Derek Luke Biography

Derek Luke's family moved frequently among Jersey City's rough and impoverished neighborhoods. He attended six different schools before finally settling at a performing arts school in Jersey City. In 1995 he packed his bags and moved across the country to Los Angeles with hopes of making it big in Hollywood.

Like many actors, Luke initially struggled to break into the acting world. He only had two acting credits to his name when he managed to land the title role in the acclaimed 2002 film "Antwone Fisher," an autobiographical film written by the real-life Antwone Fisher and directed by Denzel Washington. Luke received rave reviews for his big-screen debut and won an Independent Spirit Award for his performance.

Since then, Luke has gone on to become a versatile actor. He played a high school football star in the 2004 film "Friday Night Lights," and in 2006, he played the South African anti-apartheid activist Patrick Chamusso in "Catch a Fire," co-starring Tim Robbins. After appearing in the 2008 romantic comedy "Definitely, Maybe," Luke played music mogul Sean Combs in "Notorious," a film about the late rapper Biggie Smalls.

Luke went on to play paramedic Cameron Boone in the NBC drama series "Trauma" and Gabe Jones in "Captain America."

In 2013, Luke starred in the comedy "Baggage Claim," opposite Paula Patton.

Luke attributes much of his success in Hollywood to his fearlessness. He has made a career of portraying real people while they are still alive -- roles that come with added pressure and scrutiny and from which many actors steer clear.

"No matter what project," he says, "I've always had to bind up and wrestle fear, because acting is really about faith. And faith and fear can't really stay in the same room. So, in order for you to be more than a conqueror, you're going to have to defeat fear with faith."

Luke most recently stars as Malcolm Devaux in the TV Drama, "Empire."

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