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'' (2020), and ''Hacksaw'' (2020). Pensabene is a recipient of The Vigil Honor and was nominated for acting at the GI Film Festival San Diego 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, attending PS 8 Shirlee Solomon School and started yoga at the age of 10. In 2002, Pensabene was a trombonist 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 at Camp Aquehonga 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'', 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..

Gray Area Multimedia

Pensabene, along with Jeanette Di Pinza and Tony Olmos, 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 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 '' Friend of the World'' by Brian Patrick Butler, ''Hacksaw'' by Anthony Leone, ''Touch'' by Justin Burquist, 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, Brian Patrick Butler, George Jac, Felissa Rose and featured Sadie Katz, Michael C. Burgess, and Nick Young. 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