"As soon as I saw you, I knew a grand adventure was about to happen." - A. A. Milne
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FIVE MONTHS LATER
"Now, we've got a great line up on the show tonight," Graham Norton said as he opened his show with his usual monologue. "We've got music and chat with Oscar-winning actor Jared Leto, as well as his band Thirty Seconds to Mars." A large cheer rose up from the audience, making Graham laugh. "You love them, you really do. And the star of the hit new television series 'Burnout', Oscar-winning golden girl Daphne Brando is here along with her costar Jack O'Connell!" Loads of cheers and applause erupted from the crowd, nearly knocking him over. "Well, I fear for my life if we don't get some guests on soon, so without further delay, it's Thirty Seconds to Mars, everyone!"
The camera panned across the sound stage to the performance stage where the band shot into an upbeat song. The audience was cheering and clapping and Daphne could hear them all the way back in her dressing room. She glanced up from the script she was reading when a producer appeared at her door, followed by her costar, Jack O'Connell.
"Daphne, are you ready?" she asked, shifting her clipboard from one arm to the other.
Daphne nodded and got up, making sure her dress hadn't ridden up over her ass. For some unknown reason, her stylist insisted upon dressing her in extremely short dresses whenever she could. She told Daphne time and time again that she had amazing legs and should show them off, but Daphne would much rather be wearing sweatpants or pajamas than sky-high heels and mini dresses. She took Jack's offered hand and they followed the assistant down the hallway. They were doing press for the new season of their show 'Burnout'. It had just released in the USA and was due to be released in the UK that night. There was a lot of buzz going around about it. Daphne sighed as she tried to remember all of the talking points she'd have to cover and everything she wasn't allowed to reveal. It never failed that right before she did any press, she always felt a bit nervous, no matter how many times she'd done press. Media training could only do so much for nerves.
"That was phenomenal!" Graham said, applauding alongside the audience. "Come, sit yourselves down over here," he added, gesturing for the trio to come over to his famous red sofa.
Daphne watched on the backstage monitor as Jared, Tomo, and Shannon walked over to the other half of the stage and sat on the sofa, to much cheering and applause.
"Alright, you're on next," the producer said, speaking into her headset.
Daphne felt Jack squeeze her hand reassuringly and he gave her a charming smile.
"Alright, I'm so excited about our next guests," Graham said after Jared and everyone had settled down a bit. "She is an Academy Award winning actress and he is an amazing rising star in Hollywood right now. Please help me welcome the stars of the much-anticipated new series 'Burnout', Daphne Brando and Jack O'Connell!"
Daphne followed Jack out onto the stage, carefully climbing the stairs in her hells. He helped steady her at the top, but it was not enough to help because she was immediately deafened by the audience's screaming. Graham walked over to greet them, giving Jack a firm handshake and Daphne a kiss on the cheek. She gave him a smile, unable to hear him speak. She followed Jack over to the sofa, greeting Jared, Shannon, and Tomo with kisses on their cheeks. They all sat down on the sofa, Daphne very carefully so as not to flash anyone in her short skirt.
"My God," Jared said when the audience had slightly died down and they could kind of hear each other again. "It sounds like Jesus just walked in!"
Everyone laughed and cheered again, making Daphne blush.
"It is quite crazy," Graham responded, glancing at the audience. "They love you two," he said to Daphne and Jack.
"Correction," Jack said. "They love HER," he joked, pointing at Daphne, who was sat between him and Jared in the middle of the sofa. "I think there may be three people out there that are cheering for me."
Everyone laughed and Graham picked up his question cards, turning to face them. "It really is crazy. Daphne, are you used to it yet?"
She smiled. "I mean, you get used to it after a while," she said. "But it's always a massive shock to come out to that type of greeting."
"Now, Jared, you and Daphne have one thing in common-the Oscars," Graham said as the audience erupted into more cheers. "Jared, you won this past year for 'Dallas Buyer's Club', which was an amazing performance," more cheers. "But Daphne you've won multiple Oscars."
She nodded, smiling at the cheering directed toward her. "Yeah, a few," she said modestly. "I was there when he won and I thought his acceptance speech was beautiful." She smiled at Jared.
"And you were in 'American Sniper' and 'Gone Girl' as well, so congratulations on that," he said, with lots of cheers. "You two have met before, though, right?" Graham asked, indicating Jared and Daphne.
"We have, but very, very briefly," Jared responded. "We filmed a music video in her house, actually," he said, indicating his bandmates.
Graham gave him a knowing look. "But you two have some really big news though, right?"
Daphne glanced at Jared, waiting to see if he'd speak first. He gave her a nod and she spoke instead. "Well, we're now officially allowed to announce that we're working on a film together called 'Suicide Squad' that's based off of the DC Comics series. David Ayer is directing it, so it's going to be really good." The audience cheered some more. Daphne shared a smile with Jared, who nudged her.
"We are the first two cast right now, but I'm sure I'll be an amazing cast and we're both really excited to work on it," Jared answered.
