Nyx / House / Audition

[tempting_the_fates]

He'd told his manager he wasn't sure the part was for him, that he didn't think he looked much like a doctor- And he didn't. He'd turned out to be a damned fine actor, good enough to leave music behind, but he still looked like a rock star with his long wild hair and those eternally tired eyes.

"Just go, see how it goes," his agent had urged. "This could be a breakout role for you in America."

So now he was here in some room with a dozen other actors he sort of recognized, slouched low in his seat as his eyes skimmed over them all. He was judging in silence, but definitely judging.

Comments

[drfeelbad]

A few minutes later, a woman came out and handed everyone in the room a clipboard with an NDA on it. And when they'd signed, she handed them a few stapled pages with a couple of scenes from the pilot. "Your sides," she said. "You're reading for Jett. No need to memorize."

About ten minutes later, House opened an office door and limped out. He looked around, and lifted his cane to point at four men in turn, all of whom were particularly clean cut. "You, you, you, and you," he said. "You can go. You probably meant to be down the street for some CW show." Then he pointed at someone else. "You, first."

When they were in the office, there were muffled voices, and then House saying loudly: "That's not how you pronounce sarcoidosis!"

For the next guy, right before he came out again: "You sound like Doogie Howser!"

The next time House came out, he pointed at Nyx. "You, next."

[tempting_the_fates]

Nyx heard the yelling, raising a brow, then returning his attention to the script. When the man pointed to him he got up in one fluid motion, wandering into the office and glancing around very briefly before looking at the man who'd called him in.

He really wasn't sure he liked Hollywood, to be honest, and it showed.

[drfeelbad]

House had his headshot and resume in front of him, and he looked them over before glancing up and then looking Nyx up and down.

"Your acting credits are pretty thin," he said.

[tempting_the_fates]

"Probably because I haven't been acting very long," Nyx replied, unwavering beneath the other man's gaze. "I was the singer, guitar player and occasional lyricist for The London Rivers. You wouldn't know us unless you happen to be into modern British rock, we didn't crack America. I have been acting a few years now though, won a few Brit awards... Did some stagework last year that got me nominated for an Olivier- Lost to Sir Ian McKellen, but, you know, that's sort of an accomplishment in itself I reckon."

None of it was offered as a brag, just casual facts.

"You write this?" he asked, holding up the script.

[drfeelbad]

"I did," said House.

Not that it was the real script. Even with the NDA they didn't want the actual plot of the pilot to get out there. The character was basically the same though.

[tempting_the_fates]

Nyx sat down in the chair uninvited, flipping through the pages a bit.

"So is he meant to be insecure? I ask because American's perceive this all so differently, you know? Like, is he cool, or is he a twat that used to get the shit kicked out of him in sixth form who's now really overcompensating? ...Fuck, you don't do sixth form here, it's ah- High school, yeah?" he asked, not waiting for an answer as he flipped back to the other page. "Is he a bit of posh pretending to be something else? Some boarding school prat?"

[drfeelbad]

House thought of Chase. He was already worried that they were all going to think this was... fan fiction. So the last thing he could do was make Jett a poor little rich boy with daddy issues.

"That's actually a good read," House said. "But no, not a boarding school prat. He dropped out of med school and had to claw his way back, so he's overcompensating for having been looked down on by the other students. Also he's got some unresolved trauma. Went back to med school because his fiancé died from an undiagnosed condition."

[tempting_the_fates]

"Dead fiancé, huh?" Nyx asked. "At least they aren't in a coma..."

He was being more antagonistic than he intended, but sometimes he couldn't help himself. It often felt like Nyx thrived on seeing if people would let him kick them a bit, or if they'd slap him down- And honestly, it was hard to tell which outcome he prefered. ...At least at first.

"Top of page one?" he asked, ready to start.

[drfeelbad]

House took immediate note that Nyx didn't assume the finance was a woman. Attention to detail, no assumptions. He liked it.

"Actually skip to the second scene," House said. "The rest was for you to get a better sense of the character, and I don't really want to read for Blake, she's annoying. Start with... you know, for someone who spends all day."

[tempting_the_fates]

Nyx nodded, skimming the page and then turning his gaze onto House as he spoke.

"You know, for someone who spends all day solving mysteries, you’re not great at making your own life less... mysterious," he recited, leaning forward at first, then slumping back in his chair a bit, his posture casual, legs spread slightly, one arm coming to rest on the arm of the chair.

