Derek Luke is an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actorAn actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
. He won the Independent Spirit Award for his big-screen debut performance in the 2002 film
Antwone FisherAntwone Fisher is a 2002 American drama film directed by Denzel Washington, marking his directorial debut. He also stars in the film as the psychiatrist Jerome Davenport, alongside Hollywood newcomer Derek Luke, who plays the title role , and ex-model Joy Bryant, as Fisher's girlfriend.The film is...
, directed and produced by
Denzel WashingtonDenzel Hayes Washington Jr. is an American actor, screenwriter, director, and film producer. He first rose to prominence when he joined the cast of the medical drama, St. Elsewhere, playing Dr...
.
Early life
Luke was born in
Jersey City, New JerseyJersey City is the seat of Hudson County, New Jersey, United States.Part of the New York metropolitan area, Jersey City lies between the Hudson River and Upper New York Bay across from Lower Manhattan and the Hackensack River and Newark Bay...
, the son of pianist Marjorie Dixon and
GuyaneseGuyana , officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, previously the colony of British Guiana, is a sovereign state on the northern coast of South America that is culturally part of the Anglophone Caribbean. Guyana was a former colony of the Dutch and of the British...
native Maurice Luke, a former actor.
He graduated from Linden High School, Linden, NJ, Class of 1993.
Career
Luke played one of the four male leads in
Spike LeeShelton Jackson "Spike" Lee is an American film director, producer, writer, and actor. His production company, 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks, has produced over 35 films since 1983....
's 2008 war film
Miracle at St. AnnaMiracle at St. Anna is a 2008 war film, directed by Spike Lee and written by James McBride, based on McBride's novel of the same name. The film was released on September 26, 2008, and is set during World War II, in fall of 1944 in Tuscany and in the winter of 1983 in New York City and Rome...
, replacing
Wesley SnipesWesley Trent Snipes is an American actor, film producer, and martial artist, who has starred in numerous action films, thrillers, and dramatic feature films. Snipes is known for playing the Marvel Comics character Blade in the Blade film trilogy, among various other high profile roles...
, who had to leave the film due to his highly-publicized tax problems.
Luke played a small part as a nurse in the 1999 episode "White Collar" of the sitcom
The King of Queens, and appeared on on the
NBCThe National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
show
TraumaTrauma is a television series which originally ran on NBC from September 28, 2009 to April 28, 2010 and focused on a group of paramedics in San Francisco, California....
. He played one of the group member of Mayhem in the
MoeshaMoesha is an American sitcom series that aired on the UPN network from January 23, 1996 to May 14, 2001. The series stars R&B singer Brandy Norwood as Moesha Mitchell, a high school student living with her family in the Leimert Park neighborhood of South Central Los Angeles.-Overview:The show...
episode "Mayhem at the Jam Esp' (March 19, 2001).
He plays
Alicia KeysAlicia Augello Cook , better known by her stage name Alicia Keys, is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and occasional actress. She was raised by a single mother in the Hell's Kitchen area of Manhattan in New York City. At age seven, Keys began playing the piano...
' love interest in her
music videoA music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
for "
Teenage Love Affair"Teenage Love Affair" is a song by American R&B and soul singer–songwriter Alicia Keys from her third studio album, As I Am . Written by Keys, Jack Splash, Matthew Kahane, and Harold Lilly, it was released as the album's third single in March 2008....
". He played singer Monica's love interest in the her music video for "
So Gone"So Gone" is a song by American R&B singer Monica. It was written by rapper-producer Missy Elliott, Kenneth Cunningham, and Jamahl Rye and co-produced by Elliott and duo Spike & Jamahl for Monica's fourth studio album After the Storm , incorporating a sample of the 1976 recording "You Are Number...
". Luke played
Sean 'Puffy' CombsSean John Combs , also known by his stage names Diddy and P. Diddy, is an American rapper, singer, record producer, actor, and entrepreneur. He has won three Grammy Awards and two MTV Video Music Awards, and his clothing line earned a Council of Fashion Designers of America award. He was originally...
in the 2009 film
NotoriousNotorious is a 2009 American biographical film about the life of iconic hip hop star The Notorious B.I.G. who is played by Jamal Woolard. The film co-stars Angela Bassett as his mother Voletta Wallace, Derek Luke as Sean Combs, and Anthony Mackie as Tupac Shakur...
, and James 'Boobie' Miles in the 2004 film
Friday Night Lights.
Luke was cast to play
Gabe JonesGabriel "Gabe" Jones is a fictional character appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist and co-plotter Jack Kirby, he made his first appearance in the World War II war comics series Sgt...
, a member of the
Howling CommandosThe Howling Commandos is the name of several fictional groups led by Nick Fury in the Marvel Comics Universe.-World War II:The first group of Howling Commandos was an elite special unit formed in World War II...
in
Captain America: The First AvengerCaptain America: The First Avenger is a 2011 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Captain America. It is the fifth installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe...
, released in July 2011.
In June 2011, Luke also began starring in the TNT original medical drama series
HawthoRNeHawthorne is an hour-long medical drama on the TNT television network starring Jada Pinkett Smith and Michael Vartan. It premiered on June 16, 2009. On Thursday, September 16, 2010 it was announced that Hawthorne has been renewed for a third season consisting of 10 episodes...
as Miles Bourdet, an assistant surgeon from Chicago.
Filmography
- Antwone Fisher
Antwone Fisher is a 2002 American drama film directed by Denzel Washington, marking his directorial debut. He also stars in the film as the psychiatrist Jerome Davenport, alongside Hollywood newcomer Derek Luke, who plays the title role , and ex-model Joy Bryant, as Fisher's girlfriend.The film is...
