Chaske Spencer facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Chaske Spencer
Spencer in 2011
Born	(1975-03-09) March 9, 1975 (age 49) Tahlequah, Oklahoma, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	2002–present

Chaske Spencer (pronounced Chess-Kay; born March 9, 1975) is an American actor. He gained prominence through his role as Sam Uley in the Twilight films (2009–2012). For his performance in the BBC and Amazon Prime series The English (2022), he was nominated for a British Academy Television Award.

Spencer's films include Shouting Secrets (2011), Winter in the Blood (2013), Desert Cathedral (2014), Woman Walks Ahead (2017), and Wild Indian (2021). He had recurring roles in the Cinemax series Banshee (2014–2016), the Amazon Prime series Sneaky Pete (2017–2018), and the NBC crime drama Blindspot (2019–2020).

Early life

Spencer was born in Tahlequah, Oklahoma and grew up in Montana, as well as Kooskia, Lapwai, and Lewiston, Idaho. He has two younger sisters. His heritage includes Lakota, Nez Perce, Cherokee, Muscogee, French, and Dutch. He is Lakota Sioux, enrolled with the Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of Montana through his mother.

Spencer graduated from Clearwater Valley High School in 1994, where he went by the name James Spencer. As a young teen, he started acting in productions at the Lewiston Civic Theater. Spencer attended college at Lewis–Clark State College for a year, and considered a career in photography. He eventually dropped out of Lewis–Clark State College to pursue his acting career.

Career

Spencer did odd jobs while taking acting lessons from coaches David Gideon and Ed Kovens. In 2002, he made his feature film debut as a young version of Eric Schweig's lead character in Skins. This was followed by further film roles in Dreamkeeper and Into the West.

In 2009, Spencer played werewolf Sam Uley in the Twilight sequel New Moon, based on Stephenie Meyer's novel of the same name. He reprised his role in Eclipse, Breaking Dawn – Part 1, and Breaking Dawn – Part 2. Spencer won two Best Actor accolades at the American Indian Film Festival for his performances in the 2011 film Shouting Secrets and the 2013 film Winter in the Blood. He also had a role in the 2014 film Desert Cathedral.

After playing Deputy Billy Raven in the 2014 spinoff web series Banshees Origins, Spencer reprised his role in the third season of the main Cinemax series Banshee the following year. In 2017, Spencer starred in the film Woman Walks Ahead, appeared in the film Walking Out, and had a recurring role as Chayton Dockery in the Amazon Prime series Sneaky Pete. He went on to have another recurring role as Dominic Masters in the fourth and fifth seasons of the NBC crime drama Blindspot.

Spencer starred in the 2021 thriller film Wild Indian, for which he was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award. That same year, it was announced he would star opposite Emily Blunt in the 2022 Western miniseries The English, produced for Amazon Prime Video and BBC One. For his performance, Spencer was nominated for the British Academy Television Award for Best Actor.

Personal life

..... He nearly gave up on acting before his agent called him to audition for New Moon, the sequel to Twilight.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

• Red Dead Revolver (2004), Various

Awards and nominations

See also

In Spanish: Chaske Spencer para niños