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March 24, 2009
Solomon Trimble Talks Twilight
(By: Bessie Sorge)
Solomon Trimble gained worldwide recognition last year when he appeared as Sam Uley in Summit Entertainment's mega blockbuster hit Twilight. While Twilight may have skyrocketed Solomon into international stardom, it wasn't an overnight process for the young Native American. Taking an interest in the arts at the tender age of six, Solomon began his career as a tap dancer. “I did a lot of tap dancing when I was younger,” Solomon tells us. “I constantly was copying James Brown.”
When Solomon turned nine years old he began his venture into theatre and appeared in his first play "Voice of the Naked People," which led to a part in the stage production "King Joseph" and short films such as "Leo's Wake-Up Call." Solomon decided to expand his involvement with the industry throughout his teenage years by taking an interest in other forms of entertainment. "I modeled for Pendleton Woolan Mills," Solomon recalls.
Music was something that took precedence in his career early on. When Solomon was young he used to sing and dance on his reservation. When Solomon started taking classes at a local college he immediately chose guitar as his major and took a lot of singing classes. “I haven’t practiced singing English very much,” Solomon confesses. “I tend to sing the same way that I do in native tongue that I do in English." His love for music was placed on hold when Solomon was faced with a few choices to make. He changed his major to Mathematics when he realized that it was more of a stable occupation which he could use to help support his family in the future.
It is obvious that being an entertainer was Solomon’s calling when he was cast in Twilight. Taking his brother to audition for a movie based on one of the hottest selling books of the year, Solomon was asked to read for the part of Jacob. “I went in and read for the character Jacob, but I was just coming with my little brother and I was asked to read," Solomon explains. The rest is history!
Hollywood Teen'Zine recently caught up with Solomon to talk about his experience on the set of Twilight.
You have worked on numerous independent projects prior to landing the role of Sam Uley in Twilight. How did you become involved in the entertainment industry?
I had done a play when I was about nine…a play called “Voice of the Naked People. Then I played King Joseph and then there was also a monologue of King Joseph that I did later on. Two separate parts in the play. I did a lot of tap dancing when I was younger - from when I was about six. I constantly was copying James Brown until my mom got me some tap shoes and I started taking lessons then. My sister was a model and she got me into modeling with Wagmen Kennedy modeling, and I modeled for Pendleton Woolan Mills as a teenager.
I was really interested in film. When I was 14, I got cast into a public service short film called “Leo's Wake-Up Call,” and it was done by the man who did the motion animation for Michael Jackson’s music video - I don't know what the song title is. He was in Portland and decided to make this environmental water conscious film on how to take care of the rivers here in Oregon. I was a part of that.
When I really got into breaking in the industry, for a long time I got cast into a few rolls, lots of small rolls. There was like an Intel Training Video I was in. I was the high five guy. Then there was a few short films through the colleges here, the art institute and some other colleges in Portland that just had open casting calls for people with films that they did for their senior project - just up and coming directors. I was sure to be a part of that. It was kind of winding down because I really chased really hard. I had worked with Lana Veenker Casting for a while and they really liked me, but they were like "just wait for the right roll." Anytime anything was remotely up my alley they would call me because they really wanted me to work. They knew I wanted to work and I had what it took
So basically, when I was about 21, I kind of just slowed it down because I wasn’t getting much respect at the dinner table telling everybody "I want to be famous. I'm going to be a rock star." I was studying guitar, trying to be famous.
I was always doing internships and working native governmental jobs. Then I really got into academics; math. I graduated at the same time Twilight was shooting. I was in my last term. I didn’t tell Catherine or anyone that I was doing both and the professors were kind of wondering why I was missing. I couldn’t really say, "yeah, I’m going to be in a movie" and have them believe me. I waited until there was like Youtube footage of it and then they just believed me. I was like, "I swear!" Then I got the Lexicon "The Wolf Pack" clip and all the comments about it, and then they wanted me for an interview and I just kind of showed that to all my professors and I was like, "please extend the final for me because I don’t have a lot of time." And, of course she said no. I did fine anyway. I got my degree.
When you were first cast in the film were you aware of the huge following the book series had?
My sister-in-law had a book called about it so I thought yeah most people know about the book, I thought. And then when I told her that I was cast in the film and that I was given the script and told to read the lines that were entitled Sam and she flips out - a grown woman - and that’s how I kind of got a clue that it was pretty big, like a big deal. It was a lot larger than I had imaged, especially around the premiere - just to see I don't know how many fans were there.
What was your reaction when you walked onto the red carpet at the premiere and saw hundreds just sitting there screaming?
It was pretty intense. I don't get star struck, but I get like fan struck. I was just overwhelmed by the amount of people that like knew about me and read up on me like I shouldn't be as real as I am when I'm interviewed. My first initial reaction was just like it was a lot bigger than I know, then I even imagined. Even at the point, I knew 'cause I was kind of getting recognized at malls and book stores and stuff. It was sporadic but to me it was just all at once - pretty intense.
Do you still get recognized?
More and more people were. All the people who knew who I was, they wouldn’t say anything . . . there were some people at a coffee shop I always go to and I had no idea they knew who I was or anything about me. They treated me like a regular customer. Out of the blue they started asking me questions, like a month ago. And I realized I had the attention of the entire coffee shop. I was like, "Ohhhh, I don't know. I’m not going to answer that question."
