# Derek Luke

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. He 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 (2009), Gabe Jones in Captain America: The First Avenger (2011), William Wright in Baggage Claim (2013), and Kevin Porter on the Netflix original series 13 Reasons Why (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.
Derek attended Henry Snyder High School and graduated from Linden High School.

## Career

Luke played a small role as a nurse in the 1999 "White Collar" episode of the sitcom The King of Queens, and played one of the group members of Mayhem in the Moesha episode "Mayhem at the Jam Esp" (March 19, 2001).
Luke's breakout role was in the title role of the Denzel Washington film Antwone Fisher. The 2002 film is about a sailor who must go to psychiatrist for assistance with his childhood trauma, which is the source of his outbursts. As the story develops, he comes to terms with his past and starts a journey to find his family. Next, he appeared alongside American actor Laurence Fishburne as Kid in the 2003 film Biker Boyz. In this film Derek Luke plays the son of a mechanic who worked for a motorcycle racer known as smoke. As the film develops Lukes's father in the film dies while an active off-the-grid race was taking place. Later the son begins to race and shows his talent, but smoke denies a race with him. In retaliation he decided to create a motorcycle gang to rival smokers gang called “Biker Boyz” which starts a conflict. Then he subsequently played James 'Boobie' Miles in the 2004 film Friday Night Lights, Bobby Joe in the 2006 film Glory Road, and Sean 'Puffy' Combs in the 2009 film Notorious. He also played Alicia Keys' love interest in her music video for "Teenage Love Affair", and singer Monica's love interest in her music video for "So Gone".
Luke played one of the four male leads in Spike Lee's 2008 war film Miracle at St. Anna, replacing Wesley Snipes, who had to leave the film due to his highly publicized tax problems.
Luke starred in the NBC show Trauma. He played Gabe Jones, a member of the Howling Commandos, in the 2011 Marvel Studios film Captain America: The First Avenger. In June 2011, he also began starring in the TNT original medical drama series Hawthorne as Miles Bourdet, an assistant surgeon from Chicago.
From February to April 2013, he played Gregory Thomas in the FX series The Americans. In 2015, he played Malcolm Devoe, head of security for Empire Entertainment and Cookie's secret love interest, on the TV series Empire. In March 2018, he was cast in the lead role of the NBC pilot Suspicion.

## Personal life

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

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2002 | Antwone Fisher | Antwone "Fish" Fisher | BET Award for Best Actor Black Reel Award for Best Actor Black Reel Award for Best Breakthrough Performance Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead National Board of Review Award for Best Male Breakthrough Performance Satellite Award for Outstanding New Talent Nominated—Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Most Promising Newcomer Nominated—MTV Movie Award for Best Male Breakthrough Performance Nominated—Teen Choice Award for Choice Breakout Movie Actor |
| 2003 | Pieces of April | Bobby | |
| 2003 | Biker Boyz | Kid | |
| 2004 | Spartan | Curtis | |
| 2004 | Friday Night Lights | Boobie Miles | |
| 2006 | Glory Road | Bobby Joe Hill | Hollywood Film Festival Award for Best Breakthrough Actor |
| 2006 | Catch a Fire | Patrick Chamusso | Nominated—Black Reel Award for Best Actor Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama |
| 2007 | Lions for Lambs | Arian Finch | |
| 2008 | Definitely, Maybe | Russell T. McCormack | |
| 2008 | Miracle at St. Anna | 2nd Staff Sgt. Aubrey Stamps | Nominated—Black Reel Award for Best Actor Nominated—Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture |
| 2009 | Notorious | Sean "Puffy" Combs | |
| 2009 | Madea Goes to Jail | Joshua Hardaway | Nominated—Black Reel Award for Best Supporting Actor |
| 2011 | Captain America: The First Avenger | Gabe Jones | |
| 2012 | Seeking a Friend for the End of the World | Alan Speck | |
| 2012 | Sparkle | Stix | |
| 2013 | Baggage Claim | William Wright | |
| 2014 | Alex of Venice | Frank | |
| 2014 | Supremacy | Raymond | |
| 2014 | Sight Unseen | — | |
| 2015 | Self/less | Anton | |
| 2021 | American Refugee | Greg Taylor | |
| 2022 | Alone Together | John | |
| 2022 | Darby and the Dead | Ben Harper | |
| 2023 | Rare Objects | Ben Winshaw | |
| 2025 | Michael | Johnnie Cochran | Post-production |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1999–2000 | The King of Queens | Delivery Man / Orderly | 2 episodes |
| 2001 | Moesha | Ruckus | Episode: "Mayhem at the Jam" |
| 2009–2010 | Trauma | Cameron Boone | 20 episodes |
| 2011 | Hawthorne | Dr. Miles Bourdet | 8 episodes |
| 2013, 2018 | The Americans | Gregory Thomas | 4 episodes |
| 2015 | Empire | Malcolm DeVeaux | 3 episodes |
| 2015–2017 | Rogue | Marlon Dinard | Series regular, 20 episodes |
| 2016 | Roots | Silla Ba Dibba | 2 episodes |
| 2017–2019 | 13 Reasons Why | Mr. Kevin Porter | Main cast (Seasons 1–2); Guest (Season 3); 27 episodes |
| 2019 | God Friended Me | Henry Chase | Episode; "Que Sera Sera" |
| 2019 | The Purge | Marcus Moore | Main; 10 episodes |
| 2023 | The Crossover | Chuck Bell | Main role |