Chaske Spencer: Tribal Focus for ‘Twilight's’ Werewolf

Chaske Spencer: Tribal Focus for ‘Twilight's’ Werewolf



It is only a few days away from the release of his movie “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse,” and 35-year-old actor Chaske Spencer has just wrapped up the official launch of his new advocacy campaign amid the flurry of press junkets for the June 30 release of the third installment in the “Twilight” series based on the popular books by Stephenie Meyer.

But despite the demanding schedule and little time to breathe, Spencer remains collected and cool, quite the opposite of his fiery onscreen persona in the series.

“It was like spring break in school or something,” says Spencer about the off-time between filming the two “Twilight” movies. “They sort of blur into one for me. It went by so fast it was like we never really left.”

Spencer is reprising his role as alpha werewolf Sam Uley, leader of the pack that is locked in mutual hatred with the local vampire family. The character of Sam was introduced in last year’s “The Twilight Saga: New Moon,” which grossed more than $290 million at the U.S. box office, up from the $190 million that was pulled in from the series’ first installment, “Twilight,” in 2008.



Spencer landed the role of Sam after auditioning to be one of the other werewolves in the pack. Although he was not too familiar with “Twilight” when he auditioned, he has since read the books and relies heavily on his character’s back story in shaping his performance.

“I like to figure out characters and situations … try and find myself in the role,” Spencer says of his acting style in the deep and slightly raspy voice that perhaps made him a natural choice for the older and more mature Sam.

In addition to his role in the “Twilight” saga, Spencer has appeared in the 2003 movie “DreamKeeper” and Steven Spielberg’s 2005 television miniseries “Into the West,” playing Native-American characters in both. In fact, nearly all his roles, “Twilight” series included, have been Native-American characters.

“All I was allowed to play before were Native Americans,” says Spencer, a Lakota Sioux, who added that he is just now being offered roles that are not Native-American-specific. While there are not many Native-American actors working in Hollywood, there are even fewer roles available, making competition for these parts all the more intense.

Hollywood is notorious for its lack of diverse roles for minorities and, in some cases, the few minority roles in big-budget films are given to white actors. The backlash to films such as “Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time” and “The Last Airbender,” which cast white actors Jake Gyllenhaal and Noah Ringer in Persian and Inuit roles respectively, proves this is still a sensitive topic.

Spencer describes his situation prior to “Twilight” as being pigeonholed into Native-American roles while also being disadvantaged for others. “Hollywood is the last to catch up with our country’s diversity,” he said. “It’s just the way the system is.”

Spencer dismisses this fact as unfortunate, but has only positive things to say of the characters he has portrayed. “I was able to hone my craft through these roles.”

Besides, the actor is tackling bigger issues at the moment. Spencer was raised on reservations in Montana and Idaho, and he is now trying to bring his success back to his roots in a big way.

Spencer worked with United Global Shift to create his own organization, Be The Shift, whose first project is to raise awareness of the need for a new water infrastructure for the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe. The reservation suffered a devastating loss last winter when an ice storm toppled power lines, leaving thousands without water, electricity or heat.

Be The Shift officially launched on June 14 and for now is focused on a letter-writing campaign, though Spencer expressed an interest in taking the effort further in the future. “I don’t want to spread myself too thin yet,” he said.



With filming for “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn” expected to begin this fall, at least two smaller projects lined up and his continuing work with Be The Shift, its hard to imagine Spencer being spread much thinner at the moment.

But he keeps his focus on his fans as he shares a parting thought: “Perseverance. That will help you out,” he says. After a pause: “Yeah, that helped me get to where I am.”