The richest actor in Hollywood.

In the studio, Matthew stood by a specially made glass window, alongside another tall and strong stuntman, listening to director Justin Lin's final instructions before shooting. 

"Matthew, this scene is mainly to show that your character, Sean, possesses formidable combat skills," Justin Lin explained while gesturing. "You've found your target, but he has a formidable bodyguard. You must deal with the bodyguard first to interrogate him about Dominic Toretto's death. And since you're playing a character with a violent past, use the simplest and most effective method to throw him out the window."

"Got it," Matthew nodded.

These scenes had been rehearsed extensively during the past two months of preparation.

Justin Lin then instructed the stuntman, who was even taller and stronger than Matthew, "Work well together."

The stuntman, a veteran in the field, responded, "No problem."

"Take your positions," Justin Lin instructed Matthew and the stuntman before turning back to his director's seat. After getting the all-clear from various departments, he told his assistant, "Let's start."

The assistant director clapped the clapperboard in front of the camera lens, announcing, "Fast & Furious 4, Scene 1, Take 1, now...action!"

With the sound of the clapperboard, Matthew instantly got into character as Sean.

He swiftly emerged from the prop room door, immediately spotting two individuals—one tall and one short. The short one, wearing glasses, was his target, and the tall one was the bodyguard.

Matthew's gaze was sharp, and his stern face was expressionless, as hard as granite.

In this film, his character, Sean, was a loyal and incredibly tough individual. A former member of the Delta Force, he had undertaken several missions in Africa before choosing to retire due to unjust treatment from the government. He then befriended the somewhat adversarial Dominic Toretto.

After Toretto's death, he was found by Brian O'Conner, and together they investigated Toretto's death.

This character was similar to many of Matthew's previous roles—a resilient and strong warrior with genuine leadership charisma.

In an instant, Matthew burst forth like a cheetah, charging at the tall and sturdy stuntman. Having rehearsed several times, the stuntman timed his movements so that as soon as Matthew's hands touched him, he flew back, using Matthew's momentum to crash directly into the specially made organic glass window.

Crash—

With a crisp sound, the stuntman flew out through the glass window.

Simultaneously, Matthew turned around and quickly approached the short actor. The short actor barely had time to react, pulling out a gun. But before he could aim at Matthew, Matthew grabbed his wrist and twisted it forcefully, causing the gun to fall to the ground with a clatter.

"OK!" Justin Lin sounded very satisfied. "Matthew, great job! That's a wrap!"

Matthew released the short actor's wrist and asked, "Are you okay?"

The action scenes filmed here were not just for show but were a realistic portrayal, requiring some degree of force during shooting.

He knew how strong he was.

"No problem," the short actor rubbed his wrist. "Matthew, you're really strong."

He laughed, "If you were in the Middle Ages, you'd definitely be a hero like Robin Hood."

Matthew also laughed, "I'm more likely to end up being the big bad guy everyone wants to catch."

Everyone around, including the short actor, laughed at this remark.

These action coordinators and stunt actors had worked with Matthew before and knew he never acted like a big star and always treated the crew well.

After a brief adjustment, the shooting resumed.

The two actors returned to their positions, with Matthew grabbing the short actor's wrist with one hand and choking him with the other, pinning him against the window. Pointing outside where the bodyguard would have been, he said coldly, "I ask, you answer. If you don't, or if you take more than three seconds to answer, I'll throw you out of here!"

His hands seemed to exert considerable force, veins popping out. He asked, "Who was Dominic Toretto working for last?"

The short actor, appearing terrified, quickly answered, "Braga! It was Braga!"

Matthew pulled him back and continued questioning, "Who is Braga?"

"No one has seen Braga!" the short actor stammered, "He always gives orders through Phoenix..."

"Phoenix..." Matthew nodded, then slammed the short actor's head towards the wall.

Just before the short actor's head hit the resin wall, Matthew pulled back, allowing the actor to control the impact with the resin wall himself.

The short actor then "collapsed" to the ground.

