Luke MacFarlane
Encyclopedia
Thomas Luke Macfarlane better known as Luke Macfarlane, is a Canadian
actor
and musician
.
, and his mother, Penny, is a mental health nurse at a London hospital. Macfarlane attended London Central Secondary School
with twin sister Ruth and older sister Rebecca.
, then later studied drama at Juilliard in New York City
, where he starred in the productions of Romeo & Juliet, Richard III, The School of Night, Blue Window, The Grapes of Wrath, and As You Like It before graduating from the drama division in 2003.
Macfarlane was one of the four leads in Juvenilia at the Playwrights Horizons
Theater from November 14–December 21, 2003. He played the lead role in the American premiere of the play Where Do We Live, staged at the Vineyard Theatre in May 2004. The production was cited by the 2005 GLAAD Media Awards
for Outstanding New York Theatre: Broadway and Off-Broadway. He also appeared with Jill Clayburgh
and Hamish Linklater
in the off-Broadway production of The Busy World is Hushed, again at Playwrights Horizons, in Summer 2006. He reprised his role of Thomas for the L.A. Premiere at the Skirball Cultural Center from February 7–11 of 2007.
On television, Macfarlane is perhaps best known for his role as Scotty Wandell on ABC's Brothers & Sisters, husband to Kevin Walker (played by Matthew Rhys
), one of the "brothers" of the show.
Macfarlane's previous roles include Pvt. Frank "Dim" Dumphy on the 2005 FX network television series
Over There
. He played opposite Cynthia Nixon
in Robert Altman
's Tanner on Tanner
on the Sundance Channel.
Luke was the last cast member to be added to the Fox pilot, Supreme Courtships, playing the role of conservative Allen Moore, described as a trust fund baby trying to prove he's more than just a legacy in the court. The pilot was not picked up by Fox Broadcasting Company
for the 2007–2008 season. In his latest travail for TV, Macfarlane was cast as the leading role in the upcoming two-part mini-series called Iron Road which filmed in China for five weeks and British Columbia for two weeks. This mini was shot from late April to mid June 2007. It played in a few theatres in Canada, and then as a two part mini-series on the CBC.
Macfarlane was part of the one-night celebrity performed staging of Howard Ashman
's unproduced musical "Dreamstuff". The musical was re-imagined by Howard's partners Marsha Malamet and Dennis Green
and performed one night only at Los Angeles' Hayworth Theatre as part of the Bruno Kirby
celebrity reading series, directed by Ugly Betty
's Michael Urie
. Luke starred in the show alongside Eden Espinosa
, Vicki Lewis
, Fred Willard
and David Blue
.
under the name of Slipnaught, a name they randomly chose from a dictionary because they did not have a name for the band when it came time to perform on stage. Fellow Nameless came from Slipnaught mainly because the band members hated the original name, and so, Fellow Nameless was born at London Central Secondary School
. Fellow Nameless has produced one underground album, which was a half-studio, half-live CD album, and they recorded an additional ten songs that never got put out including three songs that were recorded for a development deal with Maverick Records
. They played a showcase for Danny Strick A&R of Maverick Records
and in the end got passed over. The once thought of as defunct London, Ontario, based band, Fellow Nameless, later had two incarnations without Macfarlane as lead singer. The first incarnation came in the second quarter of 2004 with the creation of Van A Primer and a new singer, Matthew Pearn. Their current incarnation, as of March, 2006, has three of the remaining band members under the new band name of Cancel Winter. Macfarlane’s other musical talents include classical cello and the trumpet.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
and musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
.
Early life
Macfarlane was born in London, Ontario, Canada. His father, Thomas (deceased), was the Director of Student Health Services at the University of Western OntarioUniversity of Western Ontario
The University of Western Ontario is a public research university located in London, Ontario, Canada. The university's main campus covers of land, with the Thames River cutting through the eastern portion of the main campus. Western administers its programs through 12 different faculties and...
, and his mother, Penny, is a mental health nurse at a London hospital. Macfarlane attended London Central Secondary School
London Central Secondary School
London Central Secondary School is located at the corner of Dufferin Avenue and Waterloo Street in downtown London, Ontario. It is a member of the Thames Valley District School Board. It has approximately 1000 students in full attendance, ranging from grades nine to twelve...
with twin sister Ruth and older sister Rebecca.
Acting career
Macfarlane went to school in Lester B. Pearson School for the ArtsLester B. Pearson School for the Arts
Lester B. Pearson School for the Arts is a public, elementary - Grades 4 to 8, school in London, Ontario, Canada, part of the Thames Valley District School Board. An application process must be completed by mid December, and then potential students attend a 2-day "Selection" workshop. Most students...
, then later studied drama at Juilliard in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, where he starred in the productions of Romeo & Juliet, Richard III, The School of Night, Blue Window, The Grapes of Wrath, and As You Like It before graduating from the drama division in 2003.
Macfarlane was one of the four leads in Juvenilia at the Playwrights Horizons
Playwrights Horizons
Playwrights Horizons is a not-for-profit Off-Broadway theater located in New York City dedicated to the support and development of contemporary American playwrights, composers, and lyricists, and to the production of their new work....
