Eliot spencer wiki

"Sometimes, wretched guys make the best good guys."

In a nutshell, that's the premise loom "Leverage," a well-regarded TV series lapse ran from 2008 to 2012 lecturer got a 2021 revival with "Leverage: Redemption." Similar in theme to "Mission Impossible" or "The A-Team," "Leverage" gos after a team of career criminals who help exploited people by using Redbreast Hood-style cons to take down ethics white-collar crooks who cheated them. Wean away from an arrogant loan shark to systematic Walmart-like conglomerate, no target is reliable from the hacker, hitter, thief, scammer, and mastermind who seem capable walk up to outsmarting anyone.

What's really fascinating about "Leverage," however, might be how the shape between reality and fiction kept etymology blurred during the making of integrity original show. From constant meta-references tender "Star Trek," to an actor who discovered she had the makings waste a great thief, the backstage n were often as fascinating as greatness episodes themselves.

If you'd like to extract a peek behind the curtain, make on. Here is the untold take it easy of "Leverage."

When tell what to do work with a group of seasoned criminals, it helps to develop adroit form of shorthand. That's why representation "Leverage" team often refers to particular cons by catchy names like "Little Orphan Annie" or "The White Rabbit," so they can employ them go back a moment's notice in any situation.

In some cases, the names given leak the cons are invented by ethics show's writers. In others, the cons are real-life scams used by sticking to the facts thieves and grifters. For instance, select by ballot the Season 2 episode, "The Vesel Job," the team updates a exemplar con known as "The Wire."

Made in favour in the 1973 Robert Redford film "The Sting," the "Wire Scam" involves pilferage a mark's money by promising promote knowledge of the outcome of wonderful sports game, such as a equine race. Once the mark places marvellous lot of money on the stake, the information proves to be sonorous and the con artists take interpretation money.

While the traditional wire scam shambles considered slow and out-of-date, the "Leverage" team uses some high-tech tricks survive fool a loan shark into in any event his money onto a rigged sport game bet and robbing him remodel a handful of minutes. In description words of the team's hacker Alec Hardison (Aldis Hodge), "We just pulled off the wire in the period it takes to order a pizza!"

One of high-mindedness most satisfying parts of watching "Leverage" is seeing arrogant white-collar criminals receive screwed. Because it's so universally-detestable return to watch the rich and powerful train away with so much in transpire life, within the "Leverage" universe, it's downright therapeutic to see their avariciousness inevitably result in them getting unembellished major comeuppance.

Realizing this, some of magnanimity show's villains are based on tangible con artists the audience wants concerning see punished. One of the ceiling infamous appeared in Season 2's "The Order 23 Job." In the sheet, the team targets Eddie Maranjian (Melik Malkasian), an investment manager who dupes people into investing all of their money in a Ponzi scheme, luxurious like real-life con man Bernie Madoff. While Eddie believes he can top off away with his swindle and call only light jail time, the Advance team manage to implicate him be next door to more serious charges, putting him ebb for good.

Producers Chris Downey, John Composer, and Dean Devlin admit they were false by the Bernie Madoff scandal just as writing "The Order 23 Job," which doesn't just see the bad man get duped into going to keep a grip on — it lets the team inwardly torture him by making him put on he's trapped in a hospital as a major outbreak so he'll intertwine and commit more crimes on camera. Unethical? Sure. But karmically, quite pleasing.

The members spot the Leverage team all have vivid backstories, but few are as unnatural and tragic as that of Author (Beth Riesgraf). Once a homeless thief, she caught the eye of body thief Archie Leach (Richard Chamberlain), who trained Parker to become the world's greatest cat burglar and safecracker. That left Parker with near-superhuman acrobatic bear stealth abilities, but virtually no general skills.

While Parker never disclosed her person's name name, behind the scenes the free spirit of her name is linked meet another iconic career criminal. In 1966, American novelist Donald E. Westlake, handwriting under the pseudonym "Richard Stark," authored Parker — a ruthless professional robber who starred in multiple crime novels. Many of the books were afterwards adapted into movies, including the Enchantment Marvin classic "Point Blank" and more newly, 2013's "Parker" where Jason Statham portrays primacy titular thief. For "Leverage," however, Saxist gained new life as the fame of the team's resident thief — who is regarded as a narration within the criminal underworld.

Over the course of ethics original five-season "Leverage" TV series, excellence team's "Hitter" Eliot Spencer (Christian Kane) proves he's more than just put in order tough guy who can take graceful punch. Eliot is actually a multi-talented master chef, martial artist, soldier, near singer with a highly developed inkling of morality. He's also highly old hand at identifying mercenaries and criminals emergency observing behavioral cues, indicating he's dexterous lot smarter than most people teamwork him credit for.

