Chaske Spencer Talks About The BBC’s The English Drama Series

Out For Revenge

The English is a new Western drama co-produced by the BBC and Amazon and here’s one of its stars Chaske Spencer talking about it…

Can you describe The English?

I would describe The English as an action-adventure, romantic, revenge story. It’s an adventure, but I think everyone who watches it will pull something out of it. The characters are very real – and there’s also a history there as well, so I hope the audience enjoys it.

How did you come to be part of this project?

I auditioned and had a session with Hugo and Emily. They were very fun scenes to do because, once I read them, I got how the language and the dialogue was going to be in a rhythm. I was very nervous – I think I told them that – and they decided to take a chance on me.

My own personal experience as a Native American played a lot into this character. I tried to bring that to life and to represent him as genuinely as I possibly could. As a Native American man, and an actor and artist, it’s pretty rare to be a lead in a project like this. I have to say I had amazing support from Hugo, Emily, the crew – it made me feel comfortable to take risks in this character.

What attracted you to the character of Eli Whipp?

What attracted me to Eli was his past – exploring that side of American history and the plight of Native Americans. The English hits on that, and you see it through the eyes of Eli.

I like that Eli is a warrior type and very masculine. It’s a beast of a role. To me, I saw him as a modern- day biker, an ex-veteran. Someone who has seen war and been through tragedy. If Eli were alive today, he would be riding a Harley Davidson with a big beard and tattoos, and he probably would have met Cornelia at a truck stop. When I was reading through this, my imagination was going with that, and I hope I can represent that in him, because I do see him as an ex-vet. He suffers from PTSD and loneliness, and throughout the story you see those walls start coming down – with both characters, Cornelia and Eli. That’s what I wanted to bring to Eli, to make him as human as possible. I had great help from Hugo and Emily with that process.

Was there anything that surprised you about the period of history portrayed in the script?

What surprised me about what I found in the scripts is the Pawnee scouts, and how proud they were. That’s a subject that I wasn’t too aware of, and never read about in the history of Native Americans. I was exploring that aspect of the character and trying to find a correlation where I can relate to that. They had a long history of being very proud of their country and I wanted to make sure that I honoured that in the character and for the Pawnee tribe.

What was your favourite moment from the series, and why?

There was one night when we had the first exchange from Eli to Cornelia at the beginning of episode one. When we were filming that, it was a full moon. It was a very surreal moment for me. It’s been a long journey to get The English made, especially when the Covid pandemic was going on – we didn’t know if it was going to happen or not – and I gave acknowledgement to the film gods, or whoever makes this thing work, to absorb what we’re doing and the beginning of the journey of filming. That was a very significant moment for me.

Is this your first starring role in a Western?

Yes, it is. It was fun – it’s an adventure, but it’s definitely hard work. When I was growing up, I watched a lot of Westerns. I’ve always wanted to play a role like the strong silent type – the Clint Eastwood, the Charles Bronson, the Gary Cooper. Most of my career, I’ve been a character actor, a supporting actor. Being a lead in this, it’s a different type of acting style than I’ve ever done. It was stepping out of my comfort zone to play a role like this.

Can you tell us more about your character and what drives him?

What I feel drives Eli in this story is peace. He just wants to go home. In my own interpretation of the character, I think he was going home to heal, and to say goodbye to the demons that had been driving him his whole life up to that point. I think Cornelia coming into his life also helped him bring the walls down and start the process of healing. For me, Eli is a damaged man, a man of many demons. At the end of the day, I think he just wants peace.

Can you tell us about some of the wonderful locations you’ve been shooting in?

While filming The English, I was very taken aback by the locations we were filming at. There were times I had to take a step back, and I actually thought I was in New Mexico or Wyoming. It felt like we’d lived in this landscape for 20, 30 years.

What are the challenges of making a Western?

The hardest part about a Western is the elements. You’re in the hot sun, the dust, the horses. The animals will never do exactly what you want them to do, so it’s a lot of patience, a lot of time, and you have to go with it. Some things are out of your control and all you can do is show up on the day and on that moment and deliver a good performance.

What’s the best advice you’ve ever received as an actor?

The best advice I ever heard someone say was that, as an actor, you have to be the calm centre. There’s a lot of moving parts on a set, and at the end of the day they’re all waiting on you to deliver your line, hit your mark. When I work, I always remember that.

Describe your character, Eli’s, relationship with Cornelia.

I like the chemistry and the dialogue between Eli and Cornelia. We both come from very sad backgrounds and both of them are on their own separate journey. While they’re going on this journey, they have self-discoveries as well. The country is built on blood. Watching these two characters go through this adventure through the wild west, they develop a relationship of trust, of respect, of love, and I hope the audience will see that.

Could you describe your experience working with Emily and the other members of the cast?

Working with this amazing cast on The English is one of the best experiences I’ve ever had in my life as an actor. I look at Emily as a morale booster, a beautiful human being inside and out, a leader. She’s very patient and very kind. As we worked on scenes together, I’d get caught just watching her in awe of how she would bring such genuine performances to Cornelia.

I’ve been a fan of Stephen Rea forever. You learn a lot from working with actors at the top of their game. We have a wonderful cast of British actors, Canadian actors, American actors. I think Hugo Blick did an amazing job in casting everyone in this series. Everyone came ready and passionate about the writing of Hugo Blick. It was very fun to play in that sandbox with the amazing cast.

What is it about Hugo’s writing and directing style that makes his production stand out from the rest?

What I found about the script, and Hugo’s writing, is the rhythm and flow of the dialogue – you can tell it’s written by an actor. The rhythm between all the characters feels real, and there’s some great Western lines in there. They’re very classic lines. I like that, in some scenes, Eli doesn’t have to say much – not because I don’t want to memorise lines – because sometimes as a character you can have more emotion and explain a scene with just behaviour and eyes. I’ve never done that before, so it was challenging. I found that after reading each episode, I just couldn’t wait to film.

Can you tell us a bit about your costumes? Did you give any input in the fit and design?

What I loved about working with wardrobe and with Phoebe de Gaye is her attention to detail. Going into hair and makeup, and with wardrobe, the character came to life through wardrobe fittings. When I first talked to her, I knew right away that it was going to be a very fun process. She was asking my input on things – what felt right, and what felt right to the character. When I put the costume on at the beginning of my day, that’s when I feel Eli comes to life. That’s all wardrobe’s work. They met me in the middle to create this character.

Why do you think it is important to tell the story of The English now?

People who turn on and watch are going to find elements in this story that they relate to, and just be able to tune out the world for an hour and go on this adventure with these characters. By the end of each episode, hopefully they’ll want more and more, and get lost in this.