Renly had struck Will differently than the rest of the candidates. There was clearly a noticeable gap between the usual candidates and him. Apart from his looks, he stood out just in his mannerism and behaviour. The way he processed things and acted towards them was on a different level when compared to the other rookies.

After all, many people were given the script to act out on, but Renly was the first one to ask which accent the character he was going to play had.

Just this short question elevated his opinions of the judges by a lot.

"The character is a brit. If you have your answers, proceed with the audition."

Will said in a plain voice that succeeded in hiding all his emotions.

Renly smiled slightly after getting to know the character's accent, and then, the star who was going to play the role of the pope gave a signal to Renly to start with his act.

"A soldier's life is as sinful as criminals. And today, I am here to plead guilty to the sins that haunt me every night."

Renly started out his acting. His expression displayed bitter sorrow as if he himself didn't believe he had committed a sin but was well aware that he was a sinner.

"I've taken the lives of those close to me on the order of the Empire. I have taken the lives of innocent people whose only crime was being prisoners of war."

Renly's lips and eyes kept trembling as a teardrop can be seen in his eyes as he looked at his own shaking yet scarred hand.

"These hands that are shaking now never hesitate to take the lives of someone's son, father, husband or brother. They never differentiated between anyone and simply kept following orders that were etched into this sinful brain."

At this point, Renly started to even stutter as if choking on his own words and his trembling hands started coming near his face. Looking at them with an angrily shaking eye and gritted teeth, Renly formed a fist.

"Yet, here I am today, pleading guilty for my sins and expecting God's forgiveness, for I must eliminate anyone and everyone that stands in the path of the Empire's glory. For I must commit to these sins until the very day I embrace my own death. I seek forgiveness for the sins that I have committed and the sins that I will commit henceforth."

Renly's eyes which were red from crying started to show a resolve that spoke that he wouldn't let anyone stand in his path to the conquest of the great Empire.

"Okay, that's enough."

Jennifer said as the audition came to an end. The whole thing about asking for forgiveness for his own sins was just the prelude to actually showing his devotion to the Empire that he was a part of. The Empire that he had committed so many sins for. It was a pretty deep character of someone who wasn't a sociopath or psychopath and clearly felt guilty for killing others, but he was someone who was willing to live with the guilt of all of his sins for the future of the Empire he belonged to.

All in all, it was the portrayal of war filled world's extremely patriotic general. As Will was trying to come up with his own movie ideas on the side, he had even thought of this scene that could be rather impactful if done well. Although it was just one of the many ideas, he had thought of and kept thinking of for his future movies.

Renly still had red eyes from the acting earlier, yet the atmosphere around him was totally different, and he was smiling again as if all the acting before was a total farce…. Which it actually was.

"You can wait outside. We will announce the results after everyone's auditions are done for the day."

Will said and gestured to Renly towards the door. Renly walked out with a smile as if satisfied with himself, unlike the other contestants who had long faces when they went out after giving the auditions.

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

"We got our first lead for [1917]."

As soon as Renly left the room, Will whispered to Jeffrey, to which the latter just chuckled. Indeed, Will only had eyes for the best.

***

The contestants for the third round of auditions were sitting inside a big lounge of DTA headquarters.

It was a room with tables and chairs on the side, and the middle of the room was mostly empty, with some of the people forming a group of 2 or 3 and talking silently amongst themselves.

The room's atmosphere looked rather gloomy considering the fact that it was filled with youths that are always energetic. All of them had come here for the 3rd round of auditions and some of them had already given their auditions and were waiting for the results.

Naturally, people who had already given the audition had gotten a crowd after them asking questions like how the audition went and how the judges were, or even which role or scene they were asked to play out. As it wasn't forbidden to share information, the DTA staff didn't stop anyone from sharing their experiences.

But it was soon made clear why there wasn't a rule that restricted others from sharing their experience. Some of the contestants simply refused to tell anyone what happened with them inside, and some who were generous enough to try to help weren't able to help as there wasn't really anything special that one could take note of.

Everyone who had come out had long faces and was nervous because the results would be announced later, and the judges themselves never showed a reaction that people could make out to be 'good' or 'bad'.

One of the girls who couldn't handle this nervousness ended up crying. This just ended up making the contestants more nervous and agitated.

The same was true for Natalie Bergmann. She was very conscious and nervous about the current situation she was facing. As more people went in and came out with the same dull or sad expressions, her heart started beating loudly. She started thinking about whether or not she would be able to leave any impression on the judges or embarrass herself in front of the big shots.

Another contestant came out, and what made him stand out from everyone else was that he was smiling lightly. Although the smile he carried was subtle, it was still noticeable enough to make people jealous or even more anxious than they were before.

The contestant that came out was none other than Renly Warren, and even the judges didn't say anything obvious or even showed any signs of it; he himself felt it deep inside him. The fact that he had managed to do well somehow. That's why the smile crept up to his face without him intending to make it.

"Hey man, did you get selected? How were the judge's reactions?"

Obviously, some people tried talking to him, especially after seeing that he wasn't at least sad like the others. What was funny was that the person who called him big bro seemed much older than him, almost 26-27, while it was clear that Renly was only in his early twenties.

Instead of others' gazes of jealousy and envy, Natalie had a totally different reaction. Her eyes were filled with admiration, and her heart had calmed down a bit after seeing that someone seemed to have done well, and the situation wasn't as hopeless as it seemed. She felt like Renly had already gotten a role and hoped that there were some roles by the time her turn came. After all, even if the results weren't getting announced right away, the decisions of the judges were getting formed the moment a contestant came out of the auditioning room.

As an actor, Natalie took pride in her acting skills and didn't degrade herself before others. Although her heart had calmed down a bit, the nervousness was still there, and it would only go away after she was done with her auditions.

The fact that Renly had gotten a role wasn't just Natalie's thinking. Everyone thought exactly the same. And that's why everyone wished what Natalie wished for, that at least there should be some roles left for them that they can get.

The lounge was filled with feelings of nervousness and anticipation as people whose auditions were remaining waited for their turns to come.

***

As the audition proceeded, only 2 to 3 contestants could leave an impression on Will, one of them being Renly. Although the others were good at basic standards, they would still need a lot of polishing to get shaped in the industry.

There was another half Korean half American girl who was able to leave an impression on Will. Her name was Charlotte Woo. Her acting was top notch but what actually stood out about her was her confidence. After acting the script she was given, she even asked Will to let her show her dance.

Will had an instinctual feeling that Charlotte would have been popular as a K-pop idol. Still, since this was Hollywood and her acting was good enough, as long as Will was able to make movies suitable for her, she would get much more popular than she would have gotten as a K-pop idol.

As only a few auditions were left, Natalie Bergmann's turn finally came. Will, who was writing down notes about the previous contestant, was the last one to see her face. As soon he took out his head from the file in his hand and looked towards her, his eyes seemed like they would pop out of their sockets.

'It's her!'