Chapter Text
Daenerys Targaryen slipped out of a cab and ran across the empty side street to where her agent and best friend, Missy, was waiting for her at a table outside of a café.
“You’re late…” Missy chided, pushing a flat white towards Daenerys as the young blonde shrugged off her coat and draped it over the back of the wire chair.
“I’m sorry…” Dany apologized, “You know how ridiculous it is to get through Piccadilly Circus at this hour”.
Missy shook her head. No matter the validity of the excuse, Daenerys was always a bit late to everything. It was both endearing and annoying. “I’ve got something big for you”.
Dany looked over at her best friend, with her flawless skin and gorgeous tight curls, fanning out naturally like a halo in the morning light. They had met at University, both majoring in theatre. After a few plays, Missy realized acting wasn’t for her and switched to business. Since they were inseparable, they decided to combine what they were good at and work together.
In the past two years since graduation, Missy had landed Daenerys roles in a few daytime British soaps. Small parts, and she certainly wasn’t recognizable enough to be recognized on the street, but they were making some money.
“What is it?”
Missy pushed a clipped stack of papers towards her, “It’s a play…”
Shaking her head, Dany pushed it back, “You and I both know you don’t do theatre until you have a settled acting career. At least a B-list movie under your belt. I’ve only just started to break into television”.
“Dany, did you look at it? I had the man who is going to direct it at the Donmar in Covent Garden call me specifically asking for you to read it”.
Daenerys pulled the play back and ran her hand over the title page. The Blue Room. “I’ve heard of this…why does this seem so familiar?”
“We studied David Hare at Uni – he wrote this as an adaptation of Der Reigen by Arthur Schnitzler. It’s one of Hare’s lesser known works but it’s what catapulted Nicole Kidman to super-stardom in 1998. It hasn’t been performed in London since. And Tyrion Lannister is directing it. You know his brother is an agent for all of the top actors in Britain and Tyrion told me his brother is shopping it around right now. You could be in a play with bloody Idris Elba!” Missy was practically shrieking in excitement and a few older ladies enjoying their cuppas turned around to glare at them.
Daenerys sat back in her chair, overwhelmed with information. Now that Missy brought it up, she remembered briefly glancing over the play back then. It was scandalous – two actors, ten simulated sex scenes. But it did do wonders for Nicole Kidman’s career and cemented her in the collective psyche as both sexy and a serious actress.
“Why me?” Dany asked.
“Tyrion said he saw you in the sci-fi part you had last a few months ago in Dragon’s Lair and knew he wanted you. They want someone relatively unknown to pair with a more established actor for the other part”.
“Holy shit…”
“I know!”
Both girls looked at each other and broke into big grins.
“You know you are going to have to be partially naked in most of it…and kiss some most likely really hot guy and pretend to have sex with him, right? Just making that clear…” Missy bit her lip.
“Drogo is going to hate this”.
“Your boyfriend is the most confident, secure man I have ever met. It’s just a play”.
“Then call Mr. Lannister and tell him I’m in,” Daenerys took a sip of her coffee and started to thumb through the play, her heart fluttering at the new opportunity.
~o0o~
“Jorah Mormont, how the hell have you been?” Jaime Lannister threw his arms open as he walked towards the man entering his spacious office, “That gladiator movie you were just in pulled in what…65 mil opening weekend? Not bad!”
“Thanks to you…” Jorah said gratefully, embracing his agent before they moved towards the desk to talk business.
“I have a proposal for you. It’s a break from the big movies you have been doing, but…” Jaime took out the play from his desk. He had floated the idea to some of the other leading British men he represented, but both Idris Elba and Daniel Craig had turned it down because of scheduling conflicts. And, he guessed, because of the full-frontal nudity.
“The Blue Room. Wasn’t that the play with Nicole Kidman and Iain Glen?” Jorah asked. He had only been 18 when it was running in the West End, but he studied it at drama school for a brief moment. It was an odd little play, based on different sexual couplings and the power and emotional dynamics within each one.
“The very same,” Jaime said, wanting to broach it slowly, unsure of Jorah’s initial read on it, “And look at Iain now. He was right where you are now career-wise back then. Coming into his own, a few big films under his belt. Then he did this to really showcase his acting chops. And now he’s practically the new fucking Sean Connery”.
Jorah made a non-committal noise as he ran his hand through his gingery blonde hair, “I’m listening…”
“My brother is directing it, and you know everything he touches is successful nowadays. 15 shows. London only. With you starring in it, ticket prices will be ludicrous, and I can promise you fifty thousand pounds for the run of it”.
Jorah’s eyes darted to Jaime, “You know that’s not nearly enough.”
“It’s a play, Jorah. I know you are getting used to the film money, but as your agent, who wants to see you succeed, you need to take a different type of project. You’ll get critical reviews. I’m sure you’ll get nominated for an Olivier or something. If you keep doing action movies, you will get typecast.” Jaime was proud of Jorah’s career, but wanted to push him. He wasn’t London’s best agent for no reason.
Jorah looked down at his lap and sheepishly admitted again that it wasn’t enough.
“Lynesse already spent your last paycheck, didn’t she?” Jaime didn’t mean it to come out so judgmental, but from the glare that Jorah shot him, it clearly did. “Sorry…I, I’ll talk to my brother and I’ll see if we can offer you more. But please…give this a shot. It is a month of shows and a little more for rehearsal”.
Jorah couldn’t help but color that his friend and agent had seen through him so quickly. His wife liked to live above their already high means and now he knew this was no secret to everyone close to him.
But the lack of money wasn’t going to be the only thing his wife didn’t like about this.
“Is your brother keeping all of the male nudity in it?” Jorah asked.
“He’s planning to.” Jaime eyed Jorah carefully. He could see the actor was just on the verge of agreeing.
“Well…fuck it. Sure,” Jorah laughed, and Jaime crossed his arms, leaning back in his desk chair with a satisfied smirk on his handsome face. “Do you have the actress cast?”
“Tyrion reached out to her agent and we are just waiting to hear back. I’ll give you a call when everything is settled, and we can get started with rehearsals. It’s going to move fast – Tyrion wants this opening the first weekend of November”.
“Then I’ll wait for your call”.