Derek Luke
Derek Luke stars as Chuck Bell on “The Crossover,” from Disney Branded Television, based on his best-selling, Newbery medal-winning middle-grade novel of the same name.
Luke was first introduced to audiences worldwide with his memorable performance in the lead role of “Antwone Fisher,” written by the real-life Antwone Fisher and directed by Denzel Washington. He earned awards and accolades for his performance, including the BET and Black Reel Awards for Best Actor and the Film Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead. He also starred in another inspiring true story, the Focus Features film “Catch a Fire,” as real-life South African hero Patrick Chamusso. The performance brought him Satellite and Black Reel Award nominations, as well as the Breakthrough Award from the Hollywood Awards and the Star of Tomorrow Award from the Motion Picture Club. The film, directed by Phillip Noyce, also starred Tim Robbins and Bonnie Henna.
Luke has starred in over 19 films. Notable credits include “Biker Boys,” opposite Laurence Fishburne; Peter Hedges’ award-winning “Pieces of April,” opposite Katie Holmes; David Mamet’s “Spartan”; Pete Berg’s “Friday Night Lights”; James Gartner’s “Glory Road,” produced by Jerry Bruckheimer; George Tillman Jr.’s “Notorious,” in which he portrayed Sean Combs; Tyler Perry’s “Madea Goes to Jail”; Lorene Scafaria’s “Seeking a Friend at the End of the World”; Spike Lee’s “Miracle at St. Anna,” for which he was a Best Actor nominee again at the Black Reel Awards as well as an NAACP Image Award nominee; and Marvel’s “Captain America,” opposite Chris Evans.
Most recently, he reunited with his “Pieces of April” co-star, Katie Holmes, in two independent films written and directed by Holmes: “Alone Together” and the upcoming “Rare Objects.” He also starred in the Blumhouse for Epix drama “American Refugee” and most recently appeared in the Hulu supernatural comedy “Darby and the Dead.”
His notable series credits include season two of USA’s anthology drama, “The Purge” (based on the hit film franchise), NBC’s “Trauma,” TNT’s “Hawthorne,” FX’s “The Americans,” FOX’s “Empire,” season three of DirecTV’s “Rogue,” History Channel’s remake of “Roots,” and Netflix’s “13 Reasons Why.”
