Derek Luke
Actor · Born April 24, 1974 (52) · Jersey City, New Jersey, USA
Derek Nathanial Luke (born April 24, 1974) is an American actor. He won the Independent Spirit Award for his big-screen debut performance in the 2002 film Antwone Fisher, directed and produced by Denzel Washington. Description above from the Wikipedia article Derek Luke, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
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Biography from TMDB.
- April 24, 1974 (52)
- Jersey City, New Jersey, USA
- Actor
- 33 on MovieCove · 34 credits in all
What are Derek Luke's films like?
Across their 25 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Morality.
Genres
Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 0 · Earnest 22
A split, not a type: Light 6 · Serious 5 · Dark 11
Grounded 14 · Stylized 7 · Heightened 1
A split, not a type: Gentle 7 · Charged 7 · Intense 8
Steady 7 · Shifting 14 · Whiplash 1
A split, not a type: Straight-faced 13 · Some laughs 7 · Funny 2
Slow burn 8 · Even-paced 14 · Relentless 0
A split, not a type: Casual 11 · Engaged 6 · Full focus 5
A split, not a type: Easy watch 8 · Affecting 5 · Heavy 9
Resolved 16 · Open-ended 5 · Ambiguous 1
Roles they play
Usually the Hero: 6 of 18 analyzed roles.
Show the 18 rolesHide the roles
- Heroas Antwone Fisher in Antwone Fisher (2002)
- Allyas Bobby in Pieces of April (2003)
- Heroas Kid in Biker Boyz (2003)
- Allyas Curtis in Spartan (2004)
- Heroas Boobie Miles in Friday Night Lights (2004)
- Heroas Patrick Chamusso in Catch a Fire (2006)
- Heroas Arian Finch in Lions for Lambs (2007)
- Allyas 2nd Staff Sergeant Aubrey Stamps in Miracle at St. Anna (2008)
- Heroas Joshua Hardaway in Madea Goes to Jail (2009)
- Mentoras Puff Daddy in Notorious (2009)
- Mentoras Stix in Sparkle (2012)
- Allyas William Wright in Baggage Claim (2013)
- Heraldas Marlon Dinard in Rogue (2013)
- Allyas Raymond in Supremacy (2014)
- Tricksteras Anton in Self/less (2015)
- Allyas Marcus Moore in The Purge (2018)
- Heraldas John in Alone Together (2022)
- Mentoras Chuck Bell in The Crossover (2023)
Moods and endings
- Happy6
- Bittersweet16
- Tragic1
- Ambiguous2
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Derek Luke's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 26 of their 33 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.
Subscription and free streaming for Derek Luke's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
34 credits, 33 with a MovieCove page; 2 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.
Rare Objects(2023)
Midcredits score: 28th percentile of all films
The Crossover(2023)
Midcredits score: 11th percentile of all shows
Darby and the Dead(2022)
Midcredits score: 37th percentile of all films
Alone Together(2022)
Midcredits score: 20th percentile of all films
American Refugee(2021)
Midcredits score: 10th percentile of all films
God Friended Me(2018)
Midcredits score: 62nd percentile of all shows
The Purge(2018)
Midcredits score: 31st percentile of all shows
13 Reasons Why(2017)
Midcredits score: 65th percentile of all shows
Roots(2016)
Midcredits score: 79th percentile of all shows
Self/less(2015)
Midcredits score: 55th percentile of all films
Alex of Venice(2014)
Midcredits score: 34th percentile of all films
Empire(2015)
Midcredits score: 67th percentile of all shows
Supremacy(2014)
Midcredits score: 55th percentile of all films
Baggage Claim(2013)
Midcredits score: 17th percentile of all films
Rogue(2013)
Midcredits score: 47th percentile of all shows
The Americans(2013)
Midcredits score: 96th percentile of all shows
Sparkle(2012)
Midcredits score: 46th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 70th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 81st percentile of all films
Trauma (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2009)
Madea Goes to Jail(2009)
Midcredits score: 32nd percentile of all films
Notorious(2009)
Midcredits score: 71st percentile of all films
Miracle at St. Anna(2008)
Midcredits score: 42nd percentile of all films
Definitely, Maybe(2008)
Midcredits score: 82nd percentile of all films
Lions for Lambs(2007)
Midcredits score: 41st percentile of all films
Catch a Fire(2006)
Midcredits score: 68th percentile of all films
Glory Road(2006)
Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all films
Friday Night Lights(2004)
Midcredits score: 87th percentile of all films
Spartan(2004)
Midcredits score: 64th percentile of all films
Pieces of April(2003)
Midcredits score: 80th percentile of all films
Biker Boyz(2003)
Midcredits score: 17th percentile of all films
Antwone Fisher(2002)
Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all films
The King of Queens(1998)
Midcredits score: 65th percentile of all shows
Moesha(1996)
Midcredits score: 18th percentile of all shows
Career shape
Star power in the 99th percentile of 239,109 people with a billed film role, over a full career of 34 titles from 1996 to 2023; peak year 2008.