[drfeelbad]

House was pretty sure he'd probably been told to do an American accent. But now that House heard him do the character in that actual accent.. fuck, he really liked it. And that was not going to be helpful for making this not seem like Chase fanfiction.

Still, he didn't ask him to change it.

"If I wanted advice on life choices, I’d ask someone who doesn’t look like they just crawled out of a Nirvana concert." House said this pretty flatly. He wasn't acting, he had no idea how to act. Just reading lines.

[tempting_the_fates]

"Kurt Cobain's been dead for, like, thirty years or something now," Nyx improvised. "...It was the Black Keys, and I was home at an almost reasonable hour."

He leaned forward again then, grinning, almost flirtatious. "Come on. You know you’d miss me. Who else on this team is going to add a little color to your otherwise black-and-white world?"

[drfeelbad]

They kept going through the script until they got to the almost-end and House read the line: "Get out of here, you're wasting my time."

Though he definitely was not feeling that line right now.

[tempting_the_fates]

"You sure?" Nyx asked, a soft purr in his voice. For a beat he looked like the rock star he'd once been, the kind of man people threw themselves at. Nyx was a genuinely good actor though, and for all he was playing it cocky, there was an edge of vulnerability to him as he said, "You look like you could use a distraction."

As though as much as he was offering one, he might be asking for one as well.

[drfeelbad]

That purr was definitely not the obvious interpretation from the stage direction. The two guys before him had both read it as a straightforward joke. Cocky, almost sarcastic.

If this were a real scene from the pilot, House would never let him play it like this. Too much for the first episode to be that blatant about sexual tension between the characters. Hell, he hadn't even thought that would ever be so blatant. He just saw Jett as flirting with everyone. An intentional contrast to Grant, who prickly with everyone.

Still. It was a good interpretation of the material. And either Nyx was some shade of queer or he was a considerably better actor than the two obviously straight guys who had just read. Actually, probably both.

They did the last couple of lines, and House flipped his script closed. "What do you think of the character?"

[tempting_the_fates]

"I think he's a try-hard, and a bit of a twat- And I think that makes him interesting," Nyx said honestly. He didn't see any reason not to be blunt- He couldn't do an American accent, he wasn't sure he could sell himself as a doctor, and so it seemed unlikely the gig was his. So why not be honest? He'd rather be honest and burn a bridge, rather than kiss ass and lie.

[drfeelbad]

House didn't actually find that insulting in the least. "They'll make you do an American accent in the callback," he said. "Feel free to suck at it. I like the accent. I think you'll be a fucking heart throb over here." Which frankly was one of his intentions with the character. Meanwhile he couldn't care less about hiring a super model for Blake.

[tempting_the_fates]

Nyx raised a surprised brow at that, then nodded.

"Noted," he said simply.

[drfeelbad]

"Would you want the role if you got it?" House asked him, because he knew that wasn't always a given. And if he was going to end up having to stick his neck out for an unconventional choice then he'd rather know up front.

[tempting_the_fates]

Nyx looked at the pages again, flicking through, then looking at House.

"I won't pretend I'm itching to be on telly for the next decade playing the same role, and I know that's how a lot of these shows go, but I think it could be interesting- The role, the show... I think it could be fun even."

[drfeelbad]

"Word on the street is I'm hard to work with," House said.

[tempting_the_fates]

"Are you? Just wait until you google me," Nyx grinned. "The British tabloids would have you believe I'm a diva and a tart to boot- But only half the stories are true. ...Alright, maybe slightly more than half. For example, the story about how I left that TV presenter a top hat full of kittens outside his hotel room while high as a kite did, in fact, happen. So did the thing where I threatened to throw myself in front of a train on the underground- But the thing about taking a piss in the middle of Harrods definitely didn't. I'm a very friendly drunk, I would have at least found a plant pot. ...If you do rally for me, you should know it's only a matter of time before all that gets dragged over here."

[drfeelbad]

House snorted, amused. “This character is a diva and a tart,” he said. “And if you’re playing him I guess he’s someone who would actually say tart.” He paused and then added, “You may want to google me too, though I’m afraid it’s not quite that salacious.” Though the “drug problem” leading to losing his license was the worst of it really, House didn’t give a shit if the other writers and some of the actors on his last show hated him.

[tempting_the_fates]

"Maybe I will," Nyx purred, looking House over and then flashing that flirty smile.

[drfeelbad]

Oh god House hoped that the kid didn’t think he needed to flirt with him to get the part. That would be humiliating. Though a little part of him found it fun to pretend for a moment. He offered him a little smile in return.

“Well I guess… I don’t really need to see anymore,” he said.