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
During his teens, Spencer had struggles with substance abuse and alcoholism. He continued to drink heavily during his college years. He later developed an addiction to cocaine and heroin, and checked into rehab. While in rehab, Spencer stopped taking drugs. 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

References

External links

Chaske Spencer - MIPtalk.com Interview

1975 births
Living people
Lakota people
People from Tahlequah, Oklahoma
American male film actors
American male television actors
American male voice actors
Native American male actors
People from Lewiston, Idaho
American people of Cherokee descent
American people of Dutch descent
American people of French descent
Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes people