Check out our interview with The CW “Family Law” actor Spencer Lord, who returns to his recurring role for Season 3 opposite acting legends Jewel Staite and Victor Garber.
In this legal drama, Spencer plays Aiden Walsh, the firefighting love interest to Jewel Staite’s “Abby”. Recently, Spencer also joined the cast of the long-running series Heartland for Season 17, which aired in the winter of 2023.
Follow Spencer @spennylord
Hi Spencer, please tell us a little about yourself.
Well, I was born upside down out of my mom. One thing led to another and next thing you know, I’m a thirty-year-old human man. Life’s funny sometimes.
Describe yourself in three words.
Silly. Sometimes Serious.
How did you get started in acting?
Made a series of good, bad, and ugly decisions that landed me in a profession that I just wasn’t suited for. Then a foolish little lightbulb went off and I realized my path to happiness would begin with upending my whole life to become a waiter in a restaurant while I took my first acting classes. Luckily it seems to be panning out (fingers crossed emoji)
How has this changed your life?
I think for the better? One thing I know for sure is that when I gave up my career as an engineer and started acting I was suddenly happy. I learned to trust that feeling: something makes me happy, I follow it.
What is the best and worst part of being an actor?
Best part? Meeting all the unique cast and crew members and making weird friends.
Worst part? Being a tortured soul.
How do you prepare for a role?
I always read the material over and over and over, until it lives in me somehow. Sometimes it’s finding music. Sometimes there’s a lot of material to work with because the character is a historical figure, so there’s an opportunity to really dive into researching everything you can about that person. It’s always different. But the most important thing is knowing the material and showing up to set relaxed and ready to play.
Tell us about your work in Season 3 of the popular CW series “Family Law?”
My character Aiden is a boy in a man’s body who fights fires for a living. He also happens to be on a quest for the big love when his world collides with that of a sexy lawyer lady (Jewel Staite) and they explore a life together while she fights her own fires in the courtroom.
And about your work in the long-running series “Heartland” for Season 17?
I play a sensitive cowboy rediscovering his old life on his father’s ranch and reconnecting with friends from his past. He’s good at what he does, but he has to balance keeping his ranch profitable and maintaining a healthy relationship with his neighbors. In the meantime he starts to become acquainted with the wonderfully talented and beautiful girl next door, Amy.
What kind of roles do you like or would like to play, and why?
Complex, weird, sensitive types. Villains. Altruistic, zen people. I want to explore as much of the human condition as I can before I croak, so I’m interested in all of it.
What is the most rewarding part of your work?
Heartland often does a thing called Fan Day, to which they invite hundreds of fans to witness the filming of an episode and be a part of the show as extras. For those of us making the show, it’s incredibly rewarding getting to see how excited everyone is to be there. Some of these people come from thousands of miles away, and all of them have so much love for a program that has had a very real impact on their lives.
Ultimately, that’s what I love most. Through this medium I can meaningfully connect with an audience member in a country across the freakin’ ocean.
Plus, it’s fun as hell and I get to travel and do really cool stuff like ride horses and run around in huge studio spaces. It’s a thrill.
What’s your advice for the newer actors?
I’m gonna quote Denzel on this one.
Dreams without goals are just dreams and ultimately they fuel disappointment. On the road to achieving your dreams, you must apply discipline, but more importantly, consistency. Because without commitment you’ll never start, but without consistency you’ll never finish.
What would you say are the greatest lessons you have learned so far in this business?
Take your job seriously. Do not take yourself seriously.
Mistakes are part of the process – sometimes the best part.
Relax. Breathe. Forget about perfectionism. Forget about rules and convention. Have fun.
Go easy at the craft services table. Three sandwiches before filming a scene is usually too many sandwiches.
How would your best friend describe you?
Cries a lot. Can eat a family-sized bag of salt & vinegar potato chips in one sitting. Can open ANY jar with a tight lid. Has the tendency to half-read a book then completely forget it exists. Will absolutely drive you to your doctor’s appointment.
If you were a book, what would be the title of the book be and why?
How to Not Think Before You Speak
Because I have a tendency to not think before I speak.
What’s next for Spencer Lord in 2024?
Meditate more, journal more, take myself less seriously, volunteer more, give more, take less, exercise enough, eat healthier. I’m just out here trying to keep my head on straight, wish me luck.
If you could meet someone living or dead, who would it be and why?
I’d love to meet my great-great grandparents and ask them why the hell they didn’t put a hundred dollars in a savings account. By now it would be worth MILLIONS.
Best advice ever given?
Do what makes you happy.
Must have been told that a hundred times by a hundred different people but it took me twenty four years to really figure it out.
What do you think of social media?
I hate it. But I’m glued to it all day long. It’s a problem.
Where can we follow you?
@spennylord hmu fam
Speed Round:
Book: The Goldfinch
Quote: Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.
Movie: All of Us Strangers
Tv Series: Shrinking
Favorite Food: meatballs
Travel Destination: Mars
Sports Team: Celtics
