Chapter 167: Action ’acting’.
"Welcome, everyone. I'm Andy Lancer."
The small, wiry man looked as though the camera might swallow him whole, yet his eyes gleamed with the alertness of a wild animal.
Derek introduced him.
"Andy is the finest sports photographer I know. He's the head of photography for Athlete magazine and also a guest photographer for the LA Times."
"I'll be photographing all of you today. We'll select a few of the best shots to feature in the LA Times entertainment section as part of a Casting Vote special. So give me your best."
"Today's lesson will cover the fundamentals of action acting."
Today's class was devoted to stunt action.
Yu Myeong's eyes lit up with genuine excitement.
Derek was famous as an action star thanks to the Time Attack series, so Yu Myeong had been secretly hoping a class like this would eventually happen.
Inside the training center, every corner was packed with facilities designed for stunt practice.
The floors and walls were padded. Inclined mats and towering crash pads formed obstacle courses. Trampolines and balance beams were scattered throughout the room, while poles stretched all the way to the high ceiling, allowing performers to slide down from the second-floor railing.
I've always wanted to come somewhere like this...
Back when he had struggled to survive as an extra, Yu Myeong had considered learning stunt work.
Stunt doubles earned far better pay than ordinary background actors.
But stunt work required a healthy body.
Back then, constantly drained of vitality, he had barely been able to stay on his feet. Besides, even the tuition for a stunt academy had been beyond what he could afford.
This is amazing...
Even in this life, he had never truly done action acting before.
Everything about this place felt fresh.
Exciting.
"Of course, I'm not saying actors need to become professional stunt performers. But the more action an actor can perform personally, the more realistic an action film becomes. If every action sequence has to be handled by a stunt double, the camera has to avoid showing the actor's face throughout the scene. That kills the tension. Audiences also catch on very quickly when they're watching a double, and their immersion breaks."
Derek McCurdy was renowned for performing much of his own action work.
The more of the action an actor could handle, the longer the takes could be.
And longer takes created far greater tension.
"So today, you'll learn how to use your body—how to fall safely, roll, jump, run—and, more importantly, how to make those movements look their absolute best on camera."
He pointed toward Andy with his camera, then toward Susan, who had also arrived to film the class.
"At the end, these two will create professional profile photos and a profile video featuring your action performance. Andy, in particular, is famous for capturing the absolute peak of dynamic movement. Even world-famous athletes have to wait months if they want him to shoot their personal profiles."
Excitement immediately spread across the actors' faces.
"That's true," Andy said with a grin. "I was planning to send one of my assistants, but Derek refused to take no for an answer and insisted I come myself. You're all very lucky."
"And today's photos and videos will be yours to use as your personal professional profiles."
The beginners could hardly contain their delight.
Very few new actors ever had the opportunity to be photographed by someone of Andy's caliber.
"All right."
"Let's begin."
The stunt class started.
The class was incredibly fun.
"Excellent, Yu Myeong. Keep your balance just like that while running—and jump!"
Since it was his first time doing this kind of training, he'd stumbled a little at first.
But once his body began to understand the movements, everything became exhilarating.
For fifteen years, he'd performed while burdened by limbs made heavy beneath the crushing weight of other people's vitality.
Simply moving his body freely felt like a blessing.
"You've got excellent body awareness. Next—Kai!"
The person who surprised everyone the most that day was Kai Nunen.
He reproduced every movement Derek demonstrated with astonishing ease.
Then he went even further, improvising movements that were more difficult than the originals.
His flexibility.
His agility.
His balance.
All of it was extraordinary.
"Have you trained before? Honestly, you might even be better than I am."
Three hours passed like that.
Throughout the lesson, Derek emphasized one thing over and over.
The beauty of movement as seen by the camera.
"For an actor, doing two beautiful rotations is more valuable than doing three. If there's an action you can't perform, a stunt double can always step in. But if your action doesn't look good on camera, you won't even be cast in the first place."
