DOS Ch-76

The production of the third and fourth Potter films was finally underway with Alfonso Cuaron helming the joint project. I couldn’t be happier with the turn of events because Cuaron was one of my favorite directors of all time. Each and every one of his movies is created with a passion that is rarely seen in filmmakers today, where more focus is placed on the commercial performance than the art. From what I could recall, my favorite film of his was [Children of Men]. The dystopian world he created was a marvel of modern filmmaking. It’s such a shame that I won’t be able to be a part of that film because of my age; otherwise, I would have loved to do it. Heck, I’d break my own rule and take up a small insignificant role in it if it was feasible.

One thing of significance happened this year for which I could not be more grateful. I was not nominated for any major movie awards. Despite many critics and industry insiders, including Steven Spielberg, calling my performance in [Artificial Intelligence] great, I was mostly ignored in the award conversations. Despite what most people might consider, I was happy with this development. Getting award focus means a lot of time and resources wasted on a trophy that I already had. Had I not received an Oscar already, I would definitely campaign for one. Seeing what happened last year when my personal life was brutally invaded, I decided to stay out of the conversation this time. Some obscure critics and media groups gave me some awards, but I never attended their events.

On the [Billy Elliot] front, there was one significant development. The Laurence Olivier Award was the premier award show of the UK as far as the West End was concerned. In the year 2002, the awards were held on Feb 15, with [Billy Elliot] receiving the most nominations at 10. I was invited to perform on stage at the Victoria Palace Theater where the awards were being held, but since I was performing on Broadway and would lose a week of performances to fly to London, perform, and return, I gave the honor to Ricky Thomas, one of the kids who had replaced me as Billy in the West End production. Nonetheless, I watched the live telecast from New York, and Ricky did a wonderful job performing ‘Electricity’ and promoting our show to the general audience. I didn’t care that much about the award, but I would have loved to perform in Ricky’s stead. Some things just aren’t meant to be.

[Billy Elliot the Musical] won the awards for Best Sound Design, Best Lighting Design, Best Set Design, Best Choreography, and Best Director. I was very happy that Peter Darling and Stephen Daldry won awards for the show. They really deserved it with everything they had given to the movie and the musical.

When the category of Best Actor in a Musical or Entertainment was announced, I was sweating bullets. What the hell was I thinking not going to the awards in person? Now they would judge me harshly for my indifference to them and give the award to someone else. One big problem with theater award shows was that the voting pool was very limited. A very small number of people decide who will win the award, and they can be swayed easily. A single negative news article or opinion piece by a big publication can essentially kill your chances of winning an award. Some prominent theater newsgroups in London had already reported that I would not be present for the Olivier Awards.

“And the award goes to… Troy Armitage for [Billy Elliot the Musical]. Troy could not be here with us this evening, so we accept this award on his behalf and congratulate him for a deserved win.”

All the worries left my body as that announcement was made. I knew that the original actors of [Billy Elliot] won the award in the original timeline. Had I lost it, I would feel as if I was inferior to them in some form. A normal person would think that I must be used to all the awards by now, but that wasn’t the case. Each award represented a different performance and conveyed a different meaning in its entirety. The awards that I won for [The Sixth Sense] were for an entirely different thing than the awards for this musical. And it felt damn good to win this award.

(Break)

“Nervous?” Evan asked me while dressed in a tuxedo and sitting opposite me in our limousine.

“Not really,” I replied confidently. “Worst case scenario, I won’t win this award. Our show is already a superhit, and it has reached break-even, both in London and in New York. While I would love a Tony Award, I can always try for it again when I’m older.”

Evan gave me a dubious look before saying, “I think you’re lying. Because I’m nervous as hell, and I’m not even nominated.”

I chuckled at that. Originally, both my parents were supposed to accompany me to the Tony Awards, which were being held on June 2, 2002, at Radio City Music Hall. The Tony Awards give out only two additional seats to the friends and family of the nominees. But Dad had to fly back to London because of the production of the next [Harry Potter] films, which had already begun production this week without me. So Evan and Mum were accompanying me to the award show. Evan being nervous was not surprising given this was the first time he was thrust into such a high-profile event. As soon as I finish up here today, I will fly directly to London, and hopefully, will stay there for a full year at least. That was the estimated time required for the back-to-back production of the third and the fourth films.

