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TRAUMA Star Derek Luke on BuzzWorthy Radio!

Derek Luke stars as paramedic Cameron Boone in NBC’s new ensemble drama series, "Trauma."

In 2002, Luke made a profound impression on audiences worldwide with his courageous portrayal of an abandoned and abused young man trying to find his path in Denzel Washington's directorial debut, "Antwone Fisher." With this performance, Luke became one of the most sought after young actors and earned the respect of the industry and his peers.

Luke earned several awards and accolades for his performance, including a Black Reel Award for Best Actor, and an Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead. He also earned a BET Award in 2003 for "Favorite Actor."

Following the success of "Antwone Fisher," Luke co-starred in a number of diverse roles, including "Biker Boyz," alongside Laurence Fishburne, the critically acclaimed independent film "Pieces of April" with Katie Holmes and was tapped by director David Mamet for a starring role in the political thriller "Spartan" with Val Kilmer and William H. Macy.

In October 2004, Luke starred as James "Boobie" Miles in "Friday Night Lights," a film directed by Peter Berg and produced by Brian Grazer. The popularity of the movie spawned the critically acclaimed NBC television series of the same name.

Luke continued to prove his versatility as an actor in a series of films including Jerry Bruckheimer's "Glory Road," "Catch a Fire" co-starring Tim Robbins, "Lions for Lambs," directed by Robert Redford and starring Meryl Streep and Tom Cruise, and the romantic comedy "Definitely, Maybe."

Most recently, Luke has starred in a trio of influential films -- Spike Lee’s WWII epic "Miracle at St. Anna," Tyler Perry’s family film "Madea Goes to Jail" and "Notorious," where he portrayed Sean "Diddy" Combs.

Born and raised in Jersey City, New Jersey, Luke currently resides in Los Angeles with his wife, Sophia.

