[archive] from iFMagazine
10 THINGS ABOUT ELIOT SPENCER
Christian Kane was already a popular figure among television fans from his stint on the BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER spin-off ANGEL and his subsequent work in film and TV. But he took another step toward securing his popularity by playing the tough guy on LEVERAGE. His character of Eliot Spencer is one dude you do not want to cross as he’s liable to drop you in a few seconds.
1) He’s the muscle. When the job calls for someone to get knocked out, taken out, beat up or in any other way manhandled, Eliot is the man to call. The guy is good at what he does. He doesn’t use a weapon, just his bare hands and he’s equally as quick. But Eliot is also great at playing a role if needed. He’ll be a boxer, a sports star or security guard. Whatever it takes, Eliot is usually up for the task (even if he’ll complain all the way about it).
2) He can’t be beat. One of the things that makes Eliot so damn good is that the guy never loses. Whether he's up against one, two, even three opponents, he’ll drop them all the same. In the Season One finale it looked as though he had come across someone that would best him in combat, but in the end, Eliot got the upper hand and ended up on the winning side. Usually, however, the battles aren’t even close as Eliot will take them out easily.
3) He has a conscience. While a criminal at the beginning of the series, Eliot’s character has morphed into almost the beacon of hope among the crew. He gives the others, at times, reasons for what they are doing and has grown into one of the good guys for real and believes in what they are doing. He also distastes the use of drugs and alcohol. So Nate’s (Timothy Hutton) addiction to booze doesn’t sit well with him.
4) He has interesting tastes. Eliot grows his own food, cooks, trains horses and knows how to play chess. These are just a few of the interesting tidbits that Eliot knows in addition to the art of hand-to-hand combat. From the outside, he’s gruff and grumble, but on the inside someone that knows chess and can grow his own food. He is someone with a deeper understanding of what he enjoys. He isn’t just dumb muscle, he's smart muscle.
5) He doesn’t own a TV. This is in direct contrast to Hardison (Aldis Hodge) who seems to watch excessive amounts of TV (especially genre shows) as the references that Hardison uses always seem lost on Eliot. While Hardison quotes DOCTOR WHO and STAR TREK frequently, Eliot just gives him a blank stare and has no clue what he means.
6) He always works alone. Well, not anymore, but prior to joining the Leverage crew Eliot never found himself working with a team because, in his words, it only complicates matters or the people he works with usually piss him off to the point that he wants to bash their skulls in rather than do the job. That all changed when he met the Leverage gang and now works great as a team and whether he admits it or not, he has a special place in his heart for every member of the crew.
7) He has keen "spider" senses ... when it comes to fighting. Eliot has the unique ability to guess the type of gun used just by the sound of the gunshot or he knows where someone was trained by their knife fighting style or the way they handle themselves in combat. This is very handy when he comes across someone in combat or when the crew is asked to take on a task where weapons are either used or have been used. But while he knows all of this, we don’t know if Eliot has ever taken the life of anyone. Usually he prefers to knock them out and almost avoids killing someone at all costs.
8) He gets annoyed easily. While he’s cool in combat, Eliot doesn’t have patience when it comes to dealing with Parker and Hardison. He just can’t handle their tendencies to be crazy and offer up nonsensical banter at times. While Eliot and Hardison have grown close to one another like brothers, he still rolls his eyes at Parker when she says something completely off the wall. Eliot also gets annoyed by Sophie at times, usually when she pines over Nate.
9) Eliot loves the women. While we don’t see much of it on screen, we hear a lot about Eliot’s conquests with the opposite sex. He was engaged to be engaged before, but that ended badly when he was off doing a con and came back to find her engaged to another man. That seems to be a cornerstone with Eliot and relationships since he has never really had one that lasts. Not that he is a love 'em and leave 'em type, but he keeps his distance.
10) He likes hand-to-hand combat vs. using guns. Once a hitter, always a hitter. Eliot's preferred method of attack is his hands. He doesn't like guns at all. He also is very good at being a "hitter" in baseball as "The Three Strikes Job" proved, even though he admits to hating the game.