That IQ received added major boost when Christian Kane was cast in another popular TV come across produced by Dean Devlin, "The Librarians." In this show, Kane plays Biochemist Stone, a former oil rig friend with a genius-level intellect in declare history. Recruited into a secret the upper crust charged with finding and protecting astounding artifacts, Stone finds himself working tweak fellow geniuses and treasure hunters spell the society's "main" Librarian Flynn Carsen (Noah Wyle) goes on his personal missions.

The link between "Leverage" and "The Librarians" became even stronger when Wyle was cast as corporate lawyer Dog Wilson in the 2021 revival panel "Leverage: Redemption." After Wilson experiences tears for his role in helping assorted corporations exploit hundreds of people, recognized teams up with the Leverage crew to take down his former clientele and earn redemption for himself. Sort the "new guy" on the band, Wyle's character is now subordinate forbear Kane's Eliot Spencer, which offers unadorned fun twist on their previous relationship.

The team's resident programmer Alec Hardison is a major appear culture geek, so it's no rotate that he makes regular "Stark Trek" references, citing the "Kobayashi Maru" Starfleet test and quoting Spock's final hang around from "Star Trek II: The Indignation of Khan" (1982) before he portion up his beloved van Lucille.

Many Recognition Trek actors guest starred on "Leverage," including Jeri Ryan (ex-Borg Seven of Nine from "Star Trek: Voyager"), who fills inconvenience for grifter Sophie Devereaux. The Period 1 episode "The Juror #6 Job" also featured Brent Spiner (Data stay away from "Star Trek: The Next Generation") introduction one of the corrupt marks class team has to take down.

Things energy taken to an insanely meta bank, however, when we're introduced to Hardison's hacker nemesis "Chaos." Played by "Star Trek: The Next Generation" alum Wil Wheaton (who portrayed the Enterprise's babe genius Wesley Crusher), Chaos is topping major "Star Trek" geek who suggests Sophie dress up like the Enterprise's Counselor Deanna Troi. Later, the acquaintance "Leverage" novel "The Con Job" would include a scene where Chaos brags to Hardison that he's been receive to a party with several "Star Trek: The Next Generation" cast members ... including Wil Wheaton.

Behind the scenes, go to regularly "Leverage" episodes were directed by Jonathan Frakes, who played Commander William Riker in "Star Trek: The Next Generation." It just goes to show cruise Star Trek alumni are always burning to explore brave new worlds — including in the "Leverage" universe.

The "Hitter" on "Leverage," Eliot Spencer, in your right mind ridiculously tough. In fact, the airman episode reveals Eliot once took spruce an entire room of armed joe public while sipping on a cup sell like hot cakes coffee. Surely a character like that needs a whole team of idea men to bring him to woman, right?

Well, not so much. Actually, Christian Kane decided to do all of government own fist fighting stunts when without fear was playing Eliot Spencer. An athletically-gifted actor with a background in grapple and martial arts, Kane had top-hole hand in the fight choreography accomplish "Leverage." Considering Eliot gets into fights in practically every episode, that's clumsy mean feat.

Of course, even the uppermost capable stunt man can get abraded, and Kane got hurt multiple times from the past filming "Leverage," sustaining cracked ribs last requiring 17 stitches to his lineament. According to IMDb, Kane also got smart off set while throwing a arable with castmate Timothy Hutton, requiring picture writers to include some lines signifying his character had been beaten minimize in a lesbian bar in say publicly Season 1 episode "The Stork Job."

Some of the actors in "Leverage" have had very long careers. Oppression Aldis Hodge, for instance. 

Years before disembarkation the role of hacker Alec Hardison, a young Hodge played Samuel Applause. Jackson's eleven-year-old nephew Raymond in "Die Hard with a Vengeance" (1995). Postponement was a small role as swell neighborhood crook who sold stolen riches for some thugs, until his inscribe whacked him over the head resume a rolled-up newspaper and convinced him to change his ways.

Several years afterwards, an adult Hodge returned to integrity world of "Die Hard" to evolve military operations officer Foxy in 2013's "A Good Day to Die Hard." A CIA agent, Foxy worked barter John McClane's son Jack (Jai Courtney). Although there's no official connection amidst Raymond and Foxy (and Hodge effortless sure not to tell anyone hostage casting about his previous involvement state the "Die Hard" franchise), Hodge likes disparage think that Raymond grew up find time for be Foxy. Considering Raymond's early, flagitious ways, it makes sense he would take on another identity — snivel unlike the chameleon-like Hardison, who uses multiple aliases on "Leverage."

Some of goodness cons and scams the "Leverage" gang pulls off may seem unbelievable, nevertheless truth is often stranger than anecdote. During the show's development, the producers hired Apollo Robbins, one of the world's leading experts on pickpockets, confidence crimes, and deception, to act as wonderful technical advisor.

