Chaske Spencer Talks Twilight and Videogames

Chaske Spencer Talks Twilight and Videogames
The leader of the Wolf Pack on his earliest gaming memories and what a Twilight game must have.



July 1, 2010 - Native American actor Chaske Spencer is best known to Twi-hards as Sam Uley, the leader of the Wolf Pack in the Twilight films New Moon and Eclipse. The actor actually parlayed his first big breaks in the movies Skins and Dreamwalker into the roles of Shadow Wolf and Chief Running Moon in Rockstar Games’ original Red Dead Revolver. Today, Spencer is known by millions as the protector of Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner) in the blockbuster film franchise. Spencer took some time out of his busy schedule – he’s already preparing to get back into shape for The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – to talk about the film phenomenon and his own videogame background in this exclusive interview.

I saw you worked on Red Dead Revolver. What was it like working on that videogame?

Chaske Spencer: I had a good time doing it. Just sit in a sound booth and do some grunts and groans and say a few lines here and there. It was great.

The sequel, Red Dead Redemption, recently shipped and has become a critical and commercial success. Have you tried that out?

Chaske Spencer: I see signs for that game [as I'm driving around L.A.]. I’ll probably play it. My cousins have all the stuff. I’ll sit down and they’ll shoot my a**, but they’re fun to play.

I guess you guys don’t have much time when you’re on set to play games on anything?

Chaske Spencer: No, we don’t, but I guarantee if a Twilight game came out, we’d probably all play it. Just for s*** and kicks, you know?

It seems like with such a young cast, they probably play games anyway.

Chaske Spencer: Yeah. Some of them do. Like Kiowa Gordon. I know Kiowa does.

And what’s your own background? What videogames did you play growing up?

Chaske Spencer: I played Double Dragon. I liked Pac-Man. I was very good at Pac-Man. I played Super Mario when it was out. And Street Fighter was great.

Do you have a favorite videogame memory when you were a kid?

Chaske Spencer: Yeah. A bunch of us, my four friends and I, would get together and we’d pretend we were in this racecar. We’d take turns playing. It was Pole Position, and so we would have marathons and drive-offs. And we used to play Double Triple, too, and have tournaments with that game.

What are your thoughts about what they’re doing today when it comes to videogames?

You know, I do not play videogames today. I don’t know why. My roommate is always playing games. I’ve seen God of War 3 and that is pretty cool. It’s amazing how far games have come. The special effects are amazing. I still know how to play the games, at least the basic way. But I usually just watch people play because the games look so cool now.

If you were in charge and you could make a videogame based on Twilight, how would you envision that being when you have the werewolves squaring off against the vampires?

Chaske Spencer: It’d be blood. I’d want all blood.

And when it comes to this new film, Eclipse, it seems like a movie that actually will appeal to the boyfriends and the husbands that may have been dragged into the first two Twilight movies.

Chaske Spencer: Well, in the third film there’s a lot more action. It’s definitely a little darker, too. You have the new director going in, and what I like about it is it’s not like a real Twilight craze, but a bit different. I just saw the screening four weeks ago and was really impressed by it. I was real impressed by the first five minutes of it. It’s just a different movie altogether.



What are your thoughts on the new visuals for the wolfpack transformations in Eclipse?

Chaske Spencer: It’s amazing and I like – I shouldn’t use the word amazing. It’s kind of boring. Phil Tippett is a badass. I like what he’s done with the werewolves. They look very real, and it’s our eyes. They use our own eyes.

What’s it like for you to be part of what has become this huge phenomenon?

Chaske Spencer: It’s definitely very exciting and exhausting and surreal for the three who are affected.

How has your life changed? Do you get noticed a lot out in public?

Chaske Spencer: Well, right now, I’m in the middle of security at LAX and no one seems to know who I am. But sometimes, yeah. Baseball caps and sunglasses do wonders.

What has your interaction with the fans been like?

Chaske Spencer: Very supportive. They’re really cool. They’re very die-hard. They call them Twi-hard and they have their own army. They’re pretty cool.

Is there a wolfpack story that you can share from the set of Eclipse?

Chaske Spencer:Yeah. It was the campfire scene when we’re all sitting there – and it’s raining – black Friday and there were horrible conditions. We were there until the break of dawn on that shoot. The shooting is real tough, but we all had a good time. We all started throwing a football around and the boys started playing in the rain and mud.

It seems like filming up in Vancouver with that climate can be challenging.

Chaske Spencer: Yes, it is, especially when you don’t have a shirt on.

Which you guys hardly ever do.

Chaske Spencer: No.

And I heard you guys may be filming somewhere a little bit warmer for Breaking Dawn?

Chaske Spencer: I don’t know where we’re filming. I have been on the road these past three months, so I hear we’re in a warmer climate and then I hear somewhere else. So I really don’t know yet.

Well, based on the book, it seems like you guys would be in some different areas than we’ve seen in the past.

Chaske Spencer: Yeah. Yeah. It’s interesting. We’ll see how it works out.

What are your thoughts about going back to set and getting to be involved in not one but two new movies with Breaking Dawn?

Chaske Spencer: I’m very excited. I go to my trainer in August. I start working on my body again, and I’m pretty excited about it. I’m gaining more weight for this role. I gained 15 pounds for New Moon. It’s a fun set. It’s fun to be on.

How do you prepare to become a werewolf?

Chaske Spencer: First I read the books. I read New Moon and Eclipse. I haven’t read Breaking Dawn yet, but I will in August. What I found helped out a lot was the workouts. That’s what really helped introduce the characters and create that bond with the other guys. We spend all of our free time during filming working out.

Do you guys have any other type of training or fighting that you do for these movies?

Chaske Spencer: No. It’s all CG. We just have to look good, I guess. All that studying of Shakespeare and all that stuff is just a drop in the hat.

What would you say to a guy who hasn’t picked up a book or watched any of these movies yet as maybe advice to try to get into the Twilight franchise?

Chaske Spencer: Do it, man. These girls will love you.