EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: New Moon Star Chaske Spencer Reveals Wolf Pack Tattoo Secret
Sept. 11 2009, Published 9:35 a.m. ET
In part two of Breaking Celebrity News's exclusive interview with Chaske Spencer, best known as Sam Uley in New Moon, the second film in the Twilight Saga, the actor opens up about his chemistry with his beautiful co-star Tinsel Korey, what a pro Kristen Stewart is, and even what he thinks the werewolf tattoo means!
Radar: When you first booked the role how long did you have to keep it under wraps?
Spencer: Oh my God, maybe about a month a month and a half. I didn't tell anybody.
Read part one of our exclusive interview with Chaske Spencer
Radar: Was it hard?
Spencer: It was hard. It was really hard because I told my friends I got booked on a pilot so I would have an excuse to go to Vancouver. I told them yeah, I booked a pilot and I'll be up there for a little while. I told my parents the same thing.
Radar: You didn't even tell your parents?
Spencer: No, I didn't tell my parents at all. I didn't tell anybody. I kept it pretty close. It was really cool, I guess that's how the guys in the Wolf Pack really bonded, because we couldn't tell anyone so we just talked about it amongst ourselves. All the excitement and what we're going through, the workout. I guess that's how we bonded, the workouts and plus it's like a brotherhood of secrecy, so we had to keep this big secret and we just talked. It was good to vent to one and other and bounce ideas off each other. It was really hard, it was really hard. The paparazzi got us in a restaurant, they took our picture with Chris Weitz and Taylor. Then about a few days later it came out and I got to tell all of my friends. They were like whoa, man, what's up Spence, why didn't you say anything? My mom and dad, they were just excited.
Radar: You are a member of the Sioux Nation?
Spencer: I'm Lakota Sioux.
Radar: Being a member of a First Nation do you feel like that helped you bring a lot of depth to the character?
Spencer: Yes, yes I do. Of course, it's written for First Nation people or Native Americans or American Indians, whatever the new pc word is. It helped out a lot. But then again, the way the book is written isn't a stereotypical Native role. That's what I found really interesting about the Twilight series is that it could have been anybody. It just happened to be Natives and I like that, I really like that how she took a contemporary outlook on these characters. It was really a breath of fresh air for all of us, the Native actors. We've been trudging away in films, TV and theater and we can do other roles, we have done other roles that weren't designed for Native people but no one has ever seen them. When we got to this is was so nice to not put on the feather and the leather and the buck skin. There's nothing wrong with that, I take pride in the roles I've played but it was just a breath of fresh air to say that yes we could play these contemporary roles. It was so nice to cut the hair too, yes we can do other things, look at us, and we're a pretty good talented group.
Radar: How is your on screen chemistry with Tinsel Korey?
Spencer: She's a sweet heart, I love that girl. What we did was we went out for coffee and we talked to build some chemistry to sit and get to know one and other. When we got to filming it went really well, it went really easy. Of course, you meet someone and the next day you're kissing them. It's a weird profession. You can't fake it. She's one of my really good friends, I call her up. I can put her on my top five actually. I text Alex and Kiowa, we talk to each other because we're all going through this together. Tinsel I like her because I can talk to her in ways that I can't talk to the other guys. It's almost like we are becoming that family in the book. Tinsel is a good actress and a talented, talented woman. I like her music. We would just hang out and talk, go to dinner, shoot the breeze.
Radar: What about the first time you saw Tinsel with the scar? How did you feel about that?
Spencer: She's a really beautiful woman and when you put that scar it just adds this depth to her. It's horrendous; they did a really good job. It really ads so much to her character, because you really look inside her eyes and you can see the beauty inside her eyes, and that's what she brings to Emily. So when we did the scene it was just magic happening there that hopefully the audience will see. She really brought a lot and the scar helped out.
Radar: Tinsel had said that Kristen was really shocked by the scar, what was it like to film with the whole group, Kristen and Taylor?
Spencer: It was really good. Everyone has a different way of working; I learned that a