Biggest box office
Madea Goes to Jail (2009)
Highest rated
Glory Road (2006)
Most popular right now
The Purge (2018)
Film career
Peak 2008 · fewer prominent film roles lately. Top draw in 15 MovieCove titles. Film roles by billing, audience size and rating; 25+ votes. A show carries a single first-air date, so shows are not on the curve.
- 2002Screen debut· Antwone Fisher
- 2008First top-billed film· Miracle at St. Anna
- 2008Career best· Miracle at St. Anna
- 2017Career best· 13 Reasons Why
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored. Billing is TMDB cast order for roles with 25+ votes, billed in the top 30; the columns are the share of top-billed roles in each era, 5-year spans from the year on the label, merged until each holds at least 5 roles.
How do Derek Luke's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 55th percentile, the median of all 23; across their 22 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 45th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up8
- 50th to 74th10
- 25th to 49th9
- Below 25th6
Shape of the crowd
15 of their 33 titles are Crowd Pleasers.
- Universally Loved1
- Divisive1
- Crowd Pleaser15
- Broadly Agreed1
- Mixed15
Reviewers score the acting 66/100 in their films, across 22 reviewed titles; fans 76, detractors 46. The element that speaks to their work as an actor.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Is Derek Luke's work okay for kids?
Across up to 15 MovieCove titles with content scores, violence & gore, profanity and frightening / intense run heavier than most films.
Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.
Who does Derek Luke work with?
People who share at least 2 of Derek Luke's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Katie Holmes shares the most, 3.
Directors
- Katie HolmesShared titles: Rare Objects (2023), Alone Together (2022), Pieces of April (2003)See all 3 shared titles with Katie Holmes
- George Tillman Jr.Shared titles: The Crossover (2023), Notorious (2009)See all 2 shared titles with George Tillman Jr.
Writers
- Reggie Rock BythewoodShared titles: Notorious (2009), Biker Boyz (2003)See all 2 shared titles with Reggie Rock Bythewood
Actors
- Ryan ReynoldsShared titles: Self/less (2015), Definitely, Maybe (2008)See all 2 shared titles with Ryan Reynolds
- Adam BrodyShared titles: Baggage Claim (2013), Seeking a Friend for the End of the World (2012)See all 2 shared titles with Adam Brody
- Djimon HounsouShared titles: Baggage Claim (2013), Biker Boyz (2003)See all 2 shared titles with Djimon Hounsou
- Connie BrittonShared titles: Seeking a Friend for the End of the World (2012), Friday Night Lights (2004)See all 2 shared titles with Connie Britton
Composers and cinematographers
- Aaron ZigmanShared titles: Baggage Claim (2013), Madea Goes to Jail (2009)See all 2 shared titles with Aaron Zigman
- Mark IshamShared titles: Lions for Lambs (2007), Spartan (2004)See all 2 shared titles with Mark Isham
- Philippe RousselotShared titles: Lions for Lambs (2007), Antwone Fisher (2002)See all 2 shared titles with Philippe Rousselot
Producers
- Austin RenfroeShared titles: Rare Objects (2023), Alone Together (2022)See all 2 shared titles with Austin Renfroe
- Jason KringsteinShared titles: Rare Objects (2023), Alone Together (2022)See all 2 shared titles with Jason Kringstein
- Jesse KormanShared titles: Rare Objects (2023), Alone Together (2022)See all 2 shared titles with Jesse Korman
- Jon KeeyesShared titles: Rare Objects (2023), Alone Together (2022)See all 2 shared titles with Jon Keeyes
Mixed roles
- Peter BergShared titles: Lions for Lambs (2007), Friday Night Lights (2004)See all 2 shared titles with Peter Berg
