Chapter 85

The TV drama that Zhang Chengyuan is going to audition for is called "Heroic Chunhyang," produced and made by KBS. It is adapted from the traditional Korean literature "Chunhyangjeon." Unlike previous adaptations, this version has moved the setting from ancient times to the present day. It can be said that this TV drama is a new attempt by KBS, and even the screenwriter is a newcomer, selected from the KBS TV drama public recruitment this year.

Due to the lack of trust in the new screenwriter, the drama did not receive much investment, and the industry's attention to it was also low. Moreover, the big-name stars also looked down on this drama, so although the casting for the drama started early, the main roles have not been cast yet.

Previously, Park Byung-ryul had not paid much attention to this drama until yesterday when Zhang Chengyuan was politely declined by the "Love in Harvard" production team. It seemed that the crew felt a bit embarrassed, so they casually mentioned the drama "Heroic Chunhyang." Park Byung-ryul was overjoyed and immediately contacted the "Heroic Chunhyang" production team and faxed Zhang Chengyuan's information to them. A few hours later, he received a reply, hoping that Zhang Chengyuan could go to the production team for an audition a few days later.

To increase Zhang Chengyuan's chances of being selected, Park Byung-ryul used his silver tongue, promising various benefits, and thoroughly investigated all matters related to the audition. He also learned that Zhang Chengyuan's biggest rival this time was the young actor Jai-hee, who gained attention through the movie "Empty House." Although Jai-hee is currently somewhat famous and has excellent acting skills, Park Byung-ryul does not think he can match Zhang Chengyuan. Without even considering physical appearance and acting experience, Jai-hee's most impressive "eye acting" is far inferior to Zhang Chengyuan's.

Zhang Chengyuan's eyes can be righteous, ferocious, icy cold, gentle, full of deep affection, captivating, making women fall into a hysterical state, or full of righteousness, touching the heart, making men's blood boil... It seems that no matter what kind of emotion, he can express it vividly. Park Byung-ryul really doesn't believe that Jai-hee's eye acting can surpass Zhang Chengyuan's.

If all the directors and screenwriters could think like Park Byung-ryul, Zhang Chengyuan would definitely not worry about getting the chance to play the lead role in TV dramas and movies. But now, only Park Byung-ryul has this thought, and even Zhang Chengyuan himself has never had such an idea.

Therefore, in the following days, Zhang Chengyuan continued to study the script, but the script changed from "Love in Harvard" to "Heroic Chunhyang." And Seo Yuri still often accompanied him, occasionally playing the role of Chunhyang to rehearse with him. Sometimes, Zhang Chengyuan thought it would be even more wonderful if Seo Yuri could play Chunhyang, but unfortunately, Seo Yuri seemed to have no intention of acting in TV dramas for the time being. Due to the controversy over her acting skills in the past two years, every role she played, no matter how much effort she put in, would receive a lot of criticism and abuse, making her feel exhausted. She decided to temporarily leave the entertainment industry to focus on improving her acting skills.

Zhang Chengyuan tried to persuade her several times, but seeing that she had made up her mind, he turned to supporting her, even feeling a bit secretly happy: "This way, Sister Yuri will have more time to spend with me, right?"

After five days of serious preparation, Zhang Chengyuan confidently participated in the lead role audition for "Heroic Chunhyang." This audition was not open to the public and was on a small scale, with only Zhang Chengyuan, Jai-hee, and a few other new actors whose names Zhang Chengyuan did not know. The real competition would only be between Zhang Chengyuan and Jai-hee.

Zhang Chengyuan and Jai-hee's order was right next to each other, indicating that the production team also wanted to see their competition and determine who was more outstanding. Additionally, Jai-hee was scheduled to audition first, suggesting that the production team might value him more than Zhang Chengyuan.

When Jai-hee entered the interview room, Zhang Chengyuan, waiting outside, felt a bit uneasy, fearing that he might lose this audition again. To increase his chances of success, he hesitated not at all to use his spiritual power to perceive the situation inside the interview room, so he could "see" his rival's performance and understand the director and screenwriter's preferences, thereby improving his own performance.

Inside the room, there were a few sets of tables and chairs, with the main creative team members sitting at them, and nameplates indicating their positions in front of the tables. The leader was a man in his forties or fifties, with a receding hairline and many white hairs, giving him a prematurely aged appearance, making it hard to believe he was the director of the drama. Next to him were two women in their late twenties, whose appearance and demeanor were not particularly unique compared to most Korean TV drama screenwriters. They looked somewhat serious and a bit nervous, and their nameplates revealed that they were the screenwriters, the Hong sisters.

After Jai-hee entered, both sides exchanged greetings, and the director and screenwriters began asking him various questions, including his understanding of the character, his insights into the plot, and how he would perform the role. Jai-hee answered systematically, and the two screenwriters nodded in approval, while the director occasionally asked a question or two. Perhaps for this experienced director, no matter how eloquent the actor was, the key was whether the actor could perfectly interpret the director and screenwriter's understanding of the character.

Next came the practical stage. Director Jeon Gi-sang, whose eyes had been somewhat dull, suddenly brightened, directing Jai-hee to perform scenes with high difficulty or that could showcase the actor's superb acting skills through subtle details. It turned out that Jai-hee's acting was truly extraordinary. No matter what emotion, he could express it freely, always meeting the director's expectations. Director Jeon Gi-sang was deeply satisfied and smiled, telling him to go home and wait for the news.

After Jai-hee came out, Zhang Chengyuan quickly withdrew his spiritual power. This exploration had consumed nearly half of his spiritual power, and he didn't know how many days it would take to recover.

Next, it was Zhang Chengyuan's turn to audition. When he entered, the director and the two screenwriters' eyes immediately lit up, seemingly impressed by Zhang Chengyuan's perfect image. Although they had seen his photos and previous TV drama performances, the real person was clearly even better, especially making the two female screenwriters feel excited: "If such a male actor with an excellent image plays in this TV drama, it will definitely make countless young female viewers reluctant to change channels."

After observing Zhang Chengyuan for a long time, their initial impression of him improved significantly, and their tone became much softer. The screenwriter began to ask questions, which were largely similar to those asked to Jai-hee. With the help of Jai-hee's answers and his own understanding of the script, Zhang Chengyuan's responses clearly met the two screenwriters' expectations, and the two new screenwriters, forgetting their reserve, praised Zhang Chengyuan enthusiastically.

Then came the performance. Thanks to the cheating, Zhang Chengyuan already understood Director Jeon Gi-sang's preferred style of performance. Each performance made Director Jeon Gi-sang feel that he performed deeper, more appropriately, and more convincingly than Jai-hee. After that, Zhang Chengyuan also demonstrated his outstanding martial arts skills, performing some high-difficulty action scenes commonly seen in Hong Kong kung fu movies, showing his talent in action scenes. The reason for displaying his martial arts skills was that the male lead in this drama had some fighting scenes.

After leaving the audition room, Zhang Chengyuan was already certain: unless the TV station's upper management directly intervened and forced the production team to choose Jai-hee or another more famous actor, he would definitely play the male lead, Lee Mong-ryong, in "Heroic Chunhyang."

Two days later, a call from Director Jeon Gi-sang himself confirmed his prediction.