“Calm down, Evan,” Mum said in a soothing voice. “As long as you don’t join the industry, people won’t care that much about you. You can walk the red carpet with Troy if you want to, but I will suggest you not to. Fame is overrated.”

“She’s correct,” I agreed with Mum’s advice. “If I had the option to teleport directly inside the theater without anyone seeing me, I would gladly take it.”

Evan nodded slowly. “Okay, then I will not take the red carpet.”

“Good decision,” Mum nodded in satisfaction before silence ensued in the vehicle. Since the car was moving slowly because of the heavy traffic, she continued the conversation, “When are you planning to show me the film you two were shooting? It’s been months since you began. Even Loki is much older now.”

I scoffed, “Please. I wasn’t shooting anything. It was all him. I barely have enough time to do anything recreational given my busy schedule. I sure as hell won’t spend it doing the most boring job in the world by editing a video. He hasn’t even shown me the video, and I was in it.”

I was a little miffed with Evan given how secretive he was being about the short film we had shot months ago. Because I had a small role, all my scenes were shot quite early in the production. After that, he would spend all his time shooting with Loki. I felt a little left out that Evan was spending all that quality time with MY dog when I was out working my ass off. I know it’s not his fault, and it was better that Loki had someone to play with when I was not home. Still, I felt a little jealous of Evan. The only saving grace was that whenever I had time, I would shower Loki with affection, and he loved that. So as soon as I would come home, he would greet me enthusiastically. He didn’t do that for Evan.

And I loved that.

“‘M still working on it,” Evan said evasively. “It’s difficult to finish a film that you have to edit as well. Moreover, I was waiting for Loki to grow up some so I could shoot some scenes over months and show the passage of time through Loki aging into an older dog. I’m done with the principal shoot now, and hopefully, I will be done with my film within a week after going back to London.”

Mum nodded in understanding. “Makes sense.”

Before we knew it, the car had stopped in front of the Radio City Music Hall where this year’s Tony Awards were being held. I took a deep breath before fixing a fake smile on my face and exiting the car to a plethora of camera flashes.

“Troy!” A female reporter offered me a mic. “You are one of the youngest persons to be nominated for a Tony. If you win tonight, you’ll be the youngest winner in the leading category. Also, the youngest person to complete the Triple Crown of Acting. How do you feel about that?”

“I feel honored,” I bowed my head a little. “We don’t make a film, show, or a play for the awards. It’s always for the audience. And the audience has already given us the biggest award by watching our show so enthusiastically. We have already recovered all our costs from both London and New York. For me, as the producer, that is more than enough.”

The reporter looked at me in surprise before asking, “I didn’t know that you produced it personally.”

I laughed, “I don’t advertise it. I’ll give credit to Elton John for that. I ran into him at Cannes and he said that he wanted to make a musical out of [Billy Elliot]. I loved the idea, but my father wasn’t very enthused about it. So I offered him to make the musical out of my salary from the [Harry Potter] movies. He agreed, but there were a lot of unnecessary rules and regulations for minor producers, so on paper, my father is co-producing it, but all the investment is mine.”

“You learn something interesting every day,” she remarked before asking the next question. “Are you excited to perform tonight?”

“Very much so,” I grinned. “Can’t wait.”

“Wish you all the best for your performance and the award,” she greeted before moving on to the next celebrity who walked the red carpet. I recognized that man instantly. He was Sam Robards, the man who played my adoptive father in [Artificial Intelligence]. I didn’t know what category he was nominated in, but at least I knew that we weren’t competing for the same award.

I waved to him from a distance, and he waved back. I would have waited for him to come over when I came across another one of my co-stars. Alan Rickman.

“Alan!” I greeted him enthusiastically by hugging him. He patted my back before we separated.

“Didn’t think you would make it here,” he remarked in his deep, measured tone. “You caused quite a scandal back in London for avoiding The Olivier Awards. Just like you abandoned the BAFTAs last year. People are saying that you don’t like British award shows.”

I rolled my eyes at that news. “Why don’t people get a real job rather than speculating the reason for my absence from some award show? I am attending here tonight because it was convenient for me as I was already here.”

Alan snickered openly at my sour mood, “You know the funniest things to say sometimes.”

I shook my head in amusement before changing the topic, “How are you feeling about your chances tonight?”

