Standing outside the isolation tape set up by the crew, Stuart Townsend had his hands in his pockets. On his pale, gloomy face, not a single smile could be seen. Recently, he had been having a very difficult time on the set of "Head in the Clouds." All he heard were things like "Charlize Theron's boyfriend" or "the freeloader being kept by the Academy Award winner."
This made him extremely unhappy, yet he found himself unable to refute it.
Compared to Charlize Theron, he was an actor with no fame and no representative works to his name.
"Charlize Theron's boyfriend and the freeloader being kept by the oscar best actress winner..."
Stuart Townsend muttered to himself. When he first met Charlize Theron, both were up-and-coming actors with bright futures. Who would have thought that after a few years, such a vast distance would have opened up between them?
Such a situation was truly hard to accept.
It wasn't that similar couples hadn't appeared in the industry before—for example, Julia Roberts and her fiancé a few years ago—but in the end, they all finished with a breakup.
Stuart Townsend could likewise choose to break up with Charlize Theron, but when he thought about the house, the car, and the fact that Charlize Theron was responsible for most of their daily expenses, he immediately abandoned the thought.
Furthermore, his hopes for new roles and a comeback also rested on Charlize Theron. His recent roles had all come through her introductions.
If he broke up with Charlize Theron, all those opportunities would vanish, and he would never be able to make a comeback.
More importantly, his quality of life would plummet, dropping several levels below where it was now.
Fortunately, Charlize Theron was a stubborn one... Just as this thought surfaced in Stuart Townsend's mind, a voice asking a question came from nearby.
"Hello..." He turned to look, and a blonde female reporter behind him asked, "Excuse me, are you Mr. Stuart Townsend?"
Seeing a member of the media after a long time, Stuart Townsend nodded and replied, "It's me. I am Stuart Townsend."
He hid the gloom on his face and smiled at the camera lens behind the female reporter.
The blonde reporter asked very politely and courteously,
"Hello, Mr. Townsend. It's my luck to run into you here. May I ask you a few questions?"
Stuart Townsend couldn't even remember how long it had been since a reporter interviewed him. Seeing that the female reporter's words were very pleasant to the ear, he hurriedly nodded and said, "You may. Ask whatever you like."
"Thank you." The reporter remained very polite, but the question she asked was not so pleasant. "Mr. Townsend, has Charlize Theron winning the academy award for best actress put a huge amount of pressure on you?"
The smile on Stuart Townsend's face vanished instantly, but he still endured it and replied, "No, I am happy and proud of her."
The reporter then asked, "What do you think of the title 'Best Actress's Boyfriend'?"
This question touched Stuart Townsend's most sensitive spot directly, and the fire in his heart flared up instantly.
However, Stuart Townsend had been in Hollywood for many years and possessed some level of endurance. He shut his mouth, prepared to stop answering the questions of this extremely unfriendly reporter.
But the blonde reporter would not let him go, continuing to press, "Mr. Townsend, we have confirmed reports that your food, clothing, and expenses—including the house you live in and the car you drive—are all paid for by Charlize Theron! As a man, do you think this is appropriate?"
These words were even more grating than before. If the previous question had only touched Stuart Townsend's sensitive spot, this one directly ripped open a scar he would never admit existed.
Driven by a man's pride, Stuart Townsend snapped back, "The information you have is all false."
After speaking, he glanced at the reporter and the cameraman behind her. To avoid further questioning on these boring topics, he simply stepped over the isolation tape, intending to enter the set.
"Sir."
A staff member walked over. Clearly not recognizing Stuart Townsend, he stopped him. "A movie is being filmed here. Please stay outside the isolation tape."
Stuart Townsend had no choice but to stop. He looked back; the female reporter was still waiting there, and the camera behind her was still filming.
"You don't recognize me?" Stuart Townsend said, pointing to his face. "I am Stuart Townsend!"
"Stuart Townsend?" The staff member was a temporary field worker recently hired by the crew and didn't know him at all. He muttered, "is he famous?"
Facing such a person, Stuart Townsend simply didn't know what to say; he was so angry his lungs felt like they were about to burst.
He turned around and pointed at the reporter's side, saying, "You! Stop filming!"
As professional paparazzi belonging to TMZ, how could they possibly listen to Stuart Townsend?
The temp worker warned, "Sir! This area has been temporarily rented by the production crew. If you try to force your way in, I'll have to have someone drag you out!"
