Derek Luke, who got his big screen debut in the Denzel Washington movie Antwone Fisher, did not grow up in the best of circumstances. As a youth, his family moved from place to place throughout the impoverished areas of Jersey City, New Jersey. Nevertheless, he did not let the constant changes and conditions discourage him into believing that his dream of becoming an actor was not achievable.

 

 

He also did not allow continuous strings of rejection to discourage him, either. Derek Luke Auditioned for the movies The Rookie and Finding Forrester, as well as multiple TV shows; but was not selected. Nevertheless, he continued to keep going. His perseverance and drive to reach his dream is what lead to him landing the title character in Antwone Fisher—a role that earned him an Independent Spirit Award for Best Actor in 2002.

 

The rest—as they say—is history.

 

Derek Luke is proof that if you push hard, brush off rejection and believe in yourself and your abilities, you can indeed achieve any dream that you are passionate about, regardless of your previous(and even present) circumstances. He is a true inspiration that anything is possible as long as you never allow fear to result in loss of your faith.

 

“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.” –Derek Luke [Biography.com]

  

*DID YOU KNOW: Derek Luke was employed as a waiter for the Spirit awards in 1999. [IDMB]

Photo credit: IMDB.com.

.