Actor in Hollywood

Heath had his own interpretation of the characters.

Indeed, from the perspective of the movie, only Evan has a clear narrative arc and character development. The other characters are presented in fragments because the film is essentially a small universe with Evan at its heart. The audience follows Evan as he repeatedly goes back in time to alter history, creating parallel universes.

However, from the characters' perspectives, even though they are passive, influenced, and changed by external forces, each one has their own storylines in these different parallel universes. Their anger or sadness, their transformation for better or worse, doesn't just happen out of nowhere. Even minor characters have their own worlds and narrative threads.

The butterfly effect touches every character.

Take Tommy, for example.

Originally, Tommy was solely focused on protecting Kayleigh, rejecting anyone who tried to get close to her, including their childhood friend Evan. This is why Evan and Kayleigh couldn't get closer in the original timeline.

Now, after Evan changes history and saves Kayleigh, their father channels all his anger and pain onto Tommy, pushing him into a hellish state that completely twists his mind. He becomes more violent and darker. Naturally, Kayleigh once again becomes his only lifeline—the only person who won't leave him and who has always been there for him.

So, when Tommy finds out that Evan and Kayleigh are together, he loses control.

He believes Kayleigh is about to abandon him. He thinks he's about to be left alone in the darkness and that without Kayleigh, he has nothing left to live for.

Heath's eyes suddenly brightened as a thought flashed through his mind.

"That phone call—it was from Tommy, wasn't it?"

In the scene they just shot, a phone call interrupted Evan and Kayleigh. Evan answered it, but there was silence on the other end.

Heath immediately connected the dots.

"Tommy heard Evan's voice, so he kept quiet."

"At the same time, Tommy heard Kayleigh say, 'Don't worry about him.' Even though Kayleigh had no idea who was calling, that statement became the final straw that broke Tommy."

"So, Tommy grabbed a baseball bat, intending to take Evan down with him."

In the script, Tommy's appearance is sudden and menacing; everything happens too fast, and the whole world spins into chaos.

One moment, Tommy is beating Evan half to death.

The next moment, Evan retaliates with a punch that kills Tommy.

To a typical audience, the drama keeps escalating with one tension-filled scene after another. Even if the logic and emotional connections aren't entirely clear, it doesn't matter much.

But as Anson mentioned earlier, these details and the spaces they leave for interpretation are crucial to the climax of the third act.

Heath was deep in thought.

So was Anson.

Heath had found the root of Tommy's emotional outburst, while Anson had noticed a missing detail in the critical turning point of Heath's narrative.

Anson said, "You know how difficult it is to kill someone with just your fists, right?"

Heath: ...?

Heath was momentarily puzzled, but then he caught on. "So in the movie, the final blow is Evan grabbing Tommy's bat and using it to finish him off."

Anson shook his head. "That's important, but that's not the main point."

Heath remained patient.

Anson continued, "From a script perspective, I can understand Evan losing control. On one hand, he fears that the happiness he fought so hard for is slipping away again. On the other hand, the near-death experience drives him to fight back without restraint."

"Plus, Tommy has made his life hell. He killed Evan's pet dog right in front of him, tortured his friend, and caused the death of an innocent neighbor and her child."

Mackey and Eric had indeed poured countless hours into the script, making sure there were no obvious plot holes. Every dramatic event is supported by a corresponding rationale, without a doubt.

Heath nodded lightly in agreement. "As you just said, shifting the blame to others, Tommy clearly bears significant responsibility."

So, Evan lost control.

But here—

Anson posed a question. "Is that enough to turn a mild-mannered and kind person like Evan into a violent killer? To make him beat Tommy to death with his bare hands?"

Heath was about to correct Anson—"baseball bat"—but Rachel spoke up. "No, it doesn't make sense."

Even though the final blow was dealt with a bat, if you consider the whole scene, Evan's madness in relentlessly pummeling Tommy with his fists until he's nearly dead, then finishing him off with the bat—how insane, how brutal, how cold-blooded must he be?

Returning to Anson's earlier question: How difficult is it to kill someone with your bare hands?

Heath glanced at Rachel, and they exchanged a quick look. Now they finally understood what Anson meant.

Indeed, from a script or film perspective, these minor details might not affect the audience's experience. Even they only noticed the discrepancy after peeling back layer after layer. Most viewers probably wouldn't catch it at all.

But if you could fill in these details, not only would the plot be more cohesive, but the characters would also become more complete.

It's like Anson and Rachel's scene—

Sure, everyone praised it; however, not everyone could pinpoint what made it so good. Yet, this kind of quality can elevate a film, making it more complete, even taking it to the next level.

Of course, that's not the director's or the screenwriter's job—it's the actor's.

So, what was Anson hinting at? How should an actor fully flesh out a character? What exactly drives a usually gentle Evan to lose his mind completely?

Thoughts whirled madly in Heath's mind.

Then.

Heath's eyes lit up—Tommy.

The answer, logically, should lie with Tommy.

Heath looked up at Anson, a look of eager excitement in his eyes.

"What if Tommy provokes him?"

Anson didn't speak; he just looked at Heath with a focused expression.

"Hey, let's make an assumption."

"Tommy is a madman. He has nothing left in this world. From the start, he came here with a mindset of mutual destruction."

"He's ready to kill Evan, without caring about his own life. Maybe he's even planning to kill himself or spend the rest of his life in prison."

"Later, Evan uses pepper spray to turn the situation around, completely overpowering Tommy. But Tommy doesn't care. He mocks and provokes Evan, driving him to the point of losing his mind and making a fatal mistake."

"In other words, Tommy uses his own death to completely destroy any chance of Evan and Kayleigh being together. He wants them to be forever burdened with guilt, leaving an indelible mark."

Hah!

Rachel gasped, looking at Heath in disbelief.

However, Heath was full of excitement and intensity as he gazed into Anson's eyes—

This way, not only would Evan's motivations and character be fully fleshed out, but Tommy's character would also become richer and more multidimensional.

Both Heath and Anson had a storm brewing in their minds. Thoughts about the characters, the plot, and the stories beyond the script seemed to come to life, growing wildly and unchecked.

Rachel noticed the madness in their eyes, and her heart skipped a beat:

Two madmen.