Luke Anthony Pensabene is an American

film actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

, film producer,

cinematographer The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the recording of a film, television production, music video or other live-action piece. The cinematographer is the chief of the camera ...

, and

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

veteran. He appeared in the films '' Fletcher and Jenks'' (2016), '' The Phantom Hour'' (2016), and produced the films '' South of 8'' (2016), ''

Friend of the World ''Friend of the World'' is a 2020 American independent black-and-white film written and directed by Brian Patrick Butler in his feature film debut, starring Nick Young and Alexandra Slade. The surreal experimental film takes place post-apocaly ...

'' (2020), and ''Hacksaw'' (2020). Pensabene is a recipient of The Vigil Honor and was nominated for acting at the

GI Film Festival San Diego The GI Film Festival is an annual film festival focused on military and veteran experiences, held in San Diego, California. Films featured in the festival reveal the struggles, triumphs, and experiences of service members and veterans. The festiv ...

in 2017.

Early life

Pensabene was born in 1991 at

Staten Island University Hospital Staten Island University Hospital (SIUH) is a member hospital of Northwell Health. It is a major tertiary referral center in Staten Island, New York City. SIUH is a two-campus, 668-bed specialized teaching hospital. Occupying two large campuses ...

. He grew up in

Great Kills, Staten Island Great Kills is a neighborhood within the borough of Staten Island in New York City. It is located on the island's South Shore, and according to many local geographers, it is the South Shore's northernmost community. It is bordered by Richmond ...

, attending PS 8 Shirlee Solomon School and started yoga at the age of 10. In 2002, Pensabene was a

trombonist The trombone (, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's lips vibrate inside a mouthpiece, causing the air column inside the instrument to ...

in Staten Island's Boroughwide Band for the annual "Salute to Music" concert at

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...

. While attending

St. Joseph by the Sea High School St. Joseph by-the-Sea High School (also known as SJS or Sea) is a co-educational Catholic school in the Huguenot neighborhood of Staten Island, New York, United States. Though technically an independent school with its own board of trustees, ...

, he competed in track in 2005 for the 2.5 mile run at the 79th CHSAA Intersectional Cross Country Championship at

Van Cortlandt Park Van Cortlandt Park is a urban park, park located in the borough (New York City), borough of the Bronx in New York City. Owned by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, it is managed with assistance from the Van Cortlandt Park Al ...

and the distance medley for the Martin Luther King Jr. relays at

Fort Washington Avenue Armory The Fort Washington Avenue Armory, also known as the Fort Washington Armory, The Armory, and the 22nd Regiment Armory, is a historic 5,000-seat arena and armory building located at 216 Fort Washington Avenue, between West 168th and 169th Stre ...

in 2006. In 2008, Pensabene was one of ten

boy scouts Boy Scouts or Boy Scout may refer to: * Members, sections or organisations in the Scouting Movement ** Scout (Scouting), a boy or a girl participating in the worldwide Scouting movement ** Scouting America, formerly known as Boy Scouts of America ...

Camp Aquehonga The Greater New York Councils (GNYC) is a local council of the Boy Scouts of America that serves the New York City area. GNYC has a unique organization in that it is sub-divided into borough councils, each of which is led by a borough executive. ...

to earn over 50 merit badges. He had previously achieved

Scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement ** Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom ** Scouts BSA, sect ...

, First Class and

Star A star is a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by Self-gravitation, self-gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye at night sk ...

rankings before he was awarded The Vigil Honor in 2010.

Career

Pensabene is a veteran of the

. In 2021, he produced ''

Graduation Afternoon "Graduation Afternoon" is a short story by American writer Stephen King, originally published in the March 2007 issue of '' Postscripts'', and collected in King's 2008 collection '' Just After Sunset''. Plot summary The story tells of a young w ...