Have you had any crazy fan encounters?
I had tons. I just had one, it was a few days ago. In my gym, the hall to the men’s locker room looks just like the halls of everything else and the signs that say men is on the side so you don't really see it. So when you head down the hall it seems as though you are either headed to the sauna or the front desk because it looks just like that same hallway. This girl was looking at me and I didn’t really think anything of it. I didn’t want to assume that she was walking towards me - like maybe she was doing something that I was unaware of, maybe she worked at the place and she was coming to change the trash can, or I didn’t know what she was going to do. I started walking into the men’s locker room and there’s a bench right before the wall opens up and you are obviously in the men’s locker room. So I stood there and I took my shirt off and I noticed she was holding a poster and a pen of Twilight to give to me. She had to blush because I had taken my shirt off and I was like grabbing at my shorts and she goes, "I just wanted an autograph." I kind of chuckled a little bit, and just then a naked man walks by and she finally realizes where she is standing. She’s like, "Oh" and then she runs half way down the hall in a panic, stops, turns around and she comes back and says, “Can you just sign this and let me get back to my humiliating life?” I was like, "sure." So I signed it "Your half naked wolf Solomon" and handed it back. I could hear her laughing as she left on her cell phone. She was like cracking up telling somebody about it when she was outside of the gym.
That is hysterical!
I was weird because at first when she was following me I didn’t want to assume anything. The pace that she was walking it was almost like she owned the place and was just walking in. I didn’t think anything of it until I got to the bench and took off my shirt had just taken off my shirt and I hadn’t realized she followed me all the way down. She obviously didn’t know where she was though 'cause I could tell she didn’t, like she saw a naked man walking by and she was like “Oh, my God, where am I?” She looked up and looked around and there was no sign that says men. She's like, "why are naked men walking down the hallway of the sauna?" I'm like, "you're in a men’s locker room."
How did you prepare for the role of Sam?
My Aunt lives up in Forks near the Quileute’s - which was a coincidence - and she teachers there now. With my degree I was planning to get a few teaching years and see if I wanted to teach. She kind of had all the hook-ups for me there. She hooked me up with a woman named Ms. Ann. I learned language and Quileute history. I really got into that as well as meeting and talking with some of the Quileute teenage boys - asking what they do and just kind of taking note of what they were wearing. I had one sample of kids from a group and then another and they say, "oh, these kids are just like this." I went in and kind of explained the story to those who hadn't read the Twilight series, but most of them had. Then I started trying to get a lot of the Quileute language down. I started writing Native American contemporary pow-wow songs round dance songs in Quileute and singing them. I got to sing one on set for the campfire but I have no idea where that footage is, it wasn't used. So, I just prepared that way. Worked at it as best as I possibly could when I was cast as Sam, just before shooting - really I had like a month and a half. It was kind of intense. Everyone read for Jacob. So I went in and read for the character, Jacob, but I was just coming with my little brother and I was asked to read. They were like “wait!” And I was like, "this character is obviously sixteen, he's a kid." And they were like "no just read because there is other roles." So, I read. He said, "Well booking you as Sam." And so I said "Alright!"
Were there any funny moments or pranks that we may see appear on the DVD?
Tons! I don’t think I have laughed so hard. Me and Krys - oh! I almost dropped his last name - Smoky Desperado, we're looking at the contracts and they were telling us "oh read the contract and sign it" and whatever, but it was this behavioral contract and stuff. Apparently everyone had signed it already except me and him. So, we are reading it, and it was kind of making us feel uncomfortable and they talked about harassment of all types - we were like “okay.” We were just joking around and messing with that. We tried to stay off camera with it as much as possible. We were having a riot and everyone was laughing. I guess the funniest thing to me was that I was trying to convince Krys that Taylor is like . . . in martial arts. He's like no. I'm like no he's a real ninja - like he can do a standing back flip on one leg. He's like no, no, no. You know, I had been messing with him all day and telling him a bunch of stuff that was false. He'd go up to people. I convinced him that Kristen Stewart was in another vampire flick. He went up and said "oh you were in this movie?" and she said "no." He turned red. It was hilarious to me. I was like "I was just kidding." So, me telling him that Taylor was a ninja, he totally didn’t believe me. I was like, "I'm telling the truth" and I was like "look." Taylor had just gone into a back flip, one legged, for the cameras. He turned and missed it and didn’t see it. He turns to me and starts arguing with me like he’s upset with me, and he’s got peanut butter breath and I lost it. It was just so funny that all day I’m trying to get him to look and finally it happened. Other than that, we had the twizzlers and we were putting them in Kristen Stewart's hood - the hood of her jacket - but I don't think she noticed because I think the wardrobe probably just took it off and hung it. Like during that beach scene, whenever they would yell cut, she'd look away and we would toss our half-eaten things into her hood. I think two other people noticed and they were cracking up. We were having a blast though - all day. But everyone was really fine and it was crazy, freaking hilarious.
Shortly after we spoke with Solomon the news was released that he will not be reprising the role of Sam Uley in Twilight. We are bummed to hear this news because Solomon Trimble was our top choice for Sam Uley! You can find out more about Solomon by visiting his Myspace page.
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