"Almost ten years ago."
The timing made sense. All of Jack's books had come out within the last decade – a decade that had been very good to both himandFlynn.
I said, "So you were writingandworking construction?"
"Not for long."
Thinking of his phenomenal success, I replied, "I can believethat."
"So anyway, the books get picked up by this movie studio. And for publicity, they decide they're gonna have a big talent search to cast the lead role."
"I know. But you said that isn't how Flynn got it."
"See, that's the thing," Jack said. "It is. And it isn't."
"What do you mean?"
"The whole talent search – it's mostly a publicity stunt. They're gonna hire who they're gonna hire. But still, they've got their casting people going from city to city, and dragging my sorry ass with them."
"Why?"
"Book signings mostly – and for the advance buzz."
I considered how successful the whole venture had been. "Well, the plan obviously worked."
"Maybe," he said. "But the thing is, we get to Bismarck, a couple hours away from where Flynn and I worked construction. And he's still there. So for kicks, I tell him to come down and take a look at the whole casting thing."
"And he did?"
"Sure, after some arm-twisting. But the day he comes in, he's all pissed off."
"Why?" I asked.
Jack gave a rueful laugh. "Because he was always pissed off."
With a laugh of my own, I said, "Him? No way." Still, it wasn't lost on me that Flynn had mellowed considerably over the last few weeks.
"But the casting director, she gets one look at him, and says,'That'swhat we need.'"
"Meaning Flynn?"
"Oh yeah," he said. "She sees him sitting there, glowering, and she thinks he's there for the audition, in character."
"But he wasn't?"
"Hell no. Stunt work, maybe. But acting? It's not his thing."
From what I already knew, I couldn’t say I was surprised.
"And," Jack continued. "That attitude of his? It's pretty hard to fake."
I considered the character that Flynn played in the movies. That guy was always pissed off, not in a loud, obnoxious way, but rather in a quiet, scary way that always had people guessing.
I said, "So they hired him, just like that?"
"Nope. And you wanna know why?"
"Why?"
