Chaske Spencer

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.