing after all.
So, he would occasionally ask Jennifer for some simple Italian or French vocabulary, learning quite seriously.
Jennifer was also happy to be this temporary teacher, finding this young actor studious and interesting, though whether there were other reasons was unknown.
This frequent contact naturally fell into the eyes of others in the crew.
Russell Crowe would occasionally cast teasing glances, but mostly they were kind smiles. Christopher Plummer had a smug look of having seen through everything.
Finally, the day came for Landon's first official filming.
The scene was a major one in Nash's Princeton dormitory, where Charles first appears as a hallucination.
Landon could feel that there seemed to be more people gathered around the edge of the set today than usual.
Many eyes fell on him with curiosity and scrutiny, perhaps even with the intent to see if he would make a fool of himself or show stage fright under the lens, and of course, wanting to know why Director Ron Howard chose this actor.
Zoe's makeup application was even more serious than usual.
She knew the importance of this battle for her boss.
Landon had already instructed her not to emphasize his natural physical advantages.
In the dressing room, Zoe brought out all her skills.
She carefully sketched fine lines on Landon's smooth forehead and corners of his eyes to match the character's age and lifestyle.
She deliberately pushed his hairline back, changing the proportions of his head and face.
She used contour powder to soften his overly sharp jawline, making the contours of his face more ordinary.
She even adjusted the shape of his eyebrows, weakening the sharp edge in his eyes and adding a lazy, slightly neurotic spirit belonging to "Charles."
When Landon walked out of the dressing room, the few people waiting outside were all stunned for a moment.
The excessively handsome young man who had joined the crew had vanished.
Standing before them was a man who looked to be the same age as Russell Crowe, completely blending into the crowd.
His gait had also changed, carrying a bit of a sway, as if he hadn't yet woken up from last night's hangover.
Director Ron Howard saw Landon's look, which was even better than during the audition, and a hint of pride couldn't help but flash in his eyes.
He noticed the surprise and re-evaluation in the eyes of those around them.
When casting initially, British actor Paul Bettany was actually quite good; his age was closer, his acting was decent, and he wouldn't overshadow the lead.
But Ron Howard was struck by that immense sense of contrast the first time he saw Landon after a screen test.
A young man with such an outstanding appearance being willing to hide himself completely under an ordinary character spoke of a certain quality in itself.
Furthermore, Landon's grasp of the character Charles during the audition was not at all inferior to Paul's.
Now, seeing Landon's Charles fit the character's image after makeup, and his set wisdom in knowing how to maintain the right balance without stealing the lead's spotlight, Ron Howard's evaluation of this young man who had just turned eighteen rose another level.
Clearly, although Landon was young, he had a clear head and sufficient respect for his profession.