Duration:: 23m
Broadcast on:: 05 Oct 2009
Audio Format:: other

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[MUSIC PLAYING] [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH] Come and get you live. It is Buzzworthy Radio, where you can get the latest buzz. And all your favorite chills and stars. Buzzworthy, smart. Now. Hey, everybody. This is John Driscoll from Young and the Restless, the new Philip Chancellor of the Fourth. You are listening to Buzzworthy Radio right now with Navell. Stay tuned for what's coming up, what's happening, what's going on, and what will be coming up, what drama to be expected on your favorite soaps. Listen in. Welcome back, everybody, to Buzzworthy Radio on the same day as it was a half hour ago. It's Monday, October 50, 2009. It's 11 a.m. Eastern Standard Time, 8 a.m. Pacific Coast. I'm here at the laptopradio.com. I am Navell Bailey, your host for this 20-minute broadcast. We are going to be next up joined by, in about 10 minutes, Derek Luke, who plays the role of paramedic Cameron Boone on NBC's "Trauma," which airs tonight, every Monday night, at 9 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, only on NBC. So we're going to be talking to him in just a few moments. But before we actually get into that, I want to actually point this out there for all of my-- so, fans, I'll listen to the show, because I know you do. I just want you to know that I have officially boy-cotted CBS for an hour every single day-- well, Monday through Friday-- at 10 a.m. Eastern. I have officially boy-cotted watching CBS. Why have I done that, actually? Well, let me tell you why. There is a new show that had just started airing today, actually, in a former spot. And that show is called, Let's Make a Deal. Now, this show is the revival of the former '60s game show, which was hosted by Monty Hall. And it's now being hosted by Wayne Brady. So I have not even checked it out, but I am not even going to get it the time of day, simply because now that I feel like if I would watch it, I would get severely pissed off and very upset, even though I already am. But I would be even more pissed off and more upset to watch it in "Guying Life's Former Time" spot. You know, it's worse off for people who know the actors and actresses who have been on this show for many, many years. And I do have the privilege of knowing some of these actors and actresses who have been on this show that has been the part of my existence since I was a five-year-old kid. And never in your time would you think that you would actually have the pleasure of speaking to them on your show or meeting them in person, getting to know them outside of the box that is your television screen. And being-- having to succumb to watching a game show, where you could be watching something else that probably would have been a lot more enjoyable. And even though it's-- let's make a deal, it's cheaper to produce. And from the sounds of it, from what everybody has been saying, when they did see it, it definitely does look cheap. And it's definitely-- even so, it's not worth me tuning in to to watch for an hour. I mean, if you seriously thought that the game show would actually have me watch your time thought for like an hour after you took all going like that's been on the air for 72 years, CBS is sadly mistaken. I'm sorry, but it just is not enough. It's not enough at all. So I don't know about the rest of you, but I haven't even tried to watch it. And I know Roger Newcomb did. He did. And I gave him enormous props for doing that. I really, really do. But I can't. I can't do it. There's no way that I'm going to do it. I cannot do this. There's just no way you're going to catch me doing this. I wish I could, but I really can't. So screw you, CBS, for getting rid of a wonderful daytime drama. I know that this show had its problems. What show doesn't anymore? You know what I mean? What show doesn't have its problems? What show doesn't have its reached its natural limitations? That's what I was going for. But that's when you come in, you look at the problems, and then you get your butt in there, then you fix it. This is not how you fix it. Cancelling a show. That's not how you fix it. Daytime is already dying as it is. This just solidifies the dying genre that it is. Because it just seems like one's guiding light went off the market. Now it seems like every other daytime drama decides, well, if this happens to guiding light, then now we can start doing this after our shows. I don't like that. I think that's absolutely S9. Actually, let me correct that statement. I think all of it is S9. That's absolutely crazy. I don't know, but I just don't. I don't get it. I probably won't get it. But you know what, that's fine. That is fine. I can see everything about this until the day I die. But I wouldn't want to waste my time doing that on all of you lovely people that have better things to do than listen to me complain. I'm kidding. I'm kidding. But it's hard. It is hard. It is hard to see and know that this is going on right now. And some of your friends in the business are out of jobs. And it's a bad state of affairs in the economy. Hopefully they will find another place to end up. I really, really do. There are some talented people that were on that show. And I really do hope that they get a job elsewhere. But it's just the nature of the beast in this business. It's the sad thing to admit. But it's something that you do know. Most cities, networks, don't want to hire people over 40. And that's another thing I hate. They're the best actors. They've been in the business alone. They know the ins and outs of what's not to do. So again, I really do hope they end up somewhere. So there are all of my thoughts and all of my