Chaske Spencer is probably best known for playing the alpha wolf, Sam Uley, in the Twilight films and he's using that to do good.Read our interview with Chaske's on-screen love interest Tinsel Korey (Emily)!
Despite being a part of one of the biggest franchises ever, the 36-year-old Native American actor is down-to-earth, friendly and actually spends a lot of his time doing charity work (and staying healthy). His latest project, "Let's Move! in Indian Country" helps to fight obesity on reservations by educating kids on being more active and eating right. He talked with Ology about the cause, his costars and what we can expect with Breaking Dawn.
Hi Chaske! Can you tell us about how you got involved with "Let's Move"?
My manager called and said they were doing "Let's Move for Indian Country" on reservations. And since I'm in Twilight and as a Native American actor in such a franchise like that, I like to use the spotlight to help out causes. So they called my manager, he gave me the info and I volunteered. I wanted to do this because teenage obesity is all over the country... and on reservations, it's just like any other place. It's the same thing. You know, help educate kids about what they put in their bodies when it comes to food and that exercise is very important, extremely important.
Did you experience any of these kinds of problems growing up?
It was really hard breaking those eating habits. And still is time to time. I don't cut myself off from carbs and sugars but I usually set a day aside where I can have those, but exercise is very important to me. So when I was a kid growing up, I was involved in sports and stuff, but there was always soda machines at our school. So I would have a Coke or a Pepsi or something. But my parents were pretty good about us eating right. I grew up in an age where we didn't have Nintendo. If it were around, it wasn't that big for me. I never owned any videogames. I wasn't inside my house a lot. I spent most of my time outdoors.
I know you had a vigorous exercise routine during Twilight. Now that filming is over, do you try to maintain that?
Yeah, just not so intensely. I do work out, but during those films, it was five days a week of intense training. Now I cut that back to probably three days a week. I gave up the cardio, but it's all diet as well. That's something I learned when I was getting in shape for The Twilight Saga was that it's 70 percent diet. It has a lot to do with what you eat. You can do thousands of crunches, but unless you're eating right, they're not going to show up on your body. But for me, I haven't hit the gym in probably about a month because I've been traveling a lot, but when I get home or I get to a place where I'm there for a period of time, I definitely find the nearest gym. But then again, I always go running. You don't need a gym to run, do pushups, situps or squats. So I've kept pretty fit.
Did you know what you were getting yourself into with these films?
Not at all (laughs). I didn't understand. First of all, I didn't know what Twilight was until I got the part and then after that, I knew we had our shirt off a lot so I'm glad Summit got us a trainer. And between films, I hired myself a trainer at Crunch gym. So I'd work out that way. I had to keep adding on more muscle so I could be bigger and bigger. I didn't want to be cut. I wanted mass. Like the guys you see in prison (laughs). Those guys, they're not models. That's what I wanted -- more like I could tear your head off.
Who would you say is the strongest in the wolf pack?
Let's see... I would go with... between Alex Meraz and [Taylor] Lautner. That's an interesting question. We never really did a strength test. I can lift a lot (laughs). I'm pretty strong. I don’t know. I don't know if we could do it now. We're all like tapering off the gym. I guess we should have done that during Eclipse during the height of our strength training.
Is it safe to assume that you've always been Team Jacob?
Yeah (laughs), I am Team Jacob. That's my boy. Lautner is a really nice guy. I have nothing but nice things to say about him. He's really cool.
You've stuck up for Kristen Stewart in interviews before. Why do you think the media is so hard on her?
I don't know why. People need to back off her. She's really a nice girl. I just don't think she's into the whole game. I kind of feel that way too in the sense that, "Why do I have to keep selling myself to the media to watch a movie? Why can't you just look at the work?" I think she does that and she's a really nice person. If you sit down and have coffee with her or chill out with her one-on-one or in a group, she's really a cool person. I tip my hat to her for not catering to the media. Because in the end, we're just actors. We like to work. We like to be other people. That's what we do. We're not celebrities. That's the thing. I don't think she wants to be a celebrity. She's not a reality show star. She's just a person who wants to work as an actress. People need to back off from her.
Right.
