Heels spoilers follow.
Heels star Alexander Ludwig says it was "really scary as an actor" to play out his character Ace Spade's breakdown at the end of the new show's first episode.
Created by Loki's Michael Waldron, the wrestling drama – which kicked off on Starz last night (August 15) – follows Ace and his older sibling Jack (Arrow's Stephen Amell) as they compete against one another for media attention and their late father's wrestling promotion.
Ace typically plays the 'hero' during their matches, while Jack tends to take on the villain role when it comes to their rumbles in the ring – a position that is otherwise known as the 'heel'.
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In the final few moments of the premiere, Jack embarrasses Ace in front of his fans, which reduces the latter to tears, and Ludwig admitted that he was nervous about his performance during the pivotal scene.
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"I remember saying to our incredible director, Pete [Segal], 'Dude, if this moment doesn't land, the show is screwed'," Ludwig told Digital Spy as part of an exclusive interview.
"Because when you read that on paper, it's a scary moment. It's really scary as an actor – Ace is not a wimp. When you hear he breaks down crying… you know, he's got a lot of heart. He just wants to prove himself.
"We really had to find that sweet spot. The only thing I could relate it to is, do you ever see in the Superbowl when an NFL player loses? It's not 'poor me' crying. It's 'shit!' and anger and frustration. You put all this time into it, and effort, and energy, and it all just… 'What is it for?' – you know, in that moment."
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He continued: "That's what Ace is going through. He's like, 'I can't believe that I've been screwed like that. I put everything into this.'
"It's so fun to see immediately this guy who masks himself in bravado. Deep down, he's just a child trying to figure out his own life. That was one of my favourite pilot episodes I've ever read. It was just like, 'I did not see that coming.'"
As for Amell, his concerns on-set were mainly stunt-related, having obtained some pretty nasty physical injuries while shooting the brotherly brawls.
"You control the wrestling scenes as much as you can, but you are throwing yourself around," he said.
"The mat is actually just a canvas over a wooden board. It really is. You're teaching yourself how to fall, and how to land on the big, meaty parts of your body; how to disperse impact."
Heels airs weekly every Sunday on Starz in the US and StarzPlay in the UK.
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After teaching in England and South Korea, David turned to writing in Germany, where he covered everything from superhero movies to the Berlin Film Festival.
In 2019, David moved to London to join Digital Spy, where he could indulge his love of comics, horror and LGBTQ+ storytelling as Deputy TV Editor, and later, as Acting TV Editor.
David has spoken on numerous LGBTQ+ panels to discuss queer representation and in 2020, he created the Rainbow Crew interview series, which celebrates LGBTQ+ talent on both sides of the camera via video content and longform reads.
Beyond that, David has interviewed all your faves, including Henry Cavill, Pedro Pascal, Olivia Colman, Patrick Stewart, Ncuti Gatwa, Jamie Dornan, Regina King, and more — not to mention countless Drag Race legends.
As a freelance entertainment journalist, David has bylines across a range of publications including Empire Online, Radio Times, INTO, Highsnobiety, Den of Geek, The Digital Fix and Sight & Sound.
