Derek Nathanial Luke (born April 24, 1974) 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 Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. (born December 28, 1954) is an American actor and filmmaker. He has been described as an actor who reconfigured "the concept of classic movie stardom". Throughout his career spanning over four decades, Washington ha ...

. Luke 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 ''Madea Goes to Jail'' is a 2009 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Tyler Perry, which was based on his 2006 play, and starring Perry, Derek Luke, Keshia Knight Pulliam, Ion Overman, RonReaco Lee, Sofía Vergara, Vanessa Fe ...

'' (2009),

Gabe Jones Gabriel "Gabe" Jones is a fictional character appearing in American 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 World War II war comics seri ...

in '' Captain America: The First Avenger'' (2011), William Wright in '' Baggage Claim'' (2013), and as Kevin Porter on the

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a ...

original series ''

13 Reasons Why ''13 Reasons Why'' is an American teen drama television series developed for Netflix by Brian Yorkey and based on the 2007 novel '' Thirteen Reasons Why'' by author Jay Asher. The series revolves around high school student Clay Jensen ( Dylan ...

'' (2017–2020).

Early life

Luke 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. He attended

Henry Snyder High School Academy of the Arts at Henry Snyder High School is a four-year performing arts public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grades, located in the Greenville section of Jersey City, New Jersey, United States, operating as part o ...

and graduated from Linden High School.

Career

Luke played one of the four male leads in

Spike Lee Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee (born March 20, 1957) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. His production company, 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks, has produced more than 35 films since 1983. He made his directorial debut ...

's 2008 war film '' Miracle at St. Anna'', replacing

Wesley Snipes Wesley Trent Snipes (born July 31, 1962) is an American actor, film producer, and martial artist. His prominent film roles include '' Major League'' (1989), '' New Jack City'' (1991), ''White Men Can't Jump'' (1992), '' Passenger 57'' (1992), '' ...

, who had to leave the film due to his highly publicized tax problems. Luke played a small role as a nurse in the 1999 episode "White Collar" of the sitcom ''The King of Queens'', and appeared on the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters ...

show '' Trauma''. He played one of the group members of Mayhem in the '' Moesha'' episode "Mayhem at the Jam Esp" (March 19, 2001). Luke played alongside American actor Laurence Fishburne as Kid in the 2003 film Biker Boyz. He plays

Alicia Keys Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. A classically trained pianist, Keys started composing songs when she was 12 and was signed at 15 years old by Colu ...

' love interest in her

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing devi ...

for " Teenage Love Affair". He played singer

Monica Monica may refer to: People *Monica (actress) (born 1987), Indian film actress *Monica (given name), a given name (including a list of people and characters with the name) *Monica (singer) (born 1980), American R&B singer, songwriter, producer, ...

's love interest in her music video for " So Gone". Luke played Sean 'Puffy' Combs in the 2009 film ''

Notorious Notorious means well known for a negative trait, characteristic, or action. It may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Notorious'' (1946 film), a thriller directed by Alfred Hitchcock * ''Notorious'' (1992 film), a TV film re ...

'', and

James 'Boobie' Miles James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

in the 2004 film ''Friday Night Lights''. Luke was cast to play Bobby Joe in Glory Road. Luke played

, a member of the Howling Commandos, in the 2011 film '' Captain America: The First Avenger''. In June 2011, Luke also began starring in the TNT original medical drama series '' HawthoRNe'' as Miles Bourdet, an assistant surgeon from Chicago. From February to April 2013, Luke played the character of "Gregory" in the FX series ''

The Americans ''The Americans'' is an American period spy drama television series created by Joe Weisberg that aired on the FX television network for six seasons from January 30, 2013, to May 30, 2018. Weisberg and Joel Fields also serve as showrunners a ...

''. In 2015, he played Malcolm Devoe, head of security for Empire Entertainment on the TV series ''Empire'' and Cookie's secret love interest. In March, 2018, he was cast in the lead role of the NBC pilot "Suspicion."

Personal life

Since 1998, Luke has been married to actress Sophia Adella Luke. They have a son together.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

*
Interview, 1/12/06, LIFETEEN.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Luke, Derek 1974 births Living people 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors African-American male actors American male film actors American male television actors American people of Guyanese descent Henry Snyder High School alumni Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead winners Linden High School (New Jersey) alumni People from Linden, New Jersey Male actors from Jersey City, New Jersey 20th-century African-American people 21st-century African-American people