*Chapter 239: Numb from Acting*

After some discussion, the crew decided to proceed with the original script for the shoot.

Richard supported this decision, as changing the script would have had significant implications.

With some luck, the box office might do better; without it, the results could be disastrous, potentially affecting future installments of the series.

He didn’t want to rely on unpredictable luck, so sticking to the plan seemed like the best approach.

Over the next few days, the crew redesigned his appearance, opting for a simpler hairstyle and making subtle adjustments to his facial features to make him look less striking.

In addition, the director and the art director gave him specific training and explanations to refine his demeanor and body language.

After five days of preparation, the filming commenced.

The first scene took place on a fishing boat. Bourne was unconscious and floating on the sea after being injured. On a stormy night, the crew on the boat discovered him while dumping dirty water off the deck and brought him on board. The doctor on the boat even removed the bullet from his body.

During the surgery, he remained unconscious, and when he finally woke up, he realized he had lost his memory, which plunged him into immense fear and depression.

"What did you do to me?"

Richard staggered forward and shoved the doctor.

Just after waking from a coma, he was alarmed by the unfamiliar surroundings and people, so he immediately lashed out, grabbing the doctor by the throat and shouting,

"What do you want? Where am I?"

"You're on a boat!"

The doctor struggled to explain, "A fishing boat. You were in the water, and we rescued you."

"What water?"

Richard pressed him with a frown.

"You were shot. See, here’s the bullet! Look, there's even a bank account embedded in your back."

The doctor gasped.

"My back?"

Richard frowned deeply, filled with confusion.

"Yes, beneath your skin. Why would it be in your back?"

The doctor steadied him and asked.

Richard shook his head, his body swaying.

The doctor helped him sit on the table. "I'm Giancarlo. What's your name? What’s your name?"

"I... I don't know."

Richard frowned deeply.

“Cut!”

“No, let’s do it again!”

Director Doug Liman said.

Richard and Vincent, the French actor playing the doctor, started over. Richard hadn’t fully immersed himself in the scene earlier, so his performance was stiff, and his emotions and feelings hadn’t quite hit the mark. Even if Director Liman hadn’t said anything, Richard would have requested a retake.

This was the first film in the Bourne Identity series, the foundation of the series. If this film didn’t turn out well, it could have significant repercussions, so he had raised the bar for himself—he wanted to do his best.

On the second take, he adjusted his state, and his performance became more and more convincing.

By the third take, he accurately captured the feeling, delivering a very natural performance. His unsteady swaying when weak and the sweat-soaked face during moments of pain were all done naturally.

He thought that this time Director Liman would be satisfied, but instead, the director said, “No good,” and requested another take.

Richard and the doctor had to go again.

In the heat of June, the small indoor space was packed with over fifty people and a lot of equipment. The longer they stayed, the hotter it got, but Richard had to endure and continue filming.

The fourth, fifth, sixth takes… Each time after the take, he thought it was good enough, assuming they could wrap up this scene, but Director Liman kept shouting, “One more time.”

The tenth, eleventh, twelfth takes… Richard began to doubt his own acting. Was he really performing that badly? Or was Director Liman just messing with him?

With these doubts, he continued to act, becoming even more serious and giving it his all. He wanted to prove with his skill that there was nothing wrong with his performance.

But the eighteenth, nineteenth, twentieth takes… Richard started to feel exhausted. Repeatedly acting out the weak state was tiring, and combined with the lack of ventilation, he was drenched in sweat.

Meanwhile, Vincent, the actor playing the doctor, a man in his fifties, was already gasping for breath.

Richard began to think this was the director’s way of retaliating. The idea was simple: use this method to force him to quit, so that Matt could take over. It’s not uncommon in Hollywood for the lead actor to be replaced after shooting has already begun.

“Cut!”

“No good, take a break, and we’ll go again!”

Director Liman shouted.

Richard shook his head and looked at the director, “Director, is there something wrong with my performance?”

“Well, Richard, you're an actor. You're more professional when it comes to acting. If I point out the issue, you might have a hundred reasons to argue back. But if you find the problem yourself, you can easily convince yourself and perform better.”

Director Liman shrugged.

Richard was speechless. This reasoning sounded logical, but on set, the relationship between the director and the actor should be collaborative.

If there’s a problem with the actor’s performance, the director should point it out. The actor can then adjust based on the director’s vision, not like what Doug Liman was doing—standing by with his arms crossed, just watching.

“Uh, Richard!”

The assistant director, Felix, spoke up."Liman, the director, meant that Bourne is a newly created character. If he dictates what Bourne should be like and gives you a framework, then the character of Bourne becomes what Liman envisions rather than something that emerges naturally.