"Ooo, I'm sure it will be," Graham said, a gleeful look on his face. "Now, Jared, Shannon, and Tomo, you three are on the last leg of your tour?"
Shannon nodded. "Yeah, we're headed to Russia and Eastern Europe for a few weeks tomorrow, so we're really excited about that. It's been about a year and a half since we've been back and we love to see our fans there."
"The album is really good," Graham said, holding a copy of the disk up for the camera to see. The iconic Damien Hirsch album art was hard to miss. "It's really upbeat, but it's also almost a bit of a departure from what you've done in the past."
"I just heard it today and I thought I was amazing," Jack added. "I thought the percussion work was incredible. Really good."
Shannon gave him a nod of appreciation.
"We wanted to do something different," Tomo added. "You know, our previous album 'This is War' was written and recorded while we were being sued for thirty million dollars by our record label, so there was quite a bit of anger and confusion in there."
"And this one, we had much more creative freedom and it was much more relaxing," Jared added. "We were able to actually enjoy the recording process without the heaviness of a lawsuit over our heads or the stress of needing to be successful that you can sometimes get from record labels."
"And you broke a Guinness World Record, correct?" Graham asked, looking down at his notes.
"Yeah, we played over three hundred shows on tour for that album," Jared confirmed.
"That's amazing," Graham said. "Speaking of records," he turned to Daphne. "You are currently tied with Katharine Hepburn for the most Academy Awards won by an actor."
The audience applauded, as did everyone on the sofa next to her. "Yeah, it's sort of surreal and crazy and it's surprised me every time I've won."
"Are you aiming to break that record?" Graham asked.
"No, not really," Daphne said. "I mean, I don't really do the work I do for the awards. I do it because I enjoy it and I have a skill for it. I love acting because I get to tell stories and bring characters to life; I don't do it because I can win an Oscar or Golden Globe or whatever it may be. They're nice perks, but it's not my main focus."
"You were sixteen when you won the first one, right?" Graham asked.
She nodded. "Yeah, I kind of wish I wasn't as young. Your life literally changes overnight when you win such a big award-I'm sure Jared can confirm that," she glanced at him next to her.
"It does. Photographers were camped outside of my house the next morning, which hasn't happened ever," he said with a smile. "I think they were more focused on whether or not I was leaving alone in the morning, though," he laughed.
"Now, Jack, you and Daphne star in a new series called 'Burnout'. Tell us a bit about it," Graham asked, turning toward Jack who had been relatively quiet to that point.
He nodded. "It's a great TV series done by Vince Gilligan who wrote 'Breaking Bad' and Diablo Cody who wrote 'Juno' and 'Untied States of Tara'. It's really well done and got so many amazing characters in it."
"Yeah," Daphne added. "I play the daughter of a mob boss who sort of inherits her father's business after he dies. Jack's character is the one everyone expects will take control of it because he's her brother, but it ends up going to my character, Evangeline. The first season sort of follows her trying to learn the ropes and figure out how to run this whole thing. Viggo Mortenson plays my character's adviser of sorts and there are loads of twists and turns as to what is really going on."
Graham nodded. "And it's kind of a mafia crime series," he added.
"Kind of," Daphne said. "It does have a bit of that element in it, but it mostly focuses on her and how this job sort of changes her. That's why I was drawn to it. There's such a massive character arc in this first season alone."
"Because you tend to steer clear of the stereotypical mafia films, right?" Graham asked.
She nodded. "Yeah. I don't want to be typecast. For obvious reasons," she laughed.
"So I hear there's a bit of a prank war going on between you two?" Graham asked, looking at Jack and Daphne, who broke out laughing. He gestured to the screen behind him where a photo had come up of a house with bras and underwear strung across the front of it. "Care to explain this?" Everyone laughed when they saw it.
"So we lived together for the four months or whatever that it took us to film this first season," Daphne started, nudging Jack. "Initially it was kind of awkward and to lighten the mood I decided it would be fun to prank him."
"You didn't prank me, you gave me a heart attack," he replied laughing. "She woke me up by blasting the 'Circle of Life' from 'The Lion King' in my ear at like three in the morning."
Everyone laughed and clapped. "It worked, but he retaliated by rewiring my car horn to my brake pedal," Daphne said. "Which, in Las Vegas isn't a good thing. There's lots of stop-and-go traffic so it was kind of annoying. I got lots of strange looks from people for a while until I got it fixed."
"Then she stole my shoes," Jack replied.
"Not all of them, just the left ones," she corrected him. "And I hid them around the house. It took him weeks to find them all."
"That is hilarious," Jared said, laughing hard.
"And he got me back by doing that," Daphne continued, pointing at the screen and the photo. "I came back from set one day and found all of my bras and underwear tacked up like Christmas lights across the front of the house."
"That's really good," Graham laughed, looking at Jack. "But aren't you scared about what she'll do next? I mean, you did hang her knickers out for everyone to see."
"I haven't gotten him back yet, so it's actually fun to watch him squirm," Daphne said, nudging Jack playfully. He nodded in defeat.