From the director's seat, Justin Lin shouted, "OK! That's a wrap for this shot."

Upon hearing this, Matthew quickly dropped out of character and offered his hand to the short actor, helping him up.

The short actor rubbed his head and said, "This wall is too soft, it doesn't hurt at all."

Matthew shook his head, "Next time, we'll use steel just for you."

Justin Lin's voice came through again, "Move to set two! You have twenty minutes to adjust."

Set two was right next door. The set and props teams came to clear the scene, taking away the resin wall with the window, revealing a bar corner for the next scene.

Paul Walker, Daniel Wu, and Gal Gadot were already there.

A makeup artist came over to touch up Matthew's makeup, and a wardrobe assistant changed his jacket to a light gray one. A few minutes later, Matthew walked into set two.

"I thought we'd have to wait for you for a while," Paul Walker greeted him, "Didn't expect you to finish so smoothly."

Matthew smiled and said, "I love shooting action scenes the most, you know that."

He greeted the other two, "Hi, Daniel. Hi, Gadot."

They both responded, as they had trained and rehearsed together before and were quite familiar with each other.

Soon, the actor playing the main villain, Benicio Del Toro, arrived. He was a well-known Latin actor in Hollywood, known for his low-key and unconventional style, often playing odd roles with a unique villainous aura.

The crew chose him partly for his fitting appearance and partly due to Guillermo Del Toro's recommendation.

The villain in a popcorn movie doesn't need to be iconic, nor could they all be as memorable as the Joker. Still, they needed a competent actor to carry the role.

Not every villain could be like those in Marvel superhero movies, who often relied more on banter than actual skills and were mostly comedic.

The group gathered, taking advantage of the time while the crew adjusted the lights and cameras, to familiarize themselves with the blocking. Once twenty minutes had passed, filming resumed promptly.

With music playing, Matthew followed Gal Gadot, walking to the front of the camera, standing before Benicio Del Toro, who was sitting on a long couch. Paul Walker, Daniel Wu, and several other actors were already there.

Matthew subtly glanced at Paul Walker and the others, his stern face revealing nothing.

Gal Gadot walked behind Benicio Del Toro, directly opposite Matthew. From Matthew's perspective, the Israeli actress's legs were incredibly straight and remarkably long...

"It's him," Gal Gadot spoke first, "He's Sean, the best driver I've ever seen."

Benicio Del Toro tilted his head to look at Matthew, slowly blowing out a smoke ring, "There are too many people."

A strong, tattooed man next to him said, "There are too many guys picking up girls by driving now. Gisele, you didn't fall for it too, did you?"

Gal Gadot's gaze turned sharp as she looked at him, but she remained silent.

"You might not be what Braga is looking for," Benicio Del Toro poured himself a drink, "Braga wants someone who can leave everything behind, not just follow the rules."

The camera continuously panned between Matthew, Paul Walker, Daniel Wu, and Gal Gadot, highlighting the importance of each character in the scene.

Holding his glass, Benicio Del Toro stood up, sipping his drink, "Braga wants drivers who dare to go where no one else dares. I'm looking for real drivers!"

Matthew, arms crossed, asked, "What does Braga want us to transport?"

Benicio Del Toro glanced at him, "Braga pays you to transport goods. You don't need to know the rest."

"You say you want real drivers," Matthew responded, "Real drivers know what's in their cars."

Opposite him, Gal Gadot smiled, and the tattooed man stepped forward, staring at Matthew, "You think you're a real driver?"

He seemed particularly arrogant.

Benicio Del Toro signaled Gal Gadot, who walked over and handed out items to everyone.

"I'm looking for real drivers for Braga," Benicio Del Toro continued, "It's simple. You race, and I'll know."

This long take ended here, but Justin Lin was not satisfied. He broke it down into multiple single shots, re-shooting them until it was almost lunchtime before declaring the scene complete.

Lunch was taken care of at the Disney studio. While eating, Paul Walker specifically approached Matthew with a perplexing question.

_________________________

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