An Interview with Alison Luff from ‘Heels’

Alison Luff as Staci Spade in Season Two of ‘Heels’. (Photo Courtesy of STARZ.)

Note: This interview was conducted on June 30, 2023, before the start of the SAG-AFTRA strike and during the WGA strike. Also, without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, the series being covered here wouldn’t exist.
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Alison Luff is a rising star in Hollywood and has made appearances in some wildly popular franchises in the past few years. Currently though, she is wowing audiences as Staci Spade in the STARZ series, Heels, and we here at NTG had the distinct honor of sitting down with Alison to discuss her role and season two of the show.

John Betancourt: What was it that attracted you to the world of Heels?

Alison Luff: Well, what attracted me first was the scripts. I loved the fact that it was a, you know, Southern family drama, being from the south. And what I grew to love was the wrestling aspect. I come from the theater world. And so, I really grew this new profound appreciation for wrestling because it is so theatrical! And I didn't realize that and so now I've grown to really, really, love it and just the theatricality of it all.

John Betancourt: What attracted you to the role of Staci?

Alison Luff: You know… when I first read Stacey, I… I remember looking at my husband, and I told him immediately, this sounds so corny, but I was like, “This woman dwells inside of me, I know who this woman is, I understand her completely.” And I think it's because I saw so many of the women that mean so much to me in my life within her. You know, I saw bits of my best friend, I saw bits of what I assumed was my grandmother, when she was younger, I saw bits of my mom, I saw bits of myself and that's what drew me to her, I loved her… I loved her confidence, I loved her loyalty, I loved that the strength that she has within her comes from her maternal and nurturing instincts, but also her ability to speak her mind and stand by her conviction. She's a woman that is very, very strong, and her convictions, whatever they are, and I kind of call her the “queen of accountability,” because she's someone that will always hold the people around her accountable to being the best versions of themselves. And that's something that really drew me to her. I think she's a very well-rounded woman. And you can look at her at first and be like, “Oh, she's so pious” or, “Oh, she's just like this… simple, you know, woman.” And she's not. She's got a lot of grit to her.

John Betancourt: What have you enjoyed the most about playing Staci?

Alison Luff: I've just loved representing those kinds of women. I love representing the kind of woman that always puts her family first. Even when it's hard, I love representing and playing the kind of woman that doesn't back down from confrontation or conflict or discord, because I think that any relationship has a bit of healthy discord in it, and has that, you know, something that makes you loyal is holding people that you love accountable, while also showing them grace. And I think that's something that she learns to do a lot more of in season two, is having grace for the people that she loves and realizing that okay, well, sometimes they're not the best versions of themselves, because they're going through this, and having patience and having grace for those things. And I've also just loved playing the grittier side, you know, in season one, episode two when she shoots the squirrel. She's a no nonsense, very efficient woman, she gets done what she needs to get done. And she starts doing that a lot in season two, around the DWL. She takes matters into her own hands.

John Betancourt: What does it mean to you, professionally and personally, to be back for a second season?

Alison Luff: Oh, a dream. I mean, I hope we can do this for a really long time because I could play this woman for a really long time. And I love the people that I work with. I love everyone that's in the show. I love the crew. And it's a really, fun environment. The scripts are super dreamy. And I love working on them from an actor's standpoint. You know, they're beautiful scenes. Steven in episode two, season two has a great monologue. You know, that's all about “who am I?” and it's in the trailer, part of it's in the trailer, I mean, to be able to do a monologue about “who am I?” is so cool. So, it was a dream getting to do season two. And I hope we continue to get to tell the story, this story, and these people because I think there's a lot more to tell.

John Betancourt: Now, I’ve heard other members of this cast speak to how much everyone loves working with one another and how much they love working on this show. Which speaks to a unique dynamic and well, now I have to ask… what is it like on set? What’s a day in life on the set of Heels look like to produce that?

Alison Luff: Oh, it is fun. It depends on the day. So, the days that we're doing wrestling, we call them like the “Dome Days,” or “DWL Days.” And those tend to be really, really, long days. Because there's a lot of action involved. There's a lot of setups, there's a lot of people, there's a lot of choreography, there's a lot of extras, there's a lot that goes into those days. And those are very hard days for a lot of people physically, they're really fun days for me. (Laughs) because I get to sit and watch my friends kick ass, and all their hard work come to fruition and all their training come to fruition and get to admire their hard work, their athleticism. And so those are really fun days, and that those are days that we're usually all together, you know, because when you're filming something, you're not necessarily all together, you know, there'll be days that are like, “Okay, we're doing all the scenes with you for this episode with Jack and Staci at home.” So, then it's you know, just days with Steven and I, or Roxton, which is really fun. But those are different days energy wise, then, you know, “Dome Days” when everybody's there, which is really, really fun. It's a fantastic group. It's awesome. I mean, everyone really did bond really well and continues to bond really well. And I just love them all. I really do.