"I'm waiting but I think I'll have to wait a bit longer because I think we've called a truce until we're back filming again," he replied.
"Eh, now, Jared Leto, I hear you've gotten a new tattoo, correct?" Graham asked, turning towards Jared.
"Yes, I do. It's the second part in a series I'm getting," Jared rolled up his sleeve on one arm to show off the design.
"And your fans have gotten some of the same ones, right?" Graham asked.
The crowd cheered and Jared gave them a smile. "They have. But I never encourage it. I'm of the belief that tattoos are personal and should be a personal journey, but I think it's awesome that we have such dedicated fans."
"Now, we've shown this before, Jack," Graham said, a wicked smile spreading across his face. "Your tattoo from 'Skins'."
Jack laughed and blushed a little, nervously rubbing his ear. "I don't think I'll ever live that one down."
An image popped up on the television screen behind Graham of Jack's ass with a set of female hands, manicure and all, grabbing his cheeks. The audience cheered loudly. Jared got up and examined the photo closer and looked at Jack.
"Is that real?" he asked with a laugh.
Jack shook his head. "God, no. They painted it on for my character," he laughed.
"But you do have several tattoos though, right?" Graham asked, holding his interview cards in front of him.
"I do indeed. Multiple," Jack confirmed, giving the audience a wink, to which they all swooned.
And Jared, Shannon, and Tomo, you all presumably have a few," Graham continued. "Yes, we can see Shannon's there on his neck."
Shannon smiled. "I kind of follow the same ideology that Jared does in terms of tattoos. I think they're a great art form that tell great stories."
"But Daphne, you have some as well, don't you? And they all have meaning?" Graham asked her.
"I do. I've got an elfish symbol for 'Rings', the lightning scar for 'Harry Potter', a cross for 'Risk', the Dharma Initiative logo for 'Lost', a smaller version of the pirate brand for 'Pirates', and a few others," she said, listing them off on her fingers. "But they're all small. I don't think I could do anything really big."
"But you just got one in memory of Heath, right?" Graham asked. The audience was silent in acknowledgement of the mention of the departed actor.
She took a deep breath. "Yeah, I did. I recently got a 'J' for him."
"Now, this should be interesting though, with Jared playing the Joker and you having worked with Heath before. Who do you think will give the better performance?" Graham asked.
Daphne sighed, biting her lip. She'd known this would come up in the questions after the announcement, but she hadn't quite prepared her for it.
"Honestly, we will have to wait and see. So far all I've seen are concept drawings and things on paper from Jared and David," she said. "We'll have to wait and see how things go with his performance to really tell. But I think they'll both be excellent performances in their own right and I think comparing them is like comparing apples to oranges. They're two completely different actors and they'll likely be two completely different versions of the same character."
"Jack what was your initial reaction to hearing you'd be working with Daphne," Graham asked.
Jack smiled at Daphne and took a sip of the water in front of him. "Obviously I was out of this world in excitement. I mean, she's a legend all to herself and to have the opportunity to even be in the same room as her is amazing, but to get to live with her for four months and see her every day and interact with her as much as I've been able to."
Daphne rolled her eyes at the praise he was heaping onto her. She gave him a joking smile.
"But seriously, Daphne, you're like Hollywood gold. Your films together have grossed over twenty-eight billion dollars. It's insanity," Graham said over the audience's applause.
"I guess that's what it is," she laughed. "I don't really pay attention to it. It's such an absurdly large number I can't even take it seriously."
"Not really when you consider you've been in many of the most profitable film series in cinema history," he looked at his cards. "'Lord of the Rings', 'Harry Potter', 'Pirates of the Caribbean', those are all massive."
"Yeah, I guess so," she laughed in slight embarrassment. "Like I said, I don't do it for the money or anything. I do it because I enjoy the characters. The commercial success is just an added bonus."
"But you had to know that 'Harry Potter' would explode," he asked her.
She shook her head. "Not really. I mean, we started filming 'Chamber of Secrets' literally days after the first one came out. So it could have been a flop and no more films could have been made. It wouldn't have been the first time books didn't translate when put into film."
"So this is the first time you've been on the show," Graham started, glancing at her and Jared, Shannon, and Tomo.
"Yeah, I can't believe I haven't been yet. I feel like with all the press I've done, I should have come here at least once," she replied.
"Well, you're here now," he replied with a laugh. "Now, I hear you've got another surprise for us here?" he asked, looking at Jack.
Jack nodded, leaning back against the sofa as he glanced at Daphne with a smirk. It was obvious the two of them had an incredible bond and the audience seemed to enjoy watching them interact. "We certainly do, Graham. Do you want to take it there, love?"
She smiled at him. "We come bearing gifts in the form of the very first look at the first season of 'Burnout'." The audience cheered wildly. "Vince saw how huge 'Breaking Bad' became over here, so he wanted to repay you all by giving you this little sneak peak."
"I rarely have to do warnings before we run clips, but-uh-if you don't like violence, you may want to look away," Graham said laughing. "Here it is, the first look at the much-anticipated 'Burnout'."