Derek Luke facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Derek Luke
Luke at Orlando, Florida in 2013
Born	Derek Nathanial Luke (1974-04-24) April 24, 1974 (age 51) Jersey City, New Jersey, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1999–present
Spouse(s)	Sophia Adella Luke ​ (m. 1998)​
Children	1

Derek Nathanial Luke (born on April 24, 1974) is an American actor. He is known for his many movie and TV roles.

Derek won an award called the Independent Spirit Award for his very first big movie role. This was in the 2002 film Antwone Fisher, which was directed by Denzel Washington.

You might also know him from his roles as Boobie Miles in the movie Friday Night Lights (2004) or as Bobby Joe Hill in Glory Road (2006). He also played Gabe Jones in the superhero movie Captain America: The First Avenger (2011). More recently, he was Kevin Porter in the popular Netflix series 13 Reasons Why (2017–2020).

Early Life and School

Derek Luke was born in Jersey City, New Jersey. His mother, Marjorie Dixon, was a pianist, and his father, Maurice Luke, was an actor. His father came from Guyana.

Derek went to Henry Snyder High School and later graduated from Linden High School.

Derek Luke's Acting Career

Derek Luke started his acting career with small parts. In 1999, he was a nurse in an episode of the TV show The King of Queens. He also appeared in an episode of Moesha in 2001.

Breakthrough Role in Antwone Fisher

Derek's first big role was playing the main character in the 2002 film Antwone Fisher. This movie is about a sailor who gets help from a psychiatrist to deal with difficult childhood memories. As the story goes on, he learns to understand his past and searches for his family.

Other Notable Movies

After Antwone Fisher, Derek Luke starred in several other movies:

• In 2003, he was in Biker Boyz with actor Laurence Fishburne. Derek played a young man who starts his own motorcycle gang to challenge a famous racer.
• In 2004, he played James 'Boobie' Miles in the football movie Friday Night Lights.
• He played Bobby Joe in the 2006 film Glory Road, which tells the story of a college basketball team.
• In 2009, he played Sean 'Puffy' Combs in the film Notorious.

Derek also appeared in music videos. He was the love interest in Alicia Keys' video for "Teenage Love Affair" and in Monica's video for "So Gone".

Later Film and TV Roles

In 2008, Derek Luke was one of the main actors in Spike Lee's war film Miracle at St. Anna.

He also starred in the NBC show Trauma. In 2011, he joined the Marvel Studios universe, playing Gabe Jones, a member of the Howling Commandos, in the movie Captain America: The First Avenger. That same year, he started acting in the TNT medical drama series Hawthorne as Dr. Miles Bourdet.

From 2013 to 2018, he played Gregory Thomas in the FX series The Americans. In 2015, he was Malcolm Devoe on the TV series Empire. He also had a main role in the Netflix series 13 Reasons Why from 2017 to 2019.

Personal Life

Derek Luke has been married to actress Sophia Adella Luke since April 4, 1998. They have one son together.

Filmography

Film

Television

See also

In Spanish: Derek Luke para niños