New Chaske Interview

A Twilight Journey - an interview with Twilight star Chaske Spencer by Gabrial Canada

It is a long journey from the Northern Cheyenne and Nez Perce reserva- tions of Chaske Spencer’s childhood to the red carpet premiers filled with screaming fans in Hollywood and across the globe. A journey through the games of Hollywood, and one that saw Chaske in jail and confronting addiction on a path where he saw death looming in front of him. One constant for Chaske on his journey has been his traditional beliefs which helped him find his center through fame garnered as Sam Uley on the set of Twilight and the harrowing time he spent in jail in New York. Chaske took the time to discuss his journey with us, starting with the whirlwind of the last year and what his current projects are.

Chaske Spencer: I just finished a movie called Shouting Secrets. I’m pretty proud of that one. We did it in Globe Arizona and I really liked the story. I found out that the script is also written by Steven Judd who is a native American screenplay writer and very talented. It was first written for a Dutch family and they were trying to get it financed and for some reason they switched over to a Native American family and I did not know that when I first read it, so it doesn’t really read as a Native American movie. It is like a family movie and the people just happen to be Native American. It was a different twist on things. It was totally a movie written for a Dutch family and you know it just interested me. I really like the character I play.

Chaske Spencer, star of the Twlight Saga: New Moon and Eclipse, is of predominantly Native American origin. His first major role was in the 2002 film Skins, This led to roles in Dreamkeeper, and Into the West. Spencer played werewolf Sam Uley in New Moon, based on Stephenie Meyer's novel n October 2009 he finished filming Eclipse, again playing Sam. Twlight Saga, Breaking Dawn, is

in the pre-production stage..I finished that project and I’m gearing up to do Breaking Dawn in November. I think we’re shooting through March. After that I’m gearing up doing Winter in the Blood, the James Welch

Novel, with Andrew and Alex Smith who did the Slaughter Rule. Gabrial Canada: Sounds like a lot on your plate this year as well.

CS: Yeah. (Laughter). Yeah and then my production company gets started on The Block after that. I guess I do four movies back to back to back to back.

GC: Can you tell us more about your production company and it's new project The Block?

CS: The Block is about a writer who has a block and the only way he can cure the circumstances he’s in is by killing people. He finds that the more people he kills, the more he has to write about and it becomes an addiction. It’s very dark and it’s not like any character I’ve ever played. I really like the script. Ted Cordallia, one of my production partners, brought the script to me. He had done Tigerland, Phone Booth, and Once Upon A Time in America, so he’ s a pretty heavy hitter. We had a few meetings, ate dinner and lunch together, and I guess he was really feeling me out and fortunately we hit it off and he brought me the part. The things that I’m really excited about for it is that it’s my first production for my production company, Urban Dreams. So

a first for Josselyn, Ted, and me working together.

GC: Do you feel your projects, especially the success of the Twilight franchise, are opening eyes in Hollywood? Or at least convincing them to make more contemporary roles available for native

actors?

CS: Well yes and no. Hollywood has a very short memory. I still have to struggle. I’m still getting roles geared towards Native Americans but they’re not that great scripts so I have to navigate and find out what I really want to do. I have to see if the character is right and the story is right because I want to keep challenging myself as an artist. I have to be picky and it’s hard to find good roles and good scripts. I think that’s why there's a lot of crap being made out there in Hollywood, but I think there are great stories and movies out there in the

independent film world and I think that’s the way to go. Plus Twilight is so huge I don’t know where I could go or a bigger movie I could be in. I like the fact that I can somewhat control my career and not always be a product of Hollywood because it is a game as well as a business there. Also I want to make stories and movies not just for natives. I don’t want this to be just a Native American production company. It’s not about that it’s about finding talent and stories that appeal to me and hopefully help other artists as well.

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xoxo
Carrie