thoughts. So if anybody can get in there, this is me. You are all of my thoughts. And I still miss you guys. It was great seeing you back in August. And I really do hope that they say things happen for a reason. I hope something happens for you guys too out there. So definitely a point for you. But I actually wanted to say this too. It seems like everybody in my town-- I'm finding out are radio DJs. And I'm just like, what is this? We all are radio DJs, but we don't tell anybody. What is up with that? I really don't know him very well. But I did have the pleasure of meeting him a few years ago when I was to see the Jackass movie, Shane Miller. I'm actually doing something right now at Wesley, which is college in Delaware, in the state of Delaware. And he is DJ Sugar Shane. Right now, he's on from 11 to 1. So he just actually came on at the same time I just did. And do I have any requests? Oh gosh, I'm going to think about that. I actually do have a song I really do want to hear. But I'm actually going to request it to a little minute. So as soon as we get done here, I'm going to be calling in on that show. And I'm going to give him a little request on my own. So it's a little something I've been listening to for the last several days. And hopefully, hopefully, we'll be-- if worse comes the worse, and if it does happen, and I can use my connections, I want to get this guy at my 25th party. It's going to be expensive, but you know it's going to be hella worth it. I would actually go all out for it. I would go all out for it. So yeah, man, definitely check him out. DJ Trigger Chain, it's a HTTP wxtream.westly.edu. You know, and yeah, right now, let's make sure you take a listen to him. Very, very cool guy, very, very awesome thing that he's doing here. So I commend everybody that's getting into this business. I really do because it's fun, but it's a lot of work. And again, it's like every DJ is coming out of a woodwork now, I absolutely think that's phenomenal. It's so phenomenal to know that, that there is lots of people out there that love to do what you do. And now that you know that now you have something in common with a lot of other people, and then you make more connections with a lot more people. So I'm looking forward to that, too. But we are now joined by actor Derek Luke, who stars as paramedic Cameron Boone on NBC's new hit drama, drama, gosh, I have to stop there for a minute. I had to stop there for a minute before I went on because I was like, did I just say the two words twice? And I was like, man, man, I thought she was a rapper, man. I like that. Wow, you know that bed came right off the top of my head, man. I was no left or right. Wow, man, that's cool. What's going on, man? I have to stop it all over. Thank you very much, man. I'm just having fun, man. Hey, that's the best way to do it, right? Yeah, yeah, always having a good time is being in a very vivacious, very character-driven city. And then on the top of that, you get to film and do a show that's just based on the lives of men and women every day that are doing due diligence that many people don't know about. Absolutely. And we just had all-- where your co-star, the half-hour ago, Amy Garcia, actually made this comment to her saying that this show is so real that it's not fake. Woo, wow, man, you just made me sit down. I meant that, man. It's like, it's so real, it's not fake. I mean, I'm dead serious. If you look at the rest of these kinds of shows that are out there, you can tell that this is fake. But you're watching this show, and we're watching all of you actors and actresses that are doing this show right now. It's so real, there's no way that this is safe, because it's so action-packed that you're right there in that moment. You're basically living the lives of paramedics and EMTs doing this day in the day out, which is, I think, is one of the most amazing things about this show. It's so real, it's so fresh that you don't have the moment to breathe. Yeah, wow, man, that was well-put. And I believe that Dario, the writer, creator, and Peter Berg, that was the intentions. And that's what I love about working with this team, is that part of, along with our characters, what the actors of such a diverse cast bring to it is the realism of their work. And that's a compliment. We want people to feel like it's intense, and it's real, dealing with real-life, real situations. Yes, now, there's something I did want to bring up, and this is actually something I am actually still talking about now. You actually were in Denzel Washington's director of a debut movie, Antoine Fisher. Yeah, if you used "Young Man" in that movie. I had lots of acclaim from that film. What was it like working under Mr. Washington? I bet that was a thrill for you. You know, I would have loved watching him. But in my-- what was interesting about Antoine Fisher, it was a story about a coach and a player, because he encouraged me to rise up. He was like, Derek, you're the lead actor, I'm not. And I was like, whoa. And he was just like, you know? And he just says, you know, he didn't tell me what and what not to do. He just said it without speaking. And that has always been the quiet mentorship that has always been a beacon in my career, is that I've learned from the best. And his approach was very gentle. And I saw you didn't have to be a Jack or a to be on top. So I thought that was pretty cool. So let me ask you, let me ask you this. Would you take it to effect with what you're doing now on trauma? Would you say that working under Denzel Washington helped you grow as an actor into this part that you're playing right now? Yes. You know, working with Denzel Washington was an Antoine Fisher set the bar of quality for me. I saw what it took to