'', a

Stephen King Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author. Dubbed the "King of Horror", he is widely known for his horror novels and has also explored other genres, among them Thriller (genre), suspense, crime fiction, crime, scienc ...

adaptation by author Marie D. Jones that was directed by

Rob Padilla Jr. ''Hemet, or the Landlady Don't Drink Tea'' is a 2023 American satirical dark comedy film directed by Tony Olmos and written by Brian Patrick Butler. Butler also leads the ensemble cast that includes Kimberly Weinberger, Aimee La Joie, Randy Davis ...

Gray Area Multimedia

Pensabene, along with Jeanette Di Pinza and

Tony Olmos Tony Olmos is a Mexican-American filmmaker and musician who is the creator of the films Continuance (film), ''Continuance'' (2021) and ''South of 8'' (2016), and directed ''Hemet, or the Landlady Don't Drink Tea'' (2023), ''Fletcher and Jenks'' ...

, formed a production company called Rosewood Five Studios that was located at 1150 Seventh Ave in the basement of the C Street Inn. After the production of films like ''South of 8'', ''The Phantom Hour'', and a production of the

San Diego International Fringe Festival The San Diego International Fringe Festival is a non-profit fringe theatre festival project of conTACT ARTS, in association with the Actors Alliance of San Diego, designed to help provide a platform for artists while also helping the community as ...

in 2017, the venue became Gray Area Multimedia, which was solely managed by Pensabene. Under the Gray Area banner, the location housed the film productions of ''

'' by

Brian Patrick Butler Brian Patrick Butler is an American actor, film director, screenwriter, and film producer. He is known for writing and directing the film ''Friend of the World'' (2020), writing and performing in the film ''Hemet, or the Landlady Don't Drink Tea ...

, ''Hacksaw'' by Anthony Leone, ''Touch'' by

Justin Burquist Justin Burquist is an American filmmaker and music video director who directed the films ''Broken Knuckles'' (2013), ''Touch'' (2022), and was the cinematographer for the films '' Hemet, or the Landlady Don't Drink Tea'' (2023) and ''Pulp Fricti ...

, and ''Everybody Dies by the End'' by Ian Tripp and Ryan Schafer.

''Mike & Fred vs. The Dead''

In 2023, Pensabene was a co-producer for the

stoner comedy Stoner film is a subgenre of comedy film based on marijuana themes, where recreational use often drives the plot, sometimes representing cannabis culture more broadly or intended for that audience. Genre The midnight movie scene in the ...

film ''Mike & Fred vs. The Dead'' by film director Anthony Leone and executive producer

James Cullen Bressack James Cullen Bressack (born c. 1992 in Los Angeles, California) is an American film producer, screenwriter and film director. He is the son of Emmy Award-winning writer Gordon Bressack and voice actress Ellen Gerstell.Couch, Aaron (2015)Tom Gr ...

. The film is about two stoners navigating through a lockdown of the undead. It starred Amy Cay,

George Jac ''Fletcher and Jenks'' is a 2016 American dark comedy short film directed by Tony Olmos, written by Jordan Jacobo, and starring George Jac and Kayla Schaffroth. The film was made as part of the 48 Hour Film Project in 2016 and Schaffroth won Bes ...

Felissa Rose Felissa Rose Esposito (born May 23, 1969), better known as simply Felissa Rose, is an American actress and producer. She has amassed over 150 film credits, and is best known for her work in the Horror film, horror genre, for which she is recogni ...

and featured Sadie Katz, Michael C. Burgess, and

Nick Young Nicholas Aaron Young (born June 1, 1985), nicknamed "Swaggy P", is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the USC Trojans and was a two-time first-team all-conference selection in the Pac-10 The ...

. It was produced by Brain Damage Films and Leone Films.

Filmography

Accolades

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pensabene, Luke American film producers American film actors 1991 births Living people Military personnel from San Diego Military personnel from Staten Island Male actors from San Diego Male actors from Staten Island St. Joseph by the Sea High School alumni Film producers from California Film producers from New York City American cinematographers 21st-century United States Marines