(2002)- Antwone "Fish" FisherAntwone Quenton Fisher is an American director, screenwriter, author and film producer. His 2001 autobiographical book Finding Fish is a New York Times Best Seller...
- Biker Boyz
Biker Boyz is a 2003 film about a group of underground motorcycle drag racers. It stars Laurence Fishburne, Djimon Hounsou, Derek Luke, Meagan Good, and Larenz Tate and is written and directed by Reggie Rock Bythewood...
(2003)- Kid
- Pieces of April
Pieces of April is a 2003 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Peter Hedges. The film debuted at the Sundance Film Festival.- Plot :...
(2003)- Bobby
- Friday Night Lights (2004)- Boobie Miles
James "Boobie" Miles was a high school football tail back, and was a primary subject in the book Friday Night Lights: A Town, a Team, and a Dream by H.G. Bissinger, and the movie inspired by the book...
- Spartan
Spartan is a 2004 American political thriller film written and directed by David Mamet. It features Val Kilmer, Derek Luke, Tia Texada, Ed O'Neill, William H. Macy, and Kristen Bell. It was released in The United States and Canada on 12 March 2004....
(2004)- Curtis
- Glory Road
Glory Road is an American sports film directed by James Gartner, based on a true story dealing with the events leading to the 1966 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship, in which the late Don Haskins – played by Josh Lucas – head coach of the Texas Western College led a team...
(2006)- Bobby Joe HillTyrone Bobby Joe Hill , was an American basketball player and was the leading scorer of the 1965-66 Texas Western College team, helping the Miners win the 1966 NCAA basketball championship...
- Catch a Fire
Catch a Fire is a 2006 dramatic thriller about activists against apartheid in South Africa. The film was directed by Phillip Noyce, from a screenplay written by Shawn Slovo...
(2006)- Patrick Chamusso
- Lions for Lambs
Lions for Lambs is a 2007 American drama film about the connection between a platoon of United States soldiers in Afghanistan, a U.S. senator, a reporter, and a California college professor. It stars Tom Cruise, Robert Redford and Meryl Streep...
(2007)- Arian Finch
- Definitely, Maybe
Definitely, Maybe is a 2008 romantic comedy film directed by Adam Brooks, and starring Ryan Reynolds, Isla Fisher, Rachel Weisz, Elizabeth Banks, Abigail Breslin and Kevin Kline.-Plot:...
(2008)- Russell T. McCormack
- Miracle at St. Anna
Miracle at St. Anna is a 2008 war film, directed by Spike Lee and written by James McBride, based on McBride's novel of the same name. The film was released on September 26, 2008, and is set during World War II, in fall of 1944 in Tuscany and in the winter of 1983 in New York City and Rome...
(2008)- 2nd Staff Sgt. Aubrey Stamps
- Notorious
Notorious is a 2009 American biographical film about the life of iconic hip hop star The Notorious B.I.G. who is played by Jamal Woolard. The film co-stars Angela Bassett as his mother Voletta Wallace, Derek Luke as Sean Combs, and Anthony Mackie as Tupac Shakur...
(2009)- Sean "Puffy" CombsSean John Combs , also known by his stage names Diddy and P. Diddy, is an American rapper, singer, record producer, actor, and entrepreneur. He has won three Grammy Awards and two MTV Video Music Awards, and his clothing line earned a Council of Fashion Designers of America award. He was originally...
- Madea Goes to Jail (2009)- Joshua Hardaway
- Captain America: The First Avenger
Captain America: The First Avenger is a 2011 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Captain America. It is the fifth installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe...
(2011)- Gabe JonesGabriel "Gabe" Jones is a fictional character appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist and co-plotter Jack Kirby, he made his first appearance in the World War II war comics series Sgt...
- Sparkle (2012)- Stix
- Seeking A Friend for the End of the World
Seeking a Friend for the End of the World is an upcoming comedy with an ensemble cast. Filming began May of 2011, in Los Angeles, California.-Plot:The end of the world nears from the impending doom of an asteroid crash...
(2012)- Speck
Television
- The King of Queens
The King of Queens is an American sitcom that originally ran on CBS from September 21, 1998, to May 14, 2007.This show was produced by Hanley Productions and CBS Productions , CBS Paramount Television ,and CBS Television Studios in association with Columbia TriStar Television , and Sony Pictures...
(1999/2000)- Orderly/Delivery Man
- Moesha
Moesha is an American sitcom series that aired on the UPN network from January 23, 1996 to May 14, 2001. The series stars R&B singer Brandy Norwood as Moesha Mitchell, a high school student living with her family in the Leimert Park neighborhood of South Central Los Angeles.-Overview:The show...
(2001)- Ruckus
- Trauma
Trauma is a television series which originally ran on NBC from September 28, 2009 to April 28, 2010 and focused on a group of paramedics in San Francisco, California....
(2010)- Cameron Boone
- HawthoRNe
Hawthorne is an hour-long medical drama on the TNT television network starring Jada Pinkett Smith and Michael Vartan. It premiered on June 16, 2009. On Thursday, September 16, 2010 it was announced that Hawthorne has been renewed for a third season consisting of 10 episodes...
(2011)- Dr. Miles Bourdet
- CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation is an American crime drama television series, which premiered on CBS on October 6, 2000. The show was created by Anthony E. Zuiker and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer...
(1 episode, "CSI DownThe twelfth season of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation premiered on September 21, 2011 on CBS. The show now airs on Wednesdays at 10/9c, following Criminal Minds.-Notable cast members:...
", 2011) - Paramedic
External links