make a script. I saw the rewrites of over 130, 150 times. I saw the vulnerability of sometimes when we didn't know what we were going to say and to see trusting each other, not panicking out of anxiety, but just trusting on each other to say, hey, let's work this out. I saw the nuts and bolts of how a project comes together. So when you're on a show like trauma, which is a very high, intense, very real life, very big budget show, the money, the budget, that stuff doesn't bother you, you just have your pace. And it's kind of like being a paramedic because the higher the intensity, the calmer a paramedic is. Right. You know, that's how it's been. And, you know, Denzel is someone that I see, you know, the time to time, you know, based on both having busy schedule. And when I see him, it's just nothing but love. Absolutely. Absolutely. What have you learned most about doing this show, doing trauma right now? Because I think you're like, you are like eight episodes in filming already. What have you learned most about doing it? Because it's just like there's so much that you've just experienced in just the amount just in eight episodes of time. Well, in comparison to movies is the fact that if you're not writing it, they may be writing it. But what I mean is that, you know, weekly, there's a script comes out where in the movie you study a script over a period of time. But on TV, you can have a new personality in just a week. Right. You have to stay on top of communicating. It's almost like being a player on a star player on a franchise team. You have to talk to the general manager, your coach, your Althans, and your defense, just to communicate. Wherewith my approach before as a film, I come out of the gate, you know, like a horse or animal. And you just say action. And, you know, I just do my thing. Where on this, it's much more of a communication. It's much more of a discussion. It's more of like, you know, I saw this in my character. You know, how do we integrate this particular idea? So I love that about it because it makes you not just an actor but a producer. OK. Yeah, I like that. I like that, so I'm sure not like that. Yeah, man. And it's just another point I wanted to bring up as well, is that it seems like you're acting child's really will have to be put into play. Because when you're doing those action sequences, it seems like you're so in tune with what you're doing, you don't realize what others may be saying to keep in. You've got to say your line to keep in time with that. So you kind of maybe have to do a little something of a sign so that way you know it's time for you to speak. Is that right? Or am I close? You know, the great thing about being in trauma is the different elements when you brought up the action. And what I'm thinking about action, a lot of times, you can write the idea, but the actual moment comes organic. And many times, you just have to be available for what's natural and what's real. And the writers do a great way of writing a runway, but the take off happens with the actor and the other actor that you're playing off. And you know, I love it because it's like, you know, when I first did Antoine Fisher, I had nothing to compare it to. And so is trauma. You know, it's a new landing, it's a new space, and it's exciting. Absolutely, absolutely. So we are going to have them watching you tonight. We're at NBC 9PM, Eastern Standard Time, everybody. And if you don't happen to see it live, you can check out full episodes at NBC.com and at hulu.com. So make sure you guys check out Derek Luke on the show as Cameron Boone. Thank you so much for stopping on over here. It was great having you. Oh, thank you, man. I wish I can rhyme like you did in the beginning, so. I wouldn't call that skill at all. It was off the dome. It was unpredictable, man. I like it. Thanks. Thank you. Thank you very much, man. OK. Bye-bye. All right. Wow. All right. Great guy. Great, great guy. All right. We are out here for the day, but we are going to be back on tomorrow. Tomorrow. So many shows. So little time. We're going to be joined by Curtis, aka the door whore on Oxygen Zunadi Kitchen with just like Beck. He's going to be on here. We're going to be talking to him, so make sure you guys check us out tomorrow morning at the same time, actually, at the same time, at 11 a.m. Eastern. Make sure you guys check it out. We're going to be talking to him. So we'll be back on tomorrow, but I'm going to put you on over. I want you guys to check him out. Check out Shane Miller, aka DJ Sugar Shane right now, at Wesley University in Delaware. Check him out right now. H-T-T-Z-Wxstream.wesley.edu. He's DJing right now. Send in your request to him. 302-736-2383. I'm going to call up and send in my request right now with one of the hottest singles that is going on at this moment. So yeah, stop on over. Take a listen to him. All right. I will be back tomorrow. Make sure you guys get the latest buzz with us on Twitter. Follow us on Twitter at buzzworthyradio. Join our Facebook fan page. And you know what? Send us some emails, send us some comments about what has been your favorite moment within the last two years of a buzzworthy radio. When we hit our Twitter anniversary next month, a month from today is our Twitter anniversary. We want to know some of your favorite moments. We got ours. I got mine. We want to hear some of yours. So stop on over. Let us know. But for now, I'm about daily signing off. See you guys tomorrow. Hi, this is Dr. Blockstein, and you're listening to Buzzworthy Radio on Blah-- what? No, I can't do it like he does it. I just can't. All right, I'll try. It is Buzzworthy Radio, where you can get the latest buzz on all your favorite shows inside, Buzzworthy. God, that hurts my voice.