|
|||||||||
Luke’s film acting career shines early as he performed in Clint Eastwood’s Oscar-winning Letters from Iwo Jima and then had a feature role in Tim Burton’s Planet of the Apes. In an interview with Supreme Master Television, he said, “I really enjoyed being in the film Letters from Iwo Jima. It’s a movie I’m really proud to be a part of.” He added, “There’s special aspects of every character that you get to portray and every experience working on a film or working on a play, so that’s one thing I love about this job.”
Luke was recognized as Best Actor in a Short Film at the prestigious Method Fest for his performance in Sugar Mountain. His short films have been played in film festivals all over the world, and in 2008, the feature film he directed, Choose Connor, won the Jury Prize for Best American Independent Film at Philadelphia International Film Festival. Having acted in many theatrical productions while growing up in Colorado, Loving the Silent Tears gave Luke the opportunity to return to one of his first loves, live stage performance. He expressed, “This is by far the largest theater I've ever performed in and certainly the largest cast, and certainly the most prestigious cast and crew of a play that I’ve ever worked with. Vincent Paterson is brilliant. I love working with him; he’s an excellent director for actors. Patti and Junior are fantastic actors to work with as well.” Having a month-long rehearsal period with the actors and dancers, Luke bore witness to the whole amazing process of putting a show of this magnitude together. “When I think back on doing this show, the thing that I remember is how cool it was, the different layers that were added onto it. At first I was just rehearsing with the other actors, and they were really great. And then the dancers came in. They were unbelievable and danced so many different styles and were so good. And then when the singers came in, that was also really amazing. There were so many different performers and cultures represented from all over the world.” Luke further expressed regarding Supreme Master Ching Hai’s verses, “I really enjoyed the poetry. When I first got the part, I had no idea what the music sounded like, but it’s been interesting to have read the poetry and then be hearing the songs for the first time through the rehearsal process, and seeing that they sort of take on a new life when put to music.” In his own role, Luke convincingly brought to life the character of Pete for the audience. As one guest shared after the show, Pete had gained a precious lesson after “losing all of the material possessions and then getting back to humanity, because the material world is not really what’s important at the end of the day.” Indeed, the story of Pete is a useful reminder in our
daily lives and illustrates a key theme in Silent Tears –
that lasting happiness is to be found within.
|
|||||||||
