Reporters on the Job

• A Face Skinny Enough for TV: When reporter Andrew Miller went to interview American actor Jonathan Kos-Read, he was invited along to the set of a Chinese film Mr. Kos-Read was working on (see story). Before long, Andrew had a part, too.

"The director asked me if I wanted to be Lawyer No. 3. Amazingly, they found a suit that fit me perfectly," he says.

Andrew admits that he hasn't had an acting role since seventh grade, when he played Lysander in Midsummer Night's Dream by Shakespeare. Granted, that role was not a speaking part.

"I just sat there while they filmed me from different angles. I will probably be edited out. But it gave me new respect for acting and how difficult it is to produce authentic emotions under hot lights, itchy suits, and with make-up artists buzzing by every few minutes to add powder to your face," he says.

The film, directed by Gu Rong, is about an American architect (Mr. Kos-Read) competing with a Chinese architect for an Olympic contract. The Chinese architect has been falsely blamed for the collapse of a building. The American, sensing a rare opportunity, tries to win the bid. In the end, the Chinese architect prevails.

During another interview, Andrew spoke with a Chinese casting agent. She volunteered that his Mandarin was just about good enough for television, but not film. And, she said before inviting him to come back with a résumé, his face wasn't "too fat." "I guess some Westerners have faces that appear too plump on camera," says Andrew.

– David Clark Scott
World editor