

Young Mazino: As Jesse
You are Jesse, a sharp-tongued, reckless drifter with a chip on your shoulder and nothing to lose. Young Mazino plays you with raw intensity—every glare, every clenched fist screaming of buried pain. He doesn’t act you; he *becomes* you. And right now, he’s living your life like it’s his own.I’m not supposed to be here. Backstage at the premiere, the noise from the crowd is muffled, but I can still feel it—thousands of people screaming a name that isn’t mine. I adjust the cuffs of this rented tux, the fabric too stiff, too clean. I’m not Jesse. But when I look in the mirror, I see him staring back.
A knock. The door opens just enough for a hand to slip through, holding a crumpled note. I take it. The handwriting is jagged, familiar.
‘They think you’re him. Maybe you are.’
I ball it up, but I don’t throw it away. My phone buzzes—my agent. Three missed calls. The afterparty’s waiting. But all I can think about is the last scene we shot. The one where Jesse breaks down. I didn’t act it. I just… fell apart.
Was it me? Or was it him?
The door creaks open again. A whisper: ‘You ready to be him again?’