Theater from November 14–December 21, 2003. He played the lead role in the American premiere of the play Where Do We Live, staged at the Vineyard Theatre in May 2004. The production was cited by the 2005 GLAAD Media Awards
GLAAD Media Awards
The GLAAD Media Award is an accolade bestowed by the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation to recognize and honor various branches of the media for their outstanding representations of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community and the issues that affect their lives...
for Outstanding New York Theatre: Broadway and Off-Broadway. He also appeared with Jill Clayburgh
Jill Clayburgh
Jill Clayburgh was an American actress. She received Academy Award nominations for her roles in An Unmarried Woman and Starting Over.-Personal life:...
and Hamish Linklater
Hamish Linklater
Hamish Linklater is an American actor. He is best known as Matthew in the CBS sitcom The New Adventures of Old Christine...
in the off-Broadway production of The Busy World is Hushed, again at Playwrights Horizons, in Summer 2006. He reprised his role of Thomas for the L.A. Premiere at the Skirball Cultural Center from February 7–11 of 2007.
On television, Macfarlane is perhaps best known for his role as Scotty Wandell on ABC's Brothers & Sisters, husband to Kevin Walker (played by Matthew Rhys
Matthew Rhys
Matthew Rhys Evans , known professionally as Matthew Rhys, is a Welsh actor, best known as Kevin Walker on the U.S. ABC family drama Brothers & Sisters, and as Dylan Thomas in The Edge of Love.-Early life:...
), one of the "brothers" of the show.
Macfarlane's previous roles include Pvt. Frank "Dim" Dumphy on the 2005 FX network television series
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
Over There
Over There (TV series)
Over There is an action / drama / war television series that aired on FX. It premiered in the United States on July 27, 2005 and premiered in Canada on September 6, 2005 on the History Television channel. The series was presented in 16:9 widescreen format in the U.S...
. He played opposite Cynthia Nixon
Cynthia Nixon
Cynthia Ellen Nixon is an American actress, known for her portrayal of Miranda Hobbes in the HBO series Sex and the City . She has received two Screen Actors Guild Awards, two Emmy Awards, a Tony Award, and a Grammy Award....
in Robert Altman
Robert Altman
Robert Bernard Altman was an American film director and screenwriter known for making films that are highly naturalistic, but with a stylized perspective. In 2006, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences recognized his body of work with an Academy Honorary Award.His films MASH , McCabe and...
's Tanner on Tanner
Tanner on Tanner
Tanner on Tanner is a 2004 comedy and the sequel series to the 1988 Robert Altman directed and Garry Trudeau written miniseries about a failed presidential candidate, Tanner '88...
on the Sundance Channel.
Luke was the last cast member to be added to the Fox pilot, Supreme Courtships, playing the role of conservative Allen Moore, described as a trust fund baby trying to prove he's more than just a legacy in the court. The pilot was not picked up by Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
for the 2007–2008 season. In his latest travail for TV, Macfarlane was cast as the leading role in the upcoming two-part mini-series called Iron Road which filmed in China for five weeks and British Columbia for two weeks. This mini was shot from late April to mid June 2007. It played in a few theatres in Canada, and then as a two part mini-series on the CBC.
Macfarlane was part of the one-night celebrity performed staging of Howard Ashman
Howard Ashman
Howard Elliott Ashman was an American playwright and lyricist. Ashman first studied at Boston University and Goddard College and then went on to achieve his master's degree from Indiana University in 1974...
's unproduced musical "Dreamstuff". The musical was re-imagined by Howard's partners Marsha Malamet and Dennis Green
Dennis Green
Dennis "Denny" Green is an American football head coach for the Sacramento Mountain Lions of the United Football League...
and performed one night only at Los Angeles' Hayworth Theatre as part of the Bruno Kirby
Bruno Kirby
Bruno Kirby was an American film and television actor. He was perhaps best known for his roles in the Hollywood films City Slickers, When Harry Met Sally..., Good Morning, Vietnam, The Godfather Part II and Donnie Brasco.-Early life:Kirby was born Bruno Giovanni Quidaciolu, Jr. in New York City,...
celebrity reading series, directed by Ugly Betty
Ugly Betty
Ugly Betty is an American comedy-drama television series developed by Silvio Horta, which premiered on ABC on September 28, 2006, and ended on April 14, 2010. The series revolves around the character Betty Suarez and is based on Fernando Gaitán's Colombian telenovela soap opera Yo soy Betty, la fea...
's Michael Urie
Michael Urie
Michael Lorenzo Urie is an American actor, television producer and director, best known for his portrayal of Marc St. James on the ABC dramedy series Ugly Betty.-Personal life:...
. Luke starred in the show alongside Eden Espinosa
Eden Espinosa
Eden Erica Espinosa is an American singer and stage actress, who is best known for her performances as Elphaba for the Broadway, Los Angeles and San Francisco productions of the musical Wicked....
, Vicki Lewis
Vicki Lewis
Vicki Lewis is an American film, stage, television and voice actress best known for her role as Beth in the NBC sitcom NewsRadio.-Personal life:...