“I’m not winning,” he said with absolute certainty. “But you are. You definitely will win tonight, there’s no chance you won’t. I saw you both at West End and here at Broadway. Any actor worth their money could see how much effort and nuance you have put into your performance. There was a reason that they gave you the Olivier Award despite you not going there in person.”

I had read a lot of reviews about my performance, speaking along the same lines as Alan was at the moment. Reading it was one thing, and hearing it from a colleague of yours and an actor as great as Alan was another thing entirely.

“That’s very kind of you, Alan,” I said gratefully. “But you were great yourself in [Private Lives]. You have a great chance to win yourself.”

Since I knew he was doing this play, I had taken a day off from my busy schedule and had gone to see him perform. He was remarkable in it.

“Let’s agree to disagree,” he said seriously as we made our way inside the hall.

We kept talking idly about our lives and work, like old friends as some of the top actors in the industry passed us by. Liam Neeson, Jeffrey Wright, John Lithgow, Laura Linney, Helen Mirren, Patrick Wilson, and more were nominated tonight and were attending the ceremony.

Soon we had to separate when we were escorted to our respective seats which were in different rows, and I reunited with Mum and Evan. Then the award show began with a musical performance, as it usually does. Unlike other major award shows, like the Oscars or the Emmys, which were mostly focused on giving out awards, the Tonys had a secondary agenda: marketing. They were the best marketing that any Broadway show could get. People from other cities did not care about some theater plays in New York unless they were marketed to them. The Tonys did that job wonderfully and thus started a big tourism industry in NYC centered around Broadway. It was affected a lot by the attacks last year, but since then, it has recovered a lot.

As the show continued, musical performances were done by different actors on stage in between the awards to keep the audience entertained. And finally, it was time.

“Troy,” a smartly dressed man in a tuxedo walked up to me and whispered, “It’s time for your performance.”

I nodded and got up from my seat, following the man backstage to the dressing room where everything was set for me. I had a set of Billy Elliot costumes that I quickly changed into before a makeup artist walked in and helped me prepare for the performance. Then I was fitted with a mic by the sound department, and I was ready to roll.

I took a deep breath as I waited backstage for my name to be announced and then I stepped forward.

(Break)

Alan Rickman rarely gave out praise to someone. As an actor, he thought that you shouldn’t yearn for praise. At least he didn’t. But there was just something about young Troy Armitage that he couldn’t stop himself. When he was offered the role of Severus Snape, he had half a mind to reject the offer. But a conversation with Steve Kloves changed his mind. Steve told him how he was making the film for his son. A son who had a grand dream to become a superstar.

He thought that this Troy must be a low-key megalomaniac. But he was curious, so he saw his performance in [The Sixth Sense]. And he was stunned to see the talent of the young boy. To become an undeniable superstar, you need three things: talent, likability, and drive to succeed. Usually, actors lack one of the three things to become a big star. But Troy, if Steve was to be believed and as much as Alan could see, had all three. That’s why he just knew that Troy would become a superstar sooner or later. That was a big reason for him accepting the role of Snape.

And then, he started loving the films. It didn’t mean he wouldn’t do other projects in between, like stage plays or even TV shows now and then. Something that Troy had talked to him about when they were shooting for the second film. He didn’t take that seriously but answered the kid nonetheless.

And now here we were. Troy was performing on live TV a song called “Electricity” that just shocked everyone (pun intended) with the complex choreography and beautiful vocals. Alan was surprised that of all his performances, this was the best version of ‘Electricity’ he had seen from Troy.

Just as he had predicted, Alan didn’t win the award he was nominated for tonight. He didn’t mind that much, because he knew that he wasn’t the best actor, nor did he have ambitions of grandeur like Troy.

Finally, the time for the award for Best Actor in a Musical came and was presented by Anne Heche and Bill Pullman, who began the announcement by making some light jokes before announcing the nominees.

“The nominees are:

John Lithgow; [Sweet Smell of Success]

John Cullum; [Urinetown]

Troy Armitage; [Billy Elliot the Musical]

Patrick Wilson; [Oklahoma]

Gavin Creel; [Thoroughly Modern Millie]”

Anne Heche slowly opened the envelope before looking up at the audience with a huge grin, “And the Tony goes to Troy Armitage for [Billy Elliot the Musical].”

Alan scoffed internally as he clapped. As if anyone else could have won that.