Watching Derek himself made that perfectly clear.
Every demonstration he performed had been calculated from the angle that looked best on camera, down to the expression on his face.
There's still so much I can learn from him...
"All right, last up is your profile shoot."
"Using what you've learned today, each of you will put together about one minute of action choreography."
"You'll also choose one of three background tracks."
No action film was complete without unforgettable music.
Derek's selections were themes from 007, Mission: Impossible, and the Bourne series.
Anyone who loved action movies would feel a thrill simply hearing any one of them.
Which one should I choose...
During the short preparation period, Yu Myeong softly hummed each melody while walking around the obstacle course.
One... two... three... Fifteen steps from this wall to the balance beam.
He measured the distances between each obstacle.
"Hyung, which one are you picking?"
"Mission: Impossible. You?"
"I chose the Bourne series."
Yu Myeong walked over to the group using the Mission: Impossible theme.
A professional makeup artist quickly applied light makeup and prepared costumes for the profile shoot.
Yu Myeong received a black short-sleeved shirt, high-stretch black pants, and a leather jacket.
He added leather gloves.
Then a pair of goggles.
At this point, the best training available to him was imagination.
He visualized the route he would run.
The camera angles.
The music.
Over and over, he rehearsed the performance entirely inside his head.
By the time the music felt as though it had become part of his body...
It was his turn.
"Andy."
"Pay attention."
"Why? What's coming?"
Derek McCurdy and Andy Lancer were old friends.
Without making it obvious, Derek quietly tipped him off as Yu Myeong took his starting position.
This seemed to be Yu Myeong's first time doing stunt acting.
Naturally, he couldn't be compared with a professional stunt performer.
But...
This was still acting.
Derek had an overwhelming premonition that the Yu Myeong who entered a real performance, rather than mere practice, would be someone entirely different.
drdrdrdrdr—drrr!
The rapid, vibrating opening of the Mission: Impossible theme sounded like an emergency alarm.
As the final ringing note faded and the heavy beat began—
Yu Myeong exploded into motion.
He sprinted up the staircase to the side.
Sliding effortlessly over the railing, he vaulted across and landed smoothly.
Without slowing down, he raced along the mats, leaped without touching them with his hands, completed a full aerial rotation, landed on another mat, and rolled forward.
Then he reached a padded wall.
He leaned against it briefly, as though hiding from someone, cautiously peering between the partitions.
Boom.
The instant the beat struck—
He darted across to the next wall.
dum... dum...
As the music steadily built its tension, Yu Myeong landed lightly atop the balance beam.
He ran gracefully along its narrow surface.
Then—
He suddenly wobbled.
One foot lifted instinctively.
"Oh—!"
A startled expression spread across his face.
Hyung, no! Keep your balance!!
Believing Yu Myeong had genuinely slipped, Kai's heart leapt into his throat.
Then—
A grin.
Using the momentum of the stumble, Yu Myeong launched himself sideways, grabbed a hanging ring, and swung effortlessly through the air with a playful smile.
Only then did Kai realize the loss of balance had been intentional.
The entire audience released the breath they'd been holding.
After that...
Yu Myeong continued making mistakes.
Or rather—
He kept creating moments that looked like mistakes.
His foot would unexpectedly catch.
He would stumble.
Nearly fall.
Recover at the last instant.
Every close call left everyone watching with sweaty palms.
By the third time...
Derek realized something.
Every apparent mistake occurred precisely when the Mission: Impossible soundtrack suddenly dropped in pitch.
...You've got to be kidding me.
Ba-ba-bam.
Ba-ba-bam.
Ba-ba-bam.
BAM!
The melody descended three notes at a time.
Three times in succession.
A progression that subtly unsettled the audience.
Each time the melody fell, Yu Myeong appeared to falter.
Then, as the music surged upward with the emphatic final note, he recovered spectacularly, releasing all the accumulated tension in a wave of catharsis.
Tension.
Release.
