Cross-Examination of Don Taylor

Written by Steven Zaillian and Richard Price for the Emmy-winning contemporary drama series The Night Of, this tense courtroom scene depicts a high-stakes cross-examination. Chandra questions Don Taylor about his stepdaughter, her inheritance, and their bitter legal battles. As the interrogation progresses, Chandra works to expose Taylor's financial motives and uncover the deeper friction behind a complex murder investigation.

Chandra is a driven young lawyer striving to establish control over an adversarial witness while building a precise legal narrative. She navigates the questioning with tactical calculation, masking her urgency behind courtroom procedure. Don Taylor is a weathered, guarded man in his forties or fifties fighting to maintain his composure under heavy suspicion. He deflects Chandra's pressure by offering measured admissions, careful not to reveal the full extent of his desperation or past hostility.

Legal cross-examinations provide exceptional audition material because the objectives are immediate, measurable, and loaded with dramatic conflict. This scene gives both actors room to demonstrate restraint, timing, and active listening without relying on shouting or theatrical melodrama. For the questioning attorney, it highlights intelligence and vocal command, while the witness gets to demonstrate subtext, evasiveness, and dangerous stillness under relentless cross-examination.

This two-person scene is an ideal choice for self-tape submissions, agent showcases, drama school auditions, and advanced scene study classes. It offers a prime showcase for a female performer playing a young professional in her twenties or thirties who wants to convey authority and legal precision. It equally serves character actors in their forties or fifties seeking an intense, complex, or villainous persona.

Resist the temptation to rush the back-and-forth dialogue; the power of this interrogation lives in the pauses between the questions. Chandra should remain focused on pulling specific information, treating every inquiry as another thread in a carefully constructed trap. For Taylor, avoid playing the answers as an overt villain. Find the plausible, self-justifying logic behind every response, making the legal combat a genuine battle of endurance rather than an immediate surrender.