Liman prefers that you, combining your own circumstances with the basic settings of Bourne in the script, freely interpret the character and immerse yourself in being Bourne. This way, your performance will have more space to develop.

Richard nodded, unsure whether Felix shared the same thoughts as Doug Liman, the director.

However, Felix had a point. Performing according to one's own ideas allows for greater creative space and makes the performance more intuitive, like creating a character.

Acting according to the director's guidance is more like imitating—a fictional character.

Richard drank a glass of water and apologized to Vicente, his co-star. Vicente, an experienced and dedicated actor, assured him that it was fine.

After a ten-minute break, the crew resumed filming.

This time, Richard wasn’t concerned about whether the director was satisfied. He was preoccupied with one question: What is Bourne like? Or more specifically, what would he plus Bourne be like?

A handsome man with amnesia? That sounds like a soap opera.

A powerful and cold-blooded agent? That sounds a bit like Léon: The Professional.

A powerful, amnesiac, yet ordinary agent?

How could he perform to best showcase the character's charm?

The more he thought, the more he got into character, and the more engrossed his performance became.

'What did you do to me?' Richard dragged his weary body, forcing himself to grab the other person. He gasped for breath, as if enduring great pain, and roared, 'What do you want? Where am I?'

'You're on a boat!' The doctor struggled and explained, sometimes in French, sometimes in English. 'A fishing boat. You were in the water, and we pulled you onto the boat.'

'In the water?' Richard, with one hand gripping the other's shoulder and the other patting his forehead, frowned in pain, his hair drenched in sweat.

In the director’s area, Doug Liman, the director, stared at the monitor, rubbing his chin, and nodded slightly.

'This time was really good. Richard has found the right direction,' said Felix, the assistant director.

Tony Gilroy, the screenwriter, nodded. Compared to the previous performances, this one was more flexible, not just strictly following the script, making the character more three-dimensional and vivid.

'Cut!'

'No, let's do it again,' said Doug Liman, the director.

'Alright!'

Richard didn’t say much, took a moment to prepare, and continued acting.

'Doug, that last performance was really good,' Felix, the assistant director, said quietly.

Doug Liman shook his head. 'It's still not mature. He can act like that for the first take, but if he can continue in that way for the second, the third, and the scenes afterward, then it'll work. Otherwise, if he changes it up, we’ll have to reshoot everything later, so the performance needs to be consistent from the start.'

Felix, the assistant director, nodded in agreement.

Richard continued acting, taking the scene to the 26th, 27th, 28th takes, until nightfall.

'Richard, how do you feel?' Doug Liman, the director, asked during dinner.

Richard shook his head. 'Dizzy, I don't know how it went. Let’s talk about it tomorrow, okay?'

'Alright!'

The next day, the crew resumed filming, still working on the same scene from the previous day. Richard had rehearsed the scene so much that he was even dreaming about it, so during the shoot today, his thoughts were clearer, and he knew how to act, how to deliver the best performance, so he tried to act according to his own understanding.

'Cut! This take is good!'

By the afternoon of the second day, after reshooting twenty takes, Doug Liman, the director, looked at the monitor and said, 'Wow, it's finally done!'

'That's fantastic!'

'I feel like crying!'

Re-shooting this scene yesterday and today was not only grueling for the actors but also for the crew, including the makeup and lighting teams, who had heavy workloads.

Hearing that the scene was finally done, everyone breathed a huge sigh of relief. Repetitive work is always tedious; something fresh is more welcome.

On set, Richard frowned slightly. Having performed the scene so many times, repeating the lines, actions, and expressions, he gradually lost track of how he was acting. So, when he suddenly heard that it was done, he felt a little out of sorts.

'Director, are we really done?' He went to the director and asked.

'Yes, we shot more than thirty takes yesterday, and every one of your performances was different. Today, starting from noon, your performance hasn't changed at all—not even your movements or expressions. This shows that you know how to act, how to control the emotion. In other words, your performance has solidified. There's no point in repeating it, so the scene is done.'

Doug Liman smiled.

'Is this how I should perform?' Richard watched the monitor playback and asked.

'If you can perform like this consistently, there's no problem.'

'I can!'

'Good, all departments prepare, we'll shoot the next scene in twenty minutes,' Doug Liman called out.

Richard let out a sigh of relief, sat down on the floor, and, holding his water cup, thought about his earlier performance.

'Richard, Mr. Andy's on the phone,' his assistant Anna said.

Richard, lost in thought, paused for a moment before taking the phone."

—End of Chapter.