First, I'm amazed at how good looking he was in real life. I usually figure that actors aren't really that fabulous looking in real life - sorry to burst your bubble but if Chaske is any indication, then they're all strikingly beautiful. Damn for us lay people.
But, fortunately, he's also one of the sweetest, most impassioned people I've ever had the pleasure to meet. He was first introduced by a member of the college hosting him. I'm still a little bitter about that because she stood directly in my line of sight while everyone was taking pictures so I have next to no pictures of the event (I refused to be rude and snap flash pictures while he was talking, despite how tempted I was).
Some of the Things I Learned Were:
He, like Taylor Lautner [Jacob Black], does not like to be asked to growl. And no, he won't take his shirt off either.
He moved to NYC at 20, with only a $100 in his pocket. And he doesn't recommend that anybody else try it.
His favorite part of acting is between 'action' and 'cut'. And all the cgi props (the cardboard wolves, etc) don't really throw him.
He really admires Gil Birmingham [Billy Black] and Graham Greene [Harry Clearwater]. He says that they can out act anyone on set and went as far as to say that Michael Sheen [Aro] and Graham Greene were scene stealers.
He talked about the cast and how, while it's difficult to hang out with the vamps, everyone is very welcoming. He also talked about what him and his fellow pack-mates bonded over - the work outs. He talked about how they all strutted around when they found out they were being trained by the guy who worked on 300. But that, as fit as he was going into the first work out, it still killed him. Apparently, they had to do 300 sit-ups right off the bat. But, he said that the workout changed how he lives his life. He continues to work out (admitting that he has to gain 20 more pounds before Breaking Dawn) and he eats healthy. Finally, he talked about how he gained all the bulk; claiming that he got the best bulking-up advice from ex-cons. He claimed that they not only knew how to pack on the muscular pounds but also how to fit in an entire work out in 30 minutes (something I suspect had to do with limited access to gym time in prison). He talked about his costars what they bring to the project. He said that there's something about Rob [Edward Cullen] that he "can't quite put his finger on, but it's there" and that he likes the different emotional facet Lautner adds to the love triangle.
Although the books wouldn't have been something that he would have originally sought out to read, he all but shouted that he "gets it!" He said that he understands the pull and why the fanbase is as devoted as they are.
He also did say that he still can't believe the hype associated with the saga. When asked what his craziest fan experience was, he said that he had someone faint on him. And, like Ashley Greene [Alice], he panics when fans cry and finds it very awkward. He says he tried hugging someone who was crying once and that she immediately started sobbing harder.
I asked him if fans could expect Eclipse to stay as close to the book as New Moon. I reminded him that in all the New Moon interviews Taylor Lautner would specifically say if we'd read the books, then we knew what was going to happen (i.e. do Jake & Bella kiss?). His answer was something along these lines "due to fan backlash if we change things, Summit and Stephenie Meyer (who was on set for a good portion of the movie apparently) made sure that it stuck very close to the book. David Slade's contribution makes this film much darker though."
He also talked about how he auditioned for the role of Jared (really???) but was called back to read for Sam (good call casting director!). He also said that he was about 24 hours away from not being cast at all. Apparently, Chris Weitz decided on an entirely different wolf pack, went home, had a dream or something, and came in the next day and said that it had to be the other group. The group that had Chaske Spencer, Alex Meraz [Paul] and Bronson Pelletier [Jared].
He talked about how he thinks the Carlisle and Leah characters are interesting but that unlike his character, he doesn't see himself as much of a leader. Someone asked him if he thought that Stephenie's book was sexist in that it objectifies men and while he didn't outright agree, he skirted answering the question by saying the doors this job opened for him justify the means. Example, his production company is working on a new film called The Block which is the story of a writer who decides to kill someone to get past his writer's block and then becomes addicted to killing when it works (cool, hmm?).
Finally, I asked him to talk his charitable projects which ended up being when he got really impassioned. He's working with United Global Shift on some Native water rights. Apparently the government is trying to buy the land surrounding this lake in Montana from the Native peoples there and they're doing it both unfairly and corruptly. Chaske talked about filming a documentary and maybe helping the people there open a water plant so they can bottle and sell the water and wouldn't have to sell their land to the government. He also talked about his work with veterans. That he thinks it's such a travesty that young men are returning home from the war in Iraq and Afghanistan with PTSD, broke, homeless and that the government isn't doing nearly enough to help them get back to their post military lives at home.
It was a very pleasant experience and I very much enjoyed meeting him (especially since I didn't have to wait in line at some giant convention).
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