Luke Barnett (born February 13, 1983) is an American actor, writer, and producer. He is best known for his comedic acting and writing on Funny or Die films.
Early life
Barnett was born in 1983 in Clinton, Maryland, a suburb of Washington, D.C. Having pursued acting since 2000,[1] and with an interest in promoting social change, he moved to Los Angeles by 2005.[2][3] His father is a pastor.[4][5]
Career
In Los Angeles, Barnett landed a role in a play about homeless youth called The Playground.[6] According to Barnett, the production opened doors for him both as an actor and as an advocate for social justice.[2] By 2007, he began to get credited screen roles, including three episodes of MANswers. In 2011 he was in three television series and six films, including Sedona, Coffin, and The Amityville Haunting. In 2012 he appeared in Static. Barnett's films also include a 2013 short called The Newest Testament (a Biblical parody which he produced, co-wrote, and stars in as Jesus), The Scribbler (2014), and The Treehouse (2015).[7]
For his theatre work, in 2011 Barnett was praised by Backstage for his "facile array of increasingly outrageous cameo roles" in Bayside High School Musical, a musical parody of the 1990s teen sitcom Saved by the Bell.[8] In the musical, Barnett played 10 different characters, and was credited as "Everyone Else" in the playbill.[8][9]
Funny or Die
Barnett's Funny or Die films have garnered national and international attention. In his first major project for Funny or Die, Barnett starred in, co-wrote, and co-produced Growing Up With Gosling (2012), in which Barnett plays the childhood best friend of actor Ryan Gosling, who has tried to cast him as his co-star in all of his movies, including The Notebook, Ides of March, Crazy, Stupid, Love, Lars and the Real Girl, and Drive. Barnett always gets replaced at the last minute by the studio, which nearly always wants a female co-star.[1][10] The short screened at several festivals including the LA Comedy Festival,[11] the Los Angeles Film, Television and New Media Festival,[1] the Playhouse West Film Festival,[12] and the Laugh Track Comedy Festival.[13][14] It won the Best Comedy Short award at the 2012 Los Angeles Film, Television and New Media Festival.[15]
Barnett next starred in