By Makula dunbar
Laid back, witty and direct, Derek Luke is as composed off-camera as he is on. Still early in his career, Luke has managed to snag top roles and appear in some of the most memorable films and shows of the previous decade. Antwone Fisher, Glory Road and Notorious are only a few of his many acting conquests.
Now, in a pursuit to continue living outside of the movie box, Luke is furthering his television career via season three of TNT’s medical drama ‘HawthoRNe,’ premiering June 14. Already an actor who has broken genre barriers of TV, film and beyond, Luke shares his recent experiences, short-term goals and hopes for the future.
You were previously involved in another medical show, ‘Trauma’. Was ‘HawthoRNe’ something you always wanted to do or did it just happen?
In film, I hadn’t yet had a lot of offers to play a doctor, so it’s actually really cool getting this chance. As I continued doing film, some characters like playing a doctor became consistent in TV. I believe a medical show is such a good structure for television.
What are you anticipating most regarding season three of ‘HawthoRNe’?
I’m anticipating the quote from TNT (laughs). No, I’m anticipating the new characters, faces and a great storyline. The storyline as far as my character touches on being on a professional, a father and a husband at the same time. I’m looking forward to addressing topics like that and just having fans and audiences respond to situations that are perhaps true to them.
You play a surgeon on the show. What was the most difficult thing about preparing for your role?
One of the most difficult things about ‘HawthoRNe’ in general was when I signed up the show was already in the process of filming. As soon as I said yes, I had less than a week to actually prepare.
It was exciting and organic because I had to prepare as I went. It was just fun working on the human body. We had scenes where we did different medical procedures and I learned so much about the human body and the sophistication of it. It’s really like a computer than man has been unable to duplicate.
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