That's how today's culture [is]. We're surrounded by people who just want to know who you're dating and your personal life, and it's different nowadays then it was back maybe 15 years ago, almost 20 years ago. You were able to have a private life, do your work and people [could] judge you on that. I remember I didn't know sh*t about Sean Penn. I just knew he was a great actor. You didn't know about his personal life too much. Same thing with Tom Cruise and Val Kilmer. But nowadays, it's like you have to sell a part of your soul to launch a movie. I don't like that part. I'm really trying hard not to do it. But somedays, you just have to play the game and that just sucks.
So are you relieved that the whole thing is over now? I mean, the paparazzi and whatnot.
Well, I never had a problem with them because I'm not Lautner, Stewart or Pattinson. I really like the fact that I can be in this franchise, get some benefits out of it to launch my own career and still lie low under the radar. I really like that. Plus, watching all of that, I'm not really comfortable with it. That's why I do a lot of charity work because I can use that spotlight to focus on other things and help out. Because I really do believe in helping out and giving back. But it's not so focused on my personal life so I can fly under the radar.
Do you ever find yourself getting typecasted?
Not really. No. It's launched my career, but like I said, I like the fact that I'm not so in the spotlight where people typecast me as "the Twilight guy." They just see me as an actor. And I like the fact that I have four projects coming up and they're all different types of characters. I'm thankful for Twilight because it helped launch my career, but I don't feel like I have that pressure on me. I was working before this too. It was just Twilight was the one to put me on the map. I like the fact that I'm in the shadows.
Now you've done TV, film and theater. Where do you see your career heading?
I want to continue in film. It's just a better paycheck (laughs). I'm not opposed to theater. If I could do a really well-written play, I would love to do that, but I like working without a net. I really want to explore more film. I'm also producing movies too. I'm really fascinated with behind-the-scenes as well. I like to work, but I also want to see what it's like behind the camera. I'm glad I have those options. I'm very grateful for that.
So what's it like working with Tinsel Korey? I interviewed her and she's a sweetheart.
She's amazing. She's just a good person. All the wolf guys, you know, Julia, Tinsel, Alex, Bronson, Kiowa, Tyson, Boo Boo, Lautner, they're all really nice people. They are all down-to-earth people. I'm very grateful I got these people in my life because being around some of the Hollywood people -- I'm not talking about the Twilight people -- my adventures in Hollywood, some of the people aren't that nice, you know? A lot of the cast of Twilight, they're genuine people. You've got to remember, before this came out, they were all struggling actors and trying to make ends meet. And they still maintain that. So it's really nice to come into a franchise where the cast is just really humble. It's one of the most humble casts I've ever encountered.
Yeah, I've seen video interviews with you and some of the guys. You all seem very down-to-earth and lively.
We all have this philosophy like, "We're just along for the ride." That's it. That's all you can do. With life in general, you have no control over anything. You just go along for the ride.
If you go out together, do you say, "I'm going to hang out with the wolf pack"?
No! (laughs). We probably tease the sh*t out of each other, but no. We don't do that (laughs). We know who we are. They're my boys, my friends.
How do you guys not get sick? You are shirtless throughout every single movie.
Oh, we all did get sick. At one point, we we're all downing Vitamin C and trying to keep healthy. That's the one thing about "Let's Move" that I really like. I'm able to walk the walk because I really watch what I eat. I exercise. That changed our lives in a sense. Like Kiowa, Bronson and I, we're not gym rats. We try to keep in shape, but when we did Twilight, we had to really put on the muscle. So we all maintain that. That's a gift we've been given. You know, with Lautner and Alex, they were mixed martial artists. They had the body (laughs). It was kind of like, "Man, we got to keep up with those guys" (laughs).
Breaking Dawn comes out in November. What other projects do you have coming up?
I'm filming Winter in the Blood in August and that will probably be out later in the year. I really want to explore more independent movies because Twilight is so huge. It's really big. Big, mainstream movies are great. I love [them]. But as an actor, I get to explore more, work a lot more and stretch myself more with independent films. It's nice to go back down and really be an actor and work that way with independent movies, so I'll probably do a few of those. I'll see what happens. Like I said, I'm just along for the ride.
And do you think fans will be happy with this film?
I think they are going to be very happy with Breaking Dawn. Bill Condon, the director, is an amazing man. He's a very loving, caring director and he pays attention to detail. I think the fans are going to be very satisfied.
Great. Thanks for talking with us, Chaske!
Thank you.
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