"You..." Stuart Townsend was momentarily speechless.
"Don't push your luck..." The temp worker acted with an air of authority. "This is a super project with a hundred-million-dollar investment. The leads are big stars like Matthew Horner and Charlize Theron. If you cause trouble, you couldn't pay for the damages even if you were sold!"
Stuart Townsend was so fuming that it was like adding fuel to the fire. In utter desperation, he had no choice but to say, "I am Charlize Theron's boyfriend. I'm here to visit the set."
The temp worker's eyes widened in a look of disbelief. "You're Charlize Theron's boyfriend?" He let out a cold laugh. "Stop daydreaming here. Fine, don't say I didn't give you a chance. Go do whatever you're supposed to do, and don't think you're sneaking in past me."
First the reporter, then the temp worker—Stuart Townsend truly felt the sorrow of being a minor actor.
The dispute here soon caught the attention of a formal security guard, who quickly walked over and asked, "What's going on?"
Then, he saw Stuart Townsend and hurriedly said, "Hello, Mr. Townsend. You're here to see Ms. Theron, right?"
Hearing this, the temp worker quickly ducked to the side.
Under the security guard's lead, Stuart Townsend arrived at a trailer on the outermost edge of the set, but he could go no further.
"I can only take you this far," the security guard said with a smile. "Filming is currently underway inside. Director Doug Liman has already lost his temper before; no one is allowed to enter or leave the area past the trailers at will."
Stuart Townsend wasn't an outsider to the industry; he knew directors hated external factors disrupting filming most of all. He said a word to the security guard and stood there waiting patiently.
Although he couldn't walk to the other side of the trailer and thus couldn't avoid the eyes of those two bastard reporters, not having to face those damn questions made Stuart Townsend feel much more relaxed.
He looked back; those two bastard reporters surprisingly hadn't left yet.
Stuart Townsend stood there shaking his head, two bundles of fire suppressed in his heart. He couldn't vent here, so he paced back and forth irritably.
As an adult, Stuart Townsend wasn't stupid. He could hear the disregard and contempt in the voices of the reporter and the guard.
No one took him seriously at all. No one took the name Stuart Townsend seriously. His only label was "Best Actress's Boyfriend."
This label made him very unhappy, very, very unhappy.
"Are we leaving?"
Outside the isolation tape, the male cameraman asked the blonde reporter, "We can't get in anyway."
The blonde reporter was still staring at Stuart Townsend and said, "We can't leave. Our job for these few days is to keep a close eye on Stuart Townsend, interview Stuart Townsend, and film everything happening around Stuart Townsend."
The male cameraman was still filming over there, while curiously asking, "Speaking of which, it's strange. Why does the boss want us to watch Stuart Townsend? He's not a star."
"Do you have the brain of a pig?" The female reporter gave him a look of disdain and said, "Who is Stuart Townsend's girlfriend? Charlize Theron! The Academy Award winner for Best Actress!"
She stared at Stuart Townsend and said, "Do you think the questions I asked were just made up?" She snorted. "These are all pieces of information the boss carefully collected. The boss told me there's a problem between Stuart Townsend and Charlize Theron. As long as we can give it a little push, we might just break a massive news story!"
"Where did the boss get so much information?" the cameraman asked curiously. "Last time with Brad Pitt, Jennifer Aniston, and Angelina Jolie, no one knew anything at all, yet she sent people to stake out the spot, and the result was..."
He shook his head and marveled, "The boss's information is really well-informed."
"Of course. Otherwise, could the boss be sitting in her current position?" the blonde reporter said with a look of longing. "If I could have the same information sources as the boss, I wouldn't have to be out in the field."
The two of them chatted while watching Stuart Townsend not far ahead. Likely due to the crew's regulations, Stuart Townsend couldn't enter the set and could only pace back and forth continuously outside the trailers.
After a while, the faint sound of a megaphone came from the crew's side. The blonde reporter listened carefully and said, "It seems the crew has temporarily stopped filming for a break."
The male cameraman then alerted her, "Look, Charlize Theron is coming out from the set."
The reporter looked up and saw Charlize Theron emerge from behind a trailer, walking toward Stuart Townsend and waving at him as she went.
At the same time, she also noticed Matthew Horner coming out from the set, standing at the corner of a trailer as if he were making a phone call.