Matt Damon found himself a bit overwhelmed.
Although he had been to New York countless times, he never knew that Manhattan hid such a secret space. It was as if he were Indiana Jones, breaking through the confines of time and space to uncover a whole new world. His eyes couldn't stop darting around, trying to take it all in.
Splat.
Distracted, he stepped into a puddle, and it took him a moment to realize his pant leg was soaked. Before he could fully grasp the situation, he noticed a figure jogging past him, skillfully leaping to avoid the splash. Matt immediately realized he had messed up.
"Sorry!"
The figure didn't look back, only waved as they continued to jog away. Despite the brief encounter, Matt couldn't help but glance back at the figure.
But his attention was quickly drawn away by a voice calling, "Matt, over here."
Matt refocused and followed the voice to where Nick Powell was standing, momentarily forgetting about his wet pant leg as he hurried over.
Out of the corner of his eye, Matt noticed the hustle and bustle of the nearby street corner, where a strong, fishy odor hit him in the face. The pungent smell was so overwhelming that it made him instinctively wrinkle his nose. The stench was so potent it could wake up every cell in his body, prompting a strong urge to get away from there as quickly as possible.
Matt hesitated.
But curiosity got the better of him, and he leaned to the side, lifting his left leg to peek around the corner. All he could catch was the tail lights of a truck being unloaded. Oysters, lobsters, and king crabs were being hauled out, packed in ice. Then, reluctantly, he pulled himself back.
He turned to Nick. "Are you sure about this?"
Nick Powell, a man in his forties with thick eyebrows and a square face, wore a tennis shirt under a windbreaker. His expressionless face gave off the impression of an FBI agent, as if he might pull out a gun at any moment to bust a secret crime ring.
But his words shattered that image. "I don't know. Let's go up and see. If it's not the place… then it's not."
Matt glanced at Nick again. "Were you joking just now?"
Nick looked completely serious. "Was it not funny?"
Matt: "…Very funny, but please don't do that again."
Before them was a plain-looking door with a black sign hanging above it. The sign was adorned with some Chinese characters that Matt couldn't decipher.
In fact, Matt couldn't even tell how many characters there were—was it five, eight? Or maybe just one?
Just then, a voice came from nearby.
"Are you planning to go up?"
Matt and Nick turned toward the voice, and Matt recognized those eyes immediately. Although he had only caught a glimpse earlier, the image flashed back into his mind, and he blurted out, "It's you!"
Nick blinked. "You two know each other?"
Matt: ... Feeling a bit awkward, "No, we don't. It's just that…" They had just brushed past each other. But Matt also realized how strange this might sound since they hadn't even exchanged words. How was he supposed to explain that?
To his surprise, the young man with the bright eyes smiled and chuckled softly. "I know him, but I don't think he knows me. Matt Damon, why are you in this alley?"
Nick stepped forward, positioning himself protectively in front of Matt, "Sorry, Matt is here on personal business today. We can't sign autographs or take photos." His expression was firm.
Matt: Nick, are you sure you're not with the FBI?
The awkward one was Matt because he knew Nick had misunderstood the situation. He hurriedly explained, "Nick, I accidentally splashed dirty water on this young man earlier. It was my fault, and I owe him an apology."
Nick felt a wave of embarrassment.
Then, silently, he looked up at the sky, took a step back, crossed his hands in front of him like a bodyguard, and whistled, breaking the silence.
Matt's expression was a bit awkward. "Sorry..."
The young man didn't mind. "If you're sorry, does that mean we can take a photo?"
Matt: ...
Nick, at this point, also realized the other person was joking, clearly teasing. He couldn't help but laugh, his eyes full of smiles.
The young man's expression also relaxed, "I'm not very familiar with the terrain here. For God's sake, I just ran past my destination, took a little detour to get back. But if you don't mind a roundabout way, maybe I can help guide you."
"Haha," Matt couldn't hold back either and burst out laughing.
"Wait a minute," Matt suddenly realized, "I know you, 100%, you, uh, wait, you're... Anson, Anson? You're an actor too, right?"
This time, it was the young man's turn to be surprised—
Anson had not expected at all that Matt would recognize him, especially since he had no public relations person accompanying him.
"Wood. Anson Wood." Anson took the opportunity to introduce himself gracefully.
A big smile spread across Matt's honest face, "Just call me Matt. I really liked your performance in 'Friends'. My agent showed me clips and convinced me to do a cameo role."
So that's it!
What a surprise, totally unexpected. This was something Anson hadn't anticipated either—
Anson's guest appearance on "Friends" not only won him the Emmy Award for Best Guest Actor but also had a series of positive follow-up effects, establishing a solid fan base while also opening doors in both television and film.
The positive outcome made agents start planning and convincing more and more A-list and B-list actors to do cameos in sitcoms.
And here was one standing in front of him.
Anson's eyes widened, "Oh, are you planning to guest star in 'Friends' too?"
Matt shook his head, "No, 'Will & Grace'."
It turned out to be a rival show!
Anson spread his hands, "I think 'Friends' should call me back for another guest appearance to start a direct competition."
Matt immediately caught the meaning behind the words and couldn't help but laugh cheerfully.
After a few short exchanges, Nick finally understood the situation, "Anson, right? So, you're here, working out?"
Anson, "No, this is a martial arts studio. I'm here for training."
Nick, "Chinese Kung Fu?"
Anson nodded.
Nick's smile widened, and he casually patted Matt on the chest, "This is the place I told you about. It's professional and experienced enough. Even Jackie Chan's team collaborates with this place sometimes, occasionally recommending stuntmen to come here and practice their basics."
That's a lot of information.
Matt looked at Anson and smiled, "I'm here for training too, but clearly, we're not sure if we found the right place."
One detail: Anson didn't mention which role he was training for, and Matt didn't pry; likewise, Matt didn't mention which movie he was training for, and Anson didn't plan to ask either.
This is called unspoken mutual understanding because they both knew that the movie the other was preparing for might be a secret.
Actually, both Anson and Matt, from their appearances, had nothing to do with action heroes.
Before the year 2000, Matt had always been the typical "scholarly" type because he was a Harvard dropout, and also because his stature wasn't particularly tall—
Only 5.8 feet (178 cm).
In Hollywood, such height has little to do with action heroes, so Matt had always played scholarly roles.
Now, suddenly starting martial arts training?
You could tell right away that this was probably a secret.
Fifth update.
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