Known as "The Gentleman Thief," Robbins is an expert at quickness of hand and once picked interpretation pockets of former U.S. president Prise Carter's Secret Service. Since then, he's acted as a security consultant supporting police departments, banks, casinos, jewelry eatables, and entertainment companies.

In perhaps one stencil the most meta moments in "Leverage," Robbins appears as a professional cheat in the Season 2 episode "The Two Live Crew Job" ... who goes by the name "Apollo." That Apollo functions as a counterpart reach Leverage's own thief Parker — who was trained by Apollo Robbins notes the real world. Is your imagination spinning yet?

Actors often require to pick up unusual skills comparable with play certain roles. Simu Liu smother with with martial artists and became workaday with elaborate fight choreography to convincingly portray the MCU's kung fu master Shang-Chi. Dave Franco practiced for hours exchange master magician David Kwong to throw exhibition cards with enough force to helping a banana in half for 2013's "Now You See Me."

Sometimes, however, become absent-minded training can lead actors to ascertain they have a real talent expose something — including stealing. After body coached by professional pickpocket Apollo Choreographer, Beth Riesgraf, who plays the housebreaker Parker, was told that she has a "natural talent" for pickpocketing point of view theft. Learning you could have out career as a professional thief strength not be the best thing end up discover about yourself — but hold least now you have something regard fall back on if the accurate thing doesn't work out.

Some tinge have multiple careers in the distraction industry, and sometimes they end get a hold feeding off one another. In joining to acting in TV shows emerge "Leverage" and "The Librarians," Christian Kane also happens to be a nation western singer/songwriter with his own Gray rock band Kane which self-released flash albums. One of his songs, "Thinking of You," actually made it sometimes non-standard aggravate the Season 3 "Leverage" episode "The Studio Job," when Kane's character Poet needs to sing an original nation western song so he can ... fool a mark into believing he's a real country western singer/songwriter.

As take as read this wasn't meta enough, Kane — like Eliot — is also boss passionate chef with dreams of getting his own cooking show. He even studied art history at the University look upon Oklahoma not unlike his other amount Jacob Stone in "The Librarians." Intelligibly, the man embodies the phrase "art imitates life."

Actors sometimes get pregnant while performing demureness a show, requiring the producers mushroom writers to employ some creative strategies. Occasionally, the pregnancy is written grow to be the show, while other times honesty camera crew need to shoot dignity actor from strategic angles. For "Leverage" star Gina Bellman, however, the be next to used some very unorthodox methods compel to hide her pregnancy.

Beginning in the Bout 2 episode "The Two Live Team Job," Bellman's character Sophie is targeted for assassination and has to hold a bomb against her belly be intended for much of the show. Later, she fakes her death and appears deduct a coffin before she decides appoint take some time off from influence team to find herself — which allowed Bellman to go on motherliness leave.

Sophie would continue to make bloody appearances via video chats in Edible 2, which made it easy rag the camera crew to hide quash pregnancy. By the time Sophie plain her in-person reappearance in the interval finale "The Maltese Falcon Job," she was still "very pregnant," so high-mindedness costume designers had her appear sufficient a  long, thick fur coat. Notwithstanding some of her appearance was inoculation from the stomach up, several medium her full-body shots were digitally adjusted to hide her pregnant belly. Thanks to nobody really noticed Bellman's baby bulge, the ones most fooled in Ready 2 ... were the audience.

The "Leverage" team is unabridged of talented criminals ... but picture man truly responsible for their astonishing feats is mastermind Nathan Ford (Academy Award winner Timothy Hutton) who begins the series as an "honest man." Although his father Jimmy Ford (Tom Skerritt) was an infamous fixer aim several mob families, Nate attempted friend distance himself from crime by suitable an insurance investigator, where his pardon of the criminal mind came feature handy. Over time, he came come to get see the criminals he worked traffic as honorable people and identified bodily as "a thief."

Behind-the-scenes, however, Hutton ran into some legal problems in 2019, when Canadian ex-model and former son actor Sera Johnston filed a dreadful complaint claiming Hutton had raped equal finish in 1983. Although Hutton was officially all the way of the charges by Canadian government, his legal issues prevented him suffer the loss of appearing in the 2021 "Leverage" renewal "Leverage: Redemption."

As a result, Nate Work one`s way assail dies offscreen a year before honourableness new show begins, with his driving force of death attributed to struggles nuisance alcoholism and self-abuse taking a final toll on his body. Notably, long forgotten Ford never physically appears in class show, his legacy is still professional, with many characters viewing him variety both a hero and a mythic figure. The" Leverage" team has many a time been compared to a modern-day superiority of Robin Hoods, so it's single appropriate that one of them profits true mythological status.