Christian Kane was already a popular figure among television fans from his stint on the BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER spin-off ANGEL and his subsequent work in film and TV. But he took another step toward securing his popularity by playing the tough guy on LEVERAGE. His character of Eliot Spencer is one dude you do not want to cross as he’s liable to drop you in a few seconds.
1) He’s the muscle. When the job calls for someone to get knocked out, taken out, beat up or in any other way manhandled, Eliot is the man to call. The guy is good at what he does. He doesn’t use a weapon, just his bare hands and he’s equally as quick. But Eliot is also great at playing a role if needed. He’ll be a boxer, a sports star or security guard. Whatever it takes, Eliot is usually up for the task (even if he’ll complain all the way about it).
2) He can’t be beat. One of the things that makes Eliot so damn good is that the guy never loses. Whether he's up against one, two, even three opponents, he’ll drop them all the same. In the Season One finale it looked as though he had come across someone that would best him in combat, but in the end, Eliot got the upper hand and ended up on the winning side. Usually, however, the battles aren’t even close as Eliot will take them out easily.
3) He has a conscience. While a criminal at the beginning of the series, Eliot’s character has morphed into almost the beacon of hope among the crew. He gives the others, at times, reasons for what they are doing and has grown into one of the good guys for real and believes in what they are doing. He also distastes the use of drugs and alcohol. So Nate’s (Timothy Hutton) addiction to booze doesn’t sit well with him.
4) He has interesting tastes. Eliot grows his own food, cooks, trains horses and knows how to play chess. These are just a few of the interesting tidbits that Eliot knows in addition to the art of hand-to-hand combat. From the outside, he’s gruff and grumble, but on the inside someone that knows chess and can grow his own food. He is someone with a deeper understanding of what he enjoys. He isn’t just dumb muscle, he's smart muscle.
5) He doesn’t own a TV. This is in direct contrast to Hardison (Aldis Hodge) who seems to watch excessive amounts of TV (especially genre shows) as the references that Hardison uses always seem lost on Eliot. While Hardison quotes DOCTOR WHO and STAR TREK frequently, Eliot just gives him a blank stare and has no clue what he means.
6) He always works alone. Well, not anymore, but prior to joining the Leverage crew Eliot never found himself working with a team because, in his words, it only complicates matters or the people he works with usually piss him off to the point that he wants to bash their skulls in rather than do the job. That all changed when he met the Leverage gang and now works great as a team and whether he admits it or not, he has a special place in his heart for every member of the crew.
7) He has keen "spider" senses ... when it comes to fighting. Eliot has the unique ability to guess the type of gun used just by the sound of the gunshot or he knows where someone was trained by their knife fighting style or the way they handle themselves in combat. This is very handy when he comes across someone in combat or when the crew is asked to take on a task where weapons are either used or have been used. But while he knows all of this, we don’t know if Eliot has ever taken the life of anyone. Usually he prefers to knock them out and almost avoids killing someone at all costs.
8) He gets annoyed easily. While he’s cool in combat, Eliot doesn’t have patience when it comes to dealing with Parker and Hardison. He just can’t handle their tendencies to be crazy and offer up nonsensical banter at times. While Eliot and Hardison have grown close to one another like brothers, he still rolls his eyes at Parker when she says something completely off the wall. Eliot also gets annoyed by Sophie at times, usually when she pines over Nate.
9) Eliot loves the women. While we don’t see much of it on screen, we hear a lot about Eliot’s conquests with the opposite sex. He was engaged to be engaged before, but that ended badly when he was off doing a con and came back to find her engaged to another man. That seems to be a cornerstone with Eliot and relationships since he has never really had one that lasts. Not that he is a love 'em and leave 'em type, but he keeps his distance.
10) He likes hand-to-hand combat vs. using guns. Once a hitter, always a hitter. Eliot's preferred method of attack is his hands. He doesn't like guns at all. He also is very good at being a "hitter" in baseball as "The Three Strikes Job" proved, even though he admits to hating the game.