Copyright © 2019 Albuquerque Journal
For six months, Netflix’s “Chambers” filmed around Albuquerque.
Crews worked diligently at getting shots set up at area high schools, locales in the foothills and Downtown, as well as being housed at I-25 Studios.
The Duke City became a home away from home for the cast.
Today, the 10-episode series is available for streaming on Netflix, and viewers will notice plenty of Albuquerque locations.
“Chambers” tells the story of a young heart attack survivor, Sasha Yazzie, played by Sivan Alyra Rose, who becomes consumed by the mystery surrounding the heart that saved her life.
However, the closer she gets to uncovering the truth about her donor’s sudden death, the more she starts taking on the characteristics of the deceased – some of which are troublingly sinister.
Uma Thurman plays Nancy, the mother of a heart donor, Becky, who forges a hesitant relationship with the young recipient only to find out that her daughter may not be as dead as she thought.
Starring alongside Thurman is Tony Goldwyn, who plays Ben Lefevre – Becky’s father. He is the philanthropic owner of Annex Power.
The supernatural series is also gaining attention for the majority of the cast being Native American or Latino.
Marcus LaVoi and Jonny Rios play Big Frank Yazzie and Ravi, respectively.
LaVoi was raised on the White Earth Indian Reservation in Minnesota, went on to serve in the military and entered law enforcement for the California Department of Corrections, where he served for more than 14 years.
He jumped at the chance to work on this project.
“The showrunners did a great job at making the cast diverse,” LaVoi said. “With this project, they are changing the paradigm. Having a lot of Native American actors means that people like me can see themselves represented in film. It’s a big deal.”
According to the New Mexico Film Office, the production employed about 180 New Mexico crew members, 75 New Mexico actors and approximately 400 New Mexico background talent.
The series has four directors: Alfonso Gomez-Rejon, Dana Gonzales, Geeta Patel and Gallup native Sydney Freeland.
While LaVoi is a veteran in the industry, Rios is starring in his first series.
He took the time to learn from LaVoi, Goldwyn and Thurman while on set.
“When I first read the script, it just spoke to me,” Rios said. “I think Leah Rachel and the other writers were able to create real circumstances that we could relate to. The characters are fully realized and it really took me on a journey. Landing this role made all of my nights riding on the train and missing meals totally worth it.”
Rios said that being able to be part of such a diverse cast was incredible, since he learned from each person.
“This is my first big role,” he said. “The entire cast reunited for the premiere last week, and we realized that we created something special. Albuquerque was a big part of making it happen.”