Again.
And again.
With every cycle, the audience became more deeply immersed.
A crooked smile.
One that grew brighter the closer he came to danger.
No one could take their eyes off the face of the man carrying out an impossible mission.
He wasn't the flawless secret agent typical of spy films.
He constantly revealed little weaknesses.
He stumbled.
He made mistakes.
Yet when it mattered most, he always accomplished the impossible.
An Ethan Hunt colored entirely by Yu Myeong's own interpretation now swept through the course.
He chose Mission: Impossible only after calculating everything...
...the character, the situations he'd create, and even how he'd synchronize every beat of the music.
Click. Click. Click. Click.
Andy had completely lost himself.
His shutter fired without pause as he practically threw himself around the course chasing the perfect shot.
The other actors had forgotten to think altogether, their eyes fixed entirely on Yu Myeong's movements.
Only Derek McCurdy watched differently.
An expression of utter disbelief spread across his face.
Yet he couldn't suppress the smile slowly lifting the corners of his mouth.
He was reading every layer of Yu Myeong's performance.
He really deserves the recognition.
I've never met another actor who leaves me feeling no regrets about standing opposite me.
...Hell.
Looks like I actually owe that bastard Kylie one now.
When Yu Myeong finished—
Derek applauded louder than anyone else.
After everyone had performed, Derek gave his overall critique.
"Jackson, you've obviously done stunt work before. Technically, you performed the most difficult moves of the day."
"But in terms of presentation, there's still a lot left to be desired."
"Hyo Jun naturally has a great feel for using his body. But it would've been much better if he'd built a character into the performance. Once again, he simply did exactly what he was told."
"If you don't constantly search for a better performance, you'll never become a truly great actor."
"And Yu Myeong..."
Derek looked at him and sighed.
"I've been trying not to praise him too much because I don't want everyone accusing me of favoritism."
"But I can't avoid it."
"I asked for action acting, not simply action."
"He's the only one who understood that completely."
"In barely a minute, he created a character, built dramatic pacing, told a story..."
"He even synchronized his action with the background music to create rhythm."
"I don't expect all of you to accomplish everything he did in such a short amount of time."
"But there is one thing every one of you must learn from him."
This was what Derek wanted them to understand.
"No matter what assignment he's given, he never forgets that he's acting."
"If we're judging pure action, Kai or Jackson were better."
"But as acting, Yu Myeong's performance was worth dozens of times more."
"Never forget that acting exists to stir emotion in the audience."
No matter what an actor was doing—
They always had to remain conscious that someone was watching.
Apparently embarrassed to be used as the example, Yu Myeong quietly looked off toward the distant mountains.
Then it was Kai's turn.
"Today, Kai was astonishing."
"His flexibility was unbelievable."
"His balance."
"His acrobatics."
"In terms of physical ability, he's probably among the very best here..."
"...No."
"Among all actors."
Kai's face flushed bright red.
Then Derek's praise abruptly turned.
"The problem is..."
"It isn't cool."
"...?"
"I told you action has to look cool."
"Watching Kai's performance, I was amazed."
"I admired it."
"But I never once thought it looked cool."
Yu Myeong found himself agreeing.
Kai's action felt...
"Like watching an incredible circus acrobat..."
"Hm."
"What if you stripped away a little of the flashiness and aimed for something more restrained?"
Acrobatics.
That was exactly the feeling.
The class ended, and everyone returned to the Actors House.
That evening, Yu Myeong was practicing the action techniques he'd learned earlier in one of the first-floor rehearsal rooms.
The door slowly creaked open.
Kai stepped inside, wearing a gloomy expression.
"Hyung..."
"Kai."
"Want to practice together?"
Kai sat down heavily with his back against the wall across from him.
After taking a deep breath, he finally spoke.
"You know..."
"What I did today..."
"Derek was right."
"It really was acrobatics."
"...Huh?"
Kai had just said something Yu Myeong couldn't make sense of.