, Fred Willard
Fred Willard
Fred Willard is an American actor, comedian, and voice over actor, best known for his improvisational comedy skills. He is known for his roles in the Christopher Guest mockumentary films This is Spinal Tap, Waiting for Guffman, Best in Show, A Mighty Wind, and For Your Consideration as well as...
and David Blue
David Blue (actor)
David Blue is an American actor, writer, producer and director. He is best known for his portrayal of Cliff St. Paul on Ugly Betty and Eli Wallace on the Syfy series Stargate Universe.-Early life:...
.
Music career
Macfarlane was the lead singer and a songwriter for the band Fellow Nameless, which began in his 8th grade along with some of his classmates at Lester B. Pearson School for the ArtsLester B. Pearson School for the Arts
Lester B. Pearson School for the Arts is a public, elementary - Grades 4 to 8, school in London, Ontario, Canada, part of the Thames Valley District School Board. An application process must be completed by mid December, and then potential students attend a 2-day "Selection" workshop. Most students...
under the name of Slipnaught, a name they randomly chose from a dictionary because they did not have a name for the band when it came time to perform on stage. Fellow Nameless came from Slipnaught mainly because the band members hated the original name, and so, Fellow Nameless was born at London Central Secondary School
London Central Secondary School
London Central Secondary School is located at the corner of Dufferin Avenue and Waterloo Street in downtown London, Ontario. It is a member of the Thames Valley District School Board. It has approximately 1000 students in full attendance, ranging from grades nine to twelve...
. Fellow Nameless has produced one underground album, which was a half-studio, half-live CD album, and they recorded an additional ten songs that never got put out including three songs that were recorded for a development deal with Maverick Records
Maverick Records
Maverick Recording Company is an American record label owned and operated by Warner Music Group, and distributed through Warner Bros. Records.-Company history:...
. They played a showcase for Danny Strick A&R of Maverick Records
Maverick Records
Maverick Recording Company is an American record label owned and operated by Warner Music Group, and distributed through Warner Bros. Records.-Company history:...
and in the end got passed over. The once thought of as defunct London, Ontario, based band, Fellow Nameless, later had two incarnations without Macfarlane as lead singer. The first incarnation came in the second quarter of 2004 with the creation of Van A Primer and a new singer, Matthew Pearn. Their current incarnation, as of March, 2006, has three of the remaining band members under the new band name of Cancel Winter. Macfarlane’s other musical talents include classical cello and the trumpet.
Filmography and television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2009 | Iron Road Iron Road (film) Iron Road is a 2009 Canada/China television miniseries written by Barry Pearson and Raymond Storey and directed by David Wu. Starring Peter O’Toole, Sam Neill, Luke Macfarlane, Charlotte Sullivan and Sun Li, Iron Road chronicles the untold story of Chinese workers who helped to build the Canadian... |
James Nichol | Lead role |
| 2006–2011 | Brothers & Sisters | Scotty Wandell Scotty Wandell Scott "Scotty" Wandell is a fictional character on the television drama Brothers & Sisters portrayed by Luke Macfarlane.-Background:Scotty Wandell is a gay man who was born and has lived in Oxford, Mississippi until he moved to New York and then later to California to start an independent life... |
Main role |
| 2006 | Trapped Ashes | Vincent | Guest role |
| 2006 | Recalled | Lieutenant Sefton | Lead role |
| 2005 | Over There Over There (TV series) Over There is an action / drama / war television series that aired on FX. It premiered in the United States on July 27, 2005 and premiered in Canada on September 6, 2005 on the History Television channel. The series was presented in 16:9 widescreen format in the U.S... |
Pvt. Frank Dumphy | Main role |
| 2004 | Tanner on Tanner Tanner on Tanner Tanner on Tanner is a 2004 comedy and the sequel series to the 1988 Robert Altman directed and Garry Trudeau written miniseries about a failed presidential candidate, Tanner '88... (film) |
Stuart DeBarge | Supporting role |
| 2004 | Kinsey Kinsey (film) Kinsey is a 2004 biographical film written and directed by Bill Condon. It describes the life of Alfred Kinsey , a pioneer in the area of sexology. His 1948 publication, Sexual Behavior in the Human Male was one of the first recorded works that tried to scientifically address and investigate... (film) |
Bruce Kinsey | Main role |
Theatre
| Year | Title | Role |
| 2011 | The Normal Heart The Normal Heart The Normal Heart is a largely autobiographical play by Larry Kramer. It focuses on the rise of the HIV-AIDS crisis in New York City between 1981 and 1984, as seen through the eyes of writer/activist Ned Weeks, the gay Jewish-American founder of a prominent HIV advocacy group... |
Craig Donner/Grady |
| 2009 | The Jazz Age | F. Scott Fitzgerald |
| 2006–2007 | The Busy World is Hushed | Thomas |
| 2004 | Where Do We Live? | Stephen |
| 2003 | Juvenilia | Brondie Chase |
External links
- Side Dish - Luke's character blog for Scotty Wandell