Method Acting Part 1

 This is a four part commission done for DeviantArt

“I don't get it,” Oscar frowned, “I thought transgender actors were supposed to play transgender roles now. It's the latest industry bullshit...representation...” He practically spat the word. Had it really come to this? Was his career really so deep in the shitter? Since the sexual harassment scandal, it had been hard enough finding a new agent. So hard in fact, that he had to settle for the impossibly grey Agnes Crowe, who seemed ancient enough to remember silent film, and now, here was the old bitch telling him to put on a dress to revive his waning acting career. He rolled his eyes at her. “Okay, next! What else is there?”

“There is no 'next'.” Agnes stammered. “That is it. It is incredibly difficult trying to secure you offers given your...reputation...given everything that came out in the press – not to mention the ongoing lawsuits. The only other correspondence you have is from Bianca – she wants you to come clean.”

“Fuck her!” Oscar snorted. “I only have so many pounds of flesh to give...” Bianca had been his original accuser. Back when he was still a big-shot star, she alleged that he had made her sleep with him to secure a role that she never even got. When she came clean to the media about it, he had publicly ruined her – making sure that the entire industry saw her as nothing more than a gold-digging whore. When the allegations from the other women came out years later, Oscar's reputation was indeed in tatters but it was still far too late for Bianca. The world had kept turning and the movie business had left her behind.

“Noted...” Agnes pressed her lips together and looked at her feet. “Well, the reason the studio is willing to cast their net a little wider for the role is that they need an accomplished pianist. They could use a double for the key scenes, but they'd rather not and they remember your part in 'An Affair in Dmajor'. I really think you should consider it. Your legal fees are growing by the day and you don't currently have any other income.”

Oscar replayed the conversation in his head as he stood in front of a firing range of cameras and lights. Four months had passed since he signed the contract and from day one, the producers had insisted on a cocktail of hormones to get him into the 'shape' the role demanded. He hadn't read the script before signing because he never really thought had much of a choice but he now wished he had if for no other reason than to prepare him for what was to come. The lingerie scene tested his hormone treatments to the limit and as he leaned back against the piano waiting for the director to call 'action', he may may as well have been naked. The makeup chair, growing out his hair, all the walking up and down backstage in heels, could only do so much. Once the cameras started rolling, it was all him...for as many takes as it took to get his career back on track.