Annalise felt as if she had stepped back in time. From the set to the costumes to the acting – everything felt so authentic and real. It made morphing into Amelia Faulkner feel like second nature to her.
They shot the same party scene featuring Annalise from about 20 different angles, each angle a minimum of three takes. Wides shots, close-ups, over the shoulder, peering down from above...you name it, they shot it. And all with minimal direction from Martin. He claimed to already love the tension brought to the scene by the actors and only redirected in moments of movement and blocking.
After roughly five hours of non-stop filming, Annalise was finally finished for the day. As she walked back to her trailer to change into her normal clothes, her phone dinged.
Coughlan the Great 👑
Hey lovely, they've asked me to stay
a wee bit longer
Coughlan the Great 👑
Just a couple quick takes though, so
should be finished within the hour
Rigby the Beatle 🪲
How dare you 😱
Coughlan the Great 👑
I know, I'm horrible 😭
Rigby the Beatle 🪲
Haha no worries at all, Nic.
I'll be happily reading my
book in my trailer until you've
wrapped up
Coughlan the Great 👑
I promise it won't be too long
Coughlan the Great 👑
You did wonderfully today, btw 😘
Couldn't tell whether you and Joe's
characters wanted to murder
each other or jump in bed
Rigby the Beatle 🪲
I was only really aiming for the
murder part, but thank you 😬
Break a leg!
Coughlan the Great 👑
Maybe the sexual tension is
subconscious then 👀
Coughlan the Great 👑
G2G, byeeeee
Annalise rolled her eyes at her friend's last messages as she stepped into her trailer. Nicola was definitely reading into something that wasn't there. Joseph and she had only ever been friendly to one another; she barely even knew him. And besides, she wasn't about to jeopardise how serious the industry takes her by even playing around with the idea of a co-star romance. They almost never work out and the actors involved almost always have their relationship labeled as fake for promotional purposes.
There was no way Annalise was going down that road.
After bathing, changing and having a quick snack, Annalise settled down on the couch with a hot cup of tea and her current read, From Blood and Ash. Just shy of an hour later, a knock sounded at her door.
"Hi there," warm, brown eyes and curly hair greeted her – along with Daniel.
"Oh, hello! Wasn't expecting you two. Did you guys need something?" She questioned as she leaned against the doorframe.
"We thought we'd come and see if you're free this evening for some pizza and a decompress of our first shooting day?" Asked Daniel. "We bumped into Nicola on her way off set and she said she'd be up for it if you are."
"That sounds really, really nice actually. Let me grab my things and I'll be right out." Annalise smiled at the boys before throwing her shoes on and grabbing her bag.
"Nicola said she'd be fast and to just swing by her trailer to grab her on our way out to the cars," Daniel added as they stepped away from her trailer.
"Sounds good," Annalise fell into step beside Joe, Daniel taking the lead a few steps ahead of them.
There was a comfortable silence between the two as they walked to collect her friend, a couple of smiles and brief glances were sent each other's way. Nicola called shotgun, making Annalise squeeze into the back-middle seat between the two boys. Both her thighs pressed flush up against theirs. The contact with Daniel didn't bother her, but after the brief text conversation earlier with Nicola, Annalise found her cheeks warming from the contact with Joe.
Soon after they made their way into Daniel's hotel suite, a few additional cast members showed up. Jamie included. After ordering food and arguing for five minutes about what kind of music to put on in the background, mostly between Joe and Daniel which made her and Nicola laugh, everyone finally settled down into seats. The sofa was taken immediately, as was the edge of Daniel's bed, so Annalise and Nicola found themselves on the ground leaning up against the dresser.
The evening was filled with lots of laughter, horror stories from past set experiences, and more pizza than any of them could handle. After a couple of hours, a few people who had early call times started making their way to their own rooms. Leaving just a handful of them left.
"So, Annalise," the man she remembered as Adam (who plays her cousin) started. "How are you coping with the big shift in role? This is your first time on a production this large, isn't it?"
'Yeah, it is. I've been on a few smaller sets for some BBC dramas as well as an independent film set, but this tops everything. I'm not gonna lie, it's definitely overwhelming and a lot, but I'm truly loving every minute of it."
"You're fairly new, right?" Daniel asked.
"Very, yeah. I only started taking short courses and jumping on post-graduate productions just over a year ago. I've been with my manager for about six months now."
"Seems a bit lucky, doesn't it? That your spur-of-the-moment decision to shift careers has landed you here when even the most trained and talented of actors struggled to get started." Jaimie finished with a bit of a laugh.
"That's a bit rude. It's not just luck–" Nicola started, but Annalise cut her off.
"No, no. He's right. From my experience, a lot of this industry has been about being lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time. I know that there are insanely talented people out there, likely better suited for the role of Amelia, that weren't given the same opportunities as I was."
"I think you're perfectly suited for Amelia," Nicola argued. "Even if there is a bit of luck in the mix, you're very talented and worked hard to get here. How long it took shouldn't matter at all."
"Cheers to that," Joseph held up his water bottle, a slight glimmer in his eyes as he smiled at Annalise.
****
Word Count: 1045
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Demeanour | | Joseph Quinn
FanfictionAnnalise Rigby has only been in the acting world for a year, but when the role of a lifetime is practically dropped in her lap...she obviously had to take it. Little did she know just how impactful this life-altering moment would be for her. Joseph...
