Heels: Stars Stephen Amell & Alexander Ludwig talk the daunting elements

Heels STARZ is currently airing its first season on the premium cable network, and with two episodes now out in the universe, I’m sharing some insight from the stars themselves.

Stephen Amell and Alexander Ludwig, who play brothers Jack and Ace Spade on the show, talked about how they approach their characters. While Heels STARZ might be a wrestling show on the surface, beneath that, it’s full of rich, complex characters full of interior struggles.

I asked Amell and Ludwig what was more daunting for them, playing those vulnerable moments or actually jumping into the ring and playing the role of a professional wrestler at the DWL in small-town Georgia.

Alexander Ludwig & Stephen Amell talk about the most daunting parts of Heels STARZ.

Alexander Ludwig: We have worked really hard to be able to understand characters and develop characters, and for me, and I think Stephen too, what drew me to this world was how colorful these characters were and how complex.

But what was really daunting for me was that to be a master at anything, you have to make it look easy, so getting into the wrestling ring, our job is to make it look like we’re professional wrestlers for five or ten minutes before they call cut.

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I mean, Stephen always said this, the second you hit the ropes and hit the flat back bump, you finally realize what’s in store for you. The athleticism that goes into this sport is tremendous. That was incredibly daunting when I realized just how far we had to go, and it took months and months of training to even look like a pro for five to ten minutes, nonetheless a full match.

Stephen Amell: For me, it’s the character moments [that] are most important. I mean, I’ve been cutting heel promos as a wrestler since I was 6-years-old; that part was easy, that part was no problem. But we can put on an episode that’s 56 minutes and 50 minutes are in the wrestling ring, but if you don’t care about the six minutes when you get to know these characters outside of it, then it doesn’t matter.

The first two episodes of Heels STARZ are now available to watch on the STARZ app and website. New episodes air Sunday nights at 9 p.m.