STATE OF THE ARTIST
the warrior wolf by Elizabeth Glauser photo by Alicia Gbur
M
embers of the Quileute Pack spend a Meraz put his skills and notoriety towards a lot of time showing off their muscles good cause, playing right fielder and pitcher while safeguarding their native lands for Vampire Baseball in New Orleans last from vampires. With The Twilight Saga: Breaking year at Zephyr Stadium. Proceeds from the Dawn - Part I hitting theaters, the pack and game and events surrounding it went to their six-packs will be getting a lot of attention. Haiti relief efforts, the 9TH Ward Field of This will mark Alex Meraz’s third appearance as Dreams and the Blood Drive of Louisiana. Paul in the hugely successful Twilight franchise. Meraz’s athleticism and martial arts What does reprising this role mean for Meraz? background came in handy for the Baton Rouge “Shirtless, yet again. Fake abs and more oils,” shot actioner Never Back Down 2. “It’s like 90210, laughs Meraz. “My abs are real, but they make meets mixed martial arts, meets fighting,” says [them] a little more defined.” Cast members of Meraz. Not only was the movie filmed in Baton the wolf pack spent time in the cold Canadian Rouge, but the film was also set in the capitol city. outdoors with little but makeup for warmth while The movie follows four men with completely filming their scenes for Twilight. “I’m part of the different backgrounds, training together with a wolf pack in that franchise, but my portion’s going retired MMA fighter, played by Michael Jai White. photo by Ashley Merlin While preparing for the competition, one of the to be shot in Vancouver,” he says, thus managing to avoid Baton Rouge’s Twilight vigil for the filming of the series’ finale. trainees betrays the group. Meraz plays one of the four main characters, The Arizona native has however made multiple trips, first Zack, a former boxer who turns to MMA to fulfill his need to compete. experiencing Louisiana by picking up a bat. The multi-talented “He’s just an unapologetic, fast-talking, douchebag boxer.”
24 | October/November 2011