“That’s the stuff of Hollywood dreams,” she says, starry-eyed. “It’s who you know in this town, not what you know.”
There could be no bigger understatement.
I nod, close my eyes and run lines in my head as Ainsley works on my face.
“You are a very lucky man,” she adds. “And a very lucky actor.”
Ainsley says this with great sincerity, although the line strikes me as pure sarcasm.
She does not know the complete backstory of the main character like I do. It is as complicated as my character of Levi.
“It’s who you know in this town.”
Which is why I’m sitting here right now after forty years of banging my head against a wall.
My character, Levi, is a rarity in film, especially a blockbuster sequel like this, in which fans just want to see Billy and Loretta kill all the bad guys and say their favorite line:“We is blood relatives.”
That is the fate for Levi in this movie: He, too, will die at the hands of his sister. I will be one and done in this franchise, but reborn again in Hollywood. Stu is already fielding calls and receiving scripts before I’ve even uttered a line on set. The power of the trades.
As I run lines in my head, the parallels blur between my movie character and the real Kyle: We may seem charming and heroic on screen, but are we good or bad?
Hell, I still don’t even know which one I am yet, but—if I were to read my recent receipts—I’d say my finger is leaning heavily on the needle toward bad.
There’s another knock on the door. I open my eyes as the door opens.
Zed pops his head in and announces, “You’re on in fifteen.”
I stare at my reflection. Ainsley has arranged a short gray hairpiece over my too-dark locks, softened my harsh eye lift with makeup and transformed this older gay man into a ruggedly handsome Harrison Ford lookalike.
“You are a magician,” I say.
“Thank you.” She beams. “But it’s all you.”
Ainsley places her hands on my shoulders.
“Just look.” She points at my reflection. “Your entire demeanor has changed, as if you’re carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders. I can see why they chose you.”
If you only knew.
“It’s just an honor to see an underdog finally come out on top,” she says.
She removes the paper apron from around my neck. I head to the bedroom and change into the Western garb that Levi will be wearing. When I step out, Ainsley claps.
“Hello, Levi!” she exclaims.
Another knock on the door.
“They’re ready for you now, Mr. Goggins,” Zed says this time. “A stylist will be on set to tweak your costume.”
I take a deep breath.
“Knock ’em dead!” Ainsley says.
As I head down the dusty street toward the bar, I see in the near distance a scurrying mass of people—crew, actors, extras—move in sync like an army of ants.
For the first time, my heart races.
As I get closer, I see a line in the dust—just like the one I made a few days ago here with Kyle—that someone has drawn with the heel of a boot. It is long and deep, almost daring me to cross it. Dust billows in the wind, and I notice in the haze just how clean my new jeans are.
