“It’s such a great time to watch Spurs and that’s all we really want…”

England-born but now California-based actor/producer/writer Charlie Bewley has starred in the 4-part blockbuster Twilight vampire movie series along with several action movies and TV shows. But, thoughtful and passionate Bewley has been waiting out Covid and now the actor’s strike, by building his own home while working on a deeply dark but realistic boxing movie.

London-born Bewley has also been keeping close tabs on his beloved Tottenham Hotspur, who were leading the Premier League in the season’s early going, presenting a brilliantly entertaining brand of soccer under new manager Ange Postecoglou. Bewley says of his love of Spurs and of living on the West Coast of the US, “We often have to get up at 4.30 am to watch a Spurs game, and if we don’t win the game, our whole day is done. But it can be a great way to start your day and it’s been like that recently for us Spurs fans. So, here’s to more of the same.”

In the accompanying video (below), hosted by CADS, a worldwide but private group of thoughtful, grownup Spurs fans, Charlie and his three hosts talk about a surprising array of topics, including: the rabbit hole of AI and Hollywood’s writers/actors strike; Tottenham’s big Ange and the “hug” factor; how the former Brad Pitt/Jennifer Aniston relationship may reflect Spurs; the surprising impact of England’s captain Harry Kane leaving for Germany’s Bayern; Tottenham’s true DNA and what Spurs fans really wanted all along; Mauricio Pochettino, Spurs and Chelsea; the narrow unreal world of social media; and, Charlie Bewley chasing a down-to-earth, but tragically glorious boxing story—sort of Rocky meets Raging Bull—which involves WBO world heavyweight champion Tommy Morrison, the former “great white hope” of boxing. Bewley says Rocky V, which co-starred Morrison, is by far his favorite Rocky movie.

The following are some edited comments from Bewley and his hosts from the CADS YouTube video, Exclusive Interview: Charlie Bewley's Surprising Connection with the CADS Team Revealed!

What is the Dangerous Impact of AI in Hollywood?

It’s been one of the main issues in the writer/actors strikes. The Scorsese-directed movie, The Irishman, is the tip of the iceberg how AI could work. Guys like that, De Niro, Pacino and Pesci, would not be acting in the future, if their image rights are inputted into AI and they’ll be appearing as if Robert De Niro is 25 years old again. The crux of the strike is to protect against what will essentially be a fabricated viewing experience in the future, (and even today). It’s about money at the end of the day, and with AI, the economies of scale versus actually hiring actors is the main issue. So, it’s a deep rabbit hole we don’t want to go down.

There’s a Parallel Between AI and Spurs Right Now, Because it Doesn’t Feel Normal for us to be Winning Games so Often. What’s Your Take?

What a great time it is to be a Spurs fan. But, we recently had these two so-called amazing managers (Mourinho and Conte) coming in off the back of Mauricio Pochettino. However, for that period we fans were miserable. Which goes to show what can really make us tick. Compared to our north London neighbors, for Spurs it’s just a good old hug—like with Martin Jol and Mauricio and now Big Ange. We fans actually just want to feel like everyone is happy to manage or play for the club, and we don’t have to deal with egos. We had a really good spell of wonderful football under Poch. I remember us beating Stoke 4-0, and the football was so free flowing and beautiful, and I just kept watching it. Now, I bet our fans have been re-watching recent games under Ange, just to feel the spirit of this renewed team and playing the type of football that resonates so highly with Spurs.

You Have Always Wanted to Write a Script on Tottenham, and Have Spoken about Spurs in Another Hollywood Comparison, Right?

Yeah, to bring it into a sort of Hollywood context, I feel like Daniel Levy with Mauricio was like the relationship between actors Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt. But Levy decided at some point that he wanted more and went for his “Angelina Jolie” which was going for Mourinho. We know how that all ended, and ultimately, we wanted to go back to the good times of the Jennifer Aniston thing. I feel like Ange Postecoglou is like Jennifer Aniston in manager form. By the way, they’ve both got Greek backgrounds.

It’s Ironic that We’ve Been Juggling this Idea of Football Fun versus Results. It’s Early Days, but it Turns Out After a Strange Journey of 4 Years, and the Chumps We Had After Poch, it Turns Out you Stick to Your Soul, and You Go about the Game in the Way that Feels Right. And Then You Get both, Entertainment and Results, Right?

What is Ange doing, what magic spell is he weaving, everyone wants to go to war for this guy? Yet by all accounts, he doesn’t have too much connection with the players on a personal bantering level. So, there must be a sort of sense that we have a General onboard. Yes, Maddison referred to him as an alpha male, but Ange perfectly fits that sort of thing, the breath of fresh air that we all needed. Somebody who doesn’t need to be in the limelight. He’s just there to lead and do his job. He’s serious but also has this light side about him—he quips that he’s a grumpy guy.

What’s Your Take on Social Media Platforms, Where Are They Heading?

Social media? It seems like the whole world exists on Twitter. When realistically, it’s just a fraction of what’s actually happening. It’s good to remember that a lot of people aren’t on Twitter, and it doesn’t really represent what’s going on in the world. Unfortunately, this mechanism has been weaponized by some people, so when it “seems” the whole world exists on social media, it doesn’t, and so, a lot of us are tuning out. Much like me.