Chapter 203 Stunning
Brad gave all his tenderness to Charlotte. Until his death, he wanted to know whether Charlotte truly loved him.
People have different opinions about this question.
Some think Charlotte never loved Brad from beginning to end.
Others believe their love showed through in many small details.
Charlotte's character - beautiful, strong, yet tragic - is exactly what audiences love.
But if Sophia messed up this role, it could easily spark controversy.
Joshua had confidence in Sophia.
After all, he trained her himself! This kind of role would be absolutely no problem for her.
Saskia sat in her chair, taking the water her assistant Elysia handed her. Her eyes fell on Sophia, studying her carefully.
Elysia followed her gaze and immediately said flatteringly, "Saskia, you're much prettier than her. Plus you're a great actress, while she's not even a rookie yet."
Saskia took a sip of water, slowly raised her eyes, and gave Elysia a cool glance. "Don't say things you shouldn't. Sophia saved my life. Whether she can act or not, it's not your place to judge."
Elysia suddenly realized she'd said the wrong thing and panicked.
"Sorry, I didn't mean it!"
"Watch yourself next time." Saskia handed back the water cup, but her eyes stayed on Sophia for a long time.
Though not yet thirty, she'd been in the entertainment industry for many years.
So she could tell at a glance that Sophia's looks were absolutely amazing.
She just didn't know about her acting skills.
She rubbed her hands together, looking forward to their scenes together.
Soon, Joshua stood up and announced to everyone, "Get ready, we're starting the first scene of the day."
The first scene was between the male and female leads.
The male lead was played by Sawyer.
Ever since Sophia joined the crew, Sawyer kept glancing in her direction.
At first she thought Sophia was joking, but later she realized everything Sophia said was true.
Sophia really had cut ties with the Brown family.
And the Brown family... really had done those things to Sophia.
Sawyer had been feeling guilty all this time but hadn't found the courage to approach her.
Saskia noticed Sawyer staring at Sophia in a daze, not even hearing the director's words, and immediately reminded him, "Sawyer, focus."
Sawyer snapped back to reality, still a bit dazed. "Okay."
On the first take, Sawyer was distracted, and Joshua immediately called cut.
Fortunately, Sawyer was professionally skilled and quickly adjusted his state.
While they were doing their scene, Sophia watched from the side.
Just then, someone walked over. "Ms. Brown."
Sophia turned to see Savannah standing beside her.
Arms crossed, Savannah gave Sophia a cold look and said, "Ms. Brown, filming isn't as simple as you think. Joshua only let you come because of your relationship with him, but you should know your limits."
Sophia raised an eyebrow, a slight smile on her lips. "Thanks for your concern, but I'd really like to give it a try."
Savannah was speechless for a moment.
She glared at Sophia, then left angrily.
Watching her go, Sophia let out a helpless laugh.
Soon, it was her turn.
Everyone on set focused their attention on her - some curious, some mocking and dismissive.
Sophia lowered her lashes, and the moment Joshua called action, she completely transformed.
Her whole presence changed.
From casual and relaxed to dignified and gentle.
Holding a silk handkerchief, her eyes were as tender as spring wind - warm and comforting.
Even standing in a crowd, she couldn't be ignored.
Though the scene's plot was simple, it really tested facial expressions and line delivery.
And Sophia performed excellently.
Everyone stared at Sophia in stunned amazement and disbelief.
In that moment, it was like Sophia was Charlotte.
When Joshua called "cut," people slowly came back to their senses.
One second Sophia was in character, the next she'd pulled back and stepped out of the role.
Saskia also snapped out of it, hardly believing what she'd seen.
Sophia's acting was this good?
This was completely different from what she'd expected.
But looking at Sophia's calm face, it all seemed natural.
This feeling - Saskia had never experienced it with anyone else.
Her emotions were complicated.
Could it be that her own acting had fallen behind? Even a non-professional actor could easily match her performance.
And with such excellent acting.
Really... the younger generation is impressive!
"Saskia, Sophia, come here."
Joshua waved them over.
Sophia and Saskia exchanged smiles and walked over.
"This is what you just filmed. Take a look."
Sophia and Saskia glanced at each other, then walked toward Joshua.
The monitor showed their recent scene. After watching, Joshua nodded with satisfaction.
"You're both in great form. Keep it up."
"Sophia, you'll have scenes with the second male lead soon. He's been doing promotions and hasn't arrived yet, so make sure to connect with him when he does."
The second male lead was a lukewarm actor in the entertainment industry, around thirty-something, who'd appeared in many TV dramas.
Sophia nodded with a smile.
After this shoot, no one dared underestimate Sophia anymore.
They'd originally thought that since Sophia studied medicine, she knew nothing about acting.
But no one expected Sophia's acting to be so good, drawing everyone in.
Especially when the Cole family fell and Charlotte's life plummeted from the clouds to rock bottom, Sophia captured every emotion perfectly.
Many people watching on set couldn't help but cry.
"So tragic! Charlotte is really so tragic."
"However happy her first half of life was, that's how miserable her second half became."
"Beautiful, strong, yet tragic Charlotte - who couldn't love her? I'm declaring myself a Sophia fan from now on!"
...
After finishing that crying scene, Sophia had just stepped out of character when she heard Joshua shout, "Excellent!"
Joshua walked over excitedly, his eyes full of eager light as he looked at Sophia.
"Sophia, you were amazing! Bringing you here was the best decision I ever made!"
Sophia felt a bit embarrassed by the praise, her eyes crinkling with a smile.
"Is it really that exaggerated?"
"My judgment has never been wrong! If I say it's good, it's good!" Joshua patted Sophia's shoulder and reminded her, "I remember you need to go to the hospital? Your scenes for today are done, hurry back."
"It's still early!" It was only five in the afternoon.
The crew hadn't left yet - wouldn't it be inappropriate for her to leave first?
"You're just here to help me out. You didn't even sign a contract, so you don't need to follow these rules. Go on." Joshua looked at Sophia with concern and reminded her, "Don't work too late. Rest when you're tired, don't be like before, treating yourself like a machine."