Derek Nathanial Luke (born April 24, 1974)[1] is an American actor. He won the Independent Spirit Award for his big-screen debut performance as the titular character in the 2002 film Antwone Fisher, directed and produced by Denzel Washington.[2] He is also known for his roles as Boobie Miles in Friday Night Lights (2004), Bobby Joe Hill in Glory Road (2006), Joshua Hardaway in Madea Goes to Jail (2009), Gabe Jones in Captain America: The First Avenger (2011), William Wright in Baggage Claim (2013), and Kevin Porter on the Netflix original series 13 Reasons Why (2017–2020).
Derek Luke | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Luke at Orlando, Florida in 2013 | |
| Born | Derek Nathanial Luke April 24, 1974 Jersey City, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1999–present |
| Spouse |
Sophia Adella Luke (m. 1998) |
| Children | 1 |
Early life
editLuke was born in Jersey City, New Jersey, the son of Marjorie Dixon, a pianist, and Maurice Luke, a former actor. His father is from Georgetown, Guyana.[3][4]
Derek attended Henry Snyder High School and graduated from Linden High School.[5]
Career
editThis section is missing information about Antwone Fisher, Luke's first and breakout role, among several other notable parts. (August 2023) |
Luke played a small role as a nurse in the 1999 "White Collar" episode of the sitcom The King of Queens, and played one of the group members of Mayhem in the Moesha episode "Mayhem at the Jam Esp" (March 19, 2001).
Luke's breakout role was in the title role of the Denzel Washington film Antwone Fisher. The 2002 film is about a sailor who must go to psychiatrist for assistance with his childhood trauma, which is the source of his outbursts. As the story develops, he comes to terms with his past and starts a journey to find his family. [6] Next, he appeared alongside American actor Laurence Fishburne as Kid in the 2003 film Biker Boyz. In this film Derek Luke plays the son of a mechanic who worked for a motorcycle racer known as smoke. As the film develops Lukes's father in the film dies while an active off-the-grid race was taking place. Later the son begins to race and shows his talent, but smoke denies a race with him. In retaliation he decided to create a motorcycle gang to rival smokers gang called “Biker Boyz” which starts a conflict.[7] Then he subsequently played James 'Boobie' Miles in the 2004 film Friday Night Lights, Bobby Joe in the 2006 film Glory Road, and Sean 'Puffy' Combs in the 2009 film Notorious.[2] He also played Alicia Keys' love interest in her music video for "Teenage Love Affair", and singer Monica's love interest in her music video for "So Gone".
Luke played one of the four male leads in Spike Lee's 2008 war film Miracle at St. Anna, replacing Wesley Snipes, who had to leave the film due to his highly publicized tax problems.[8]
Luke starred in the NBC show Trauma. He played Gabe Jones, a member of the Howling Commandos, in the 2011 Marvel Studios film Captain America: The First Avenger. In June 2011, he also began starring in the TNT original medical drama series Hawthorne as Miles Bourdet, an assistant surgeon from Chicago.
From February to April 2013, he played Gregory Thomas in the FX series The Americans. In 2015, he played Malcolm Devoe, head of security for Empire Entertainment and Cookie's secret love interest, on the TV series Empire. In March 2018, he was cast in the lead role of the NBC pilot Suspicion.[9]
Personal life
editLuke has been married to actress Sophia Adella Luke since April 4, 1998.[10][better source needed] They have one son.[citation needed]
Filmography
editFilm
editTelevision
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999–2000 | The King of Queens | Delivery Man / Orderly | 2 episodes |
| 2001 | Moesha | Ruckus | Episode: "Mayhem at the Jam" |
| 2009–2010 | Trauma | Cameron Boone | 20 episodes |
| 2011 | Hawthorne | Dr. Miles Bourdet | 8 episodes |
| 2013, 2018 | The Americans | Gregory Thomas | 4 episodes |
| 2015 | Empire | Malcolm DeVeaux | 3 episodes |
| 2015–2017 | Rogue | Marlon Dinard | Series regular, 20 episodes |
| 2016 | Roots | Silla Ba Dibba | 2 episodes |
| 2017–2019 | 13 Reasons Why | Mr. Kevin Porter | Main cast (Seasons 1–2); Guest (Season 3); 27 episodes |
| 2019 | God Friended Me | Henry Chase | Episode; "Que Sera Sera"[12] |
| 2019 | The Purge | Marcus Moore | Main; 10 episodes |
| 2023 | The Crossover | Chuck Bell | Main role |
References
edit- ^ "Today in History - April 24". Fox News. May 4, 2012.
- ^ a b Kam Williams (January 25, 2009). "Derek Luke: The Notorious Interview". KamWilliams.com. Retrieved June 30, 2009.
- ^ "Tim Robbins and Derek Luke interview about Catch a Fire". PopEntertainment.com. 2006. Retrieved November 10, 2007.
- ^ "Derek Luke Biography". Yahoo! Movies. Retrieved November 10, 2007.
- ^ Staff. "Actor Derek Luke comes home to talk with Snyder High students", The Jersey Journal, December 22, 2008. Accessed July 23, 2019. "Jersey City born-and-raised actor Derek Luke is at Snyder High School, where he attended, this morning to talk to students, a school official said this morning. The star of Biker Boyz, Antoine Fisher and Glory Road, is expected to talk about his life experiences and rough times growing up in Jersey City. Luke attended Snyder, but graduated from Linden High."
- ^ "Antwone Fisher". Rotton Tomatoes. Retrieved November 10, 2024.
- ^ "Biker Boyz". Rotton Tomatoes. Retrieved November 14, 2024.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Collis, Clark. "Fall Movie Summer Preview, September: Miracle at St. Anna". Entertainment Weekly, Iss. #1007/1008, August 22/29, 2008, pg. 42-45.
- ^ Otterson, Joe (March 2, 2018). "13 Reasons Why Star Derek Luke Set for Lead Role in NBC Drama Pilot Suspicion". Variety. Retrieved May 13, 2018.
- ^ "Sophia Adella Luke - IMDb". IMDb. 2015. Retrieved July 8, 2015.
- ^ Lang, Brent (November 18, 2021). "Derek Luke to Reunite With Katie Holmes in 'Rare Objects' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved November 18, 2021.
- ^ "God Friended Me Casts Derek Luke as Mysterious Hacker Henry Chase". TVLine. March 29, 2019.