Childhood & Early Life
Luke Macfarlane was born Thomas Luke Macfarlane, on January 19, 1980, in London, Ontario, Canada, to Thomas and Penny Macfarlane. Luke grew up with an older sister named Rebecca and a twin sister named Ruth.
His father worked at the ‘University of Western Ontario,’ as the director of student health services, while his mother was a mental health nurse at a local hospital in their hometown.
Ever since he was a kid, Luke had a great interest in acting. He also trained himself in acting and singing early in his life. He attended the ‘Lester B. Pearson School for the Arts’ as a kid, which helped him tremendously in developing a keen artistic personality.
He also attended the ‘London Central Secondary School.’ Following his graduation from high school, he moved to New York, US, to study drama. He enrolled at the ‘Juilliard School’ and received training in acting. Following his graduation from the school, he began doing theater locally. He also started appearing for auditions for TV and film roles.
Continue Reading Below
Career
Starting his career with stage, Luke appeared in theatrical shows such as ‘Juvenilia’ and ‘Where Do We Live?’
In 2004, he made his film debut with the small role of ‘Bruce Kinsey’ in the biographical drama film titled ‘Kinsey.’ The film was a big critical and commercial success and earned accolades at film festivals.
He had his first TV break in 2004, when he appeared as ‘Stuart DeBarge,’ one of the key characters in the miniseries titled ‘Tanner on Tanner.’ The comedy series received critical appreciation.
He had his first acting breakthrough in 2005, when he began playing the role of ‘Frank Dumphy,’ a sensitive army man, in the war action–drama series titled ‘Over There.’ The series ran into controversies owing to some extremely violent scenes. Despite some good reviews, the show failed to garner good ratings and was canceled after a season, spanning 13 episodes.
Luke had yet another major career breakthrough in 2006, when he starred as ‘Scotty Wandell’ in the American drama series titled ‘Brothers & Sisters.’ In the first two seasons, Luke played a recurring role. However, it eventually turned into a regular role as the series progressed. The reception to the series was initially slow. However, it eventually picked up pace. The reviews got better by each season.
The series garnered some really good ratings. It ran for five seasons, spanning 109 episodes, before it got canceled.
In 2009, Luke earned the first lead role of his career, in the miniseries titled ‘Iron Road.’ The Canadian–Chinese co-production had him playing the role of ‘James Nichol.’ The series won rave reviews, and the performances were also praised.
In the early 2010s, Luke appeared playing guest roles in series such as ‘Person of Interest’ and ‘Smash.’
In 2013, he earned yet another lead role in a Canadian series, this time in a sitcom titled ‘Satisfaction.’ The sitcom followed the life of a couple and their best friend, and had Luke playing the lead role of ‘Jason Howell.’ Despite the series earning some good reviews, it was a little slow when it came to gaining commercial success. It was thus canceled after a season.
Following its debacle, Luke appeared playing the recurring role of ‘Rick Lincoln’ in the medical drama series ‘The Night Shift.’
While he was earning considerable success on TV, he was struggling to achieve the same success in films. Following his debut with the film ‘Kinsey,’ he appeared in just two feature-length films, ‘Rock Paper Dead’ and ‘Trapped Ashes.’ In addition, he has also appeared in two short films, ‘Recalled’ and ‘Erection.’
After playing a guest role in the superhero series ‘Supergirl’ in 2015, he appeared as an ‘RAC’ agent named ‘D’avin Jaqobis’ in the Canadian space adventure drama ‘Killjoys.’ The series earned strong ratings and ran for four seasons. Its fifth season is on its way.
In 2016, he was seen playing the supporting role of ‘Chaplain Hopkins’ in the series titled ‘Mercy Street.’ The series earned rave reviews but was canceled after two seasons.
In the more recent years, Luke has appeared in a few TV films, such as ‘A Birthday Wish,’ ‘A Shoe Addict’s Christmas,’ and ‘Just Add Romance.’ He was part of ‘Just Add Romance’ in 2019, and his last theater work was ‘Big Night’ in 2017.
He was the lead singer and songwriter for a band named ‘Fellow Nameless’ in his school days. The band later continued to perform without him.