John Betancourt: Now getting into the structure of the show. What does it mean to you, to be part of a show that explores such powerful and inspiring concepts?

Alison Luff: I think that's what it's all about. It's so important. There's a lot of stuff on TV. And there's a lot of really, really, you know, entertainment is entertainment. And I think there's a place for most of it. And, and there's… it's all about the viewer, it's all about the recipient of the art. I think that sounds so like… blah, blah, blah, but however it resonates with the person watching it, is their interpretation of the art. And that's what's important. But I do think representation is important. And I like representing these characters. And I like representing these people that kind of have unresolved trauma and showing the consequences of that unresolved trauma because a lot of us do, in life and a lot of us don't know how to have healthy discord. And so, if that's how we learn by watching characters and hearing good writing on television, then I feel like that's a service in a way.

John Betancourt: So, I’ve always enjoyed the fact that the characters on this show are constantly searching for something in this show, and that it changes season to season.What would you say Staci is searching for in season two?

Alison Luff: Peace, I think. Peace within herself. Peace within her family. Peace within her marriage. And so, she's searching for that and, and peace within the people that are around her. She wants people to be happy. She wants people to, you know, not be just always treading water with their head above water, you know. So, I guess that's what I would say she's seeking is peace, and she's willing to maybe be… not so peaceful in order to get it.

John Betancourt: What are you most excited for audiences to experience regarding Staci’s journey in this new season?

Alison Luff: I think seeing that, you know, she's not just someone who sits on the sidelines, and commentates. She's someone that takes matters into her own hands. And she's someone that if she feels that there's a problem that needs to be fixed, she will always do it head on. And she will put herself where her mouth is, she'll put her money where her mouth is. And she will always put her family first as well. That's what she wants her husband to do. And she will always do that no matter the consequences. So, she has a bit of a mama bear that comes out in her. And that's what I'm most excited about. It's just for people to see her tenacity.

John Betancourt: What would you say, you are most excited for audiences for audiences to experience this season?

Alison Luff: Ooh, just kind of seeing these characters unfold more. You know, there's a lot of characters in this story and there's a lot of really awesome characters, and so season two just allowed us to dive deeper into those characters and dive deeper into the past and why these humans are the way that they are. And that's been really, really, cool. I can't wait for people to see that and get some answers as to why things happened and why people are the way that they are. And just to see more of Diego to see more of Bobby Pin, and Big Jim. To see more of these, you know, characters that that we fell in love with season one, but didn't necessarily have as much time to explore, because there's so many characters.

John Betancourt: Now depth and meaning and underlying context is something we’ve discussed often today. If there is one message you hope the audience takes away from season two, what would it be?

Alison Luff: That's a great question. I think it would be the importance of… or the reward that comes from consequences, the growth that can come from consequences, that all actions do have a cause and an effect, right? And all actions do have consequences, whether they're good or whether they're bad. But the growth that can come out of that even when they are bad, or even when you don't make the right choice, how there's always a way forward. You know, season one, we saw the horrific death of Tom and he felt like there was no way forward. And so, I think season two has a great way of showing that there is always a way forward. And I hope people take that away from it.

John Betancourt: Last question I have for you today, what are you most proud of when it comes to your work on this show?

Alison Luff: I think just allowing myself to, to grow and, and show the ugly parts of Staci, and not just the not just the pretty parts, and not the parts that I like most about her, but really try and represent her as a well-rounded woman who doesn't necessarily always make the right choice or when she does make the right choice she has no problem having the confidence to stand by it. And I'm really proud of all the people I work with. I'm just proud that… I'm proud that we did it. I'm proud that we filmed season one in a pandemic. And I'm proud that we got to do it again. And I'm proud of everyone's hard work working out, in order to do this show and all the physical toll that it takes on everyone. And I'm proud of our writers, the writing is amazing. And it just continues to grow and be these stories that are so important for people to hear. So… that's what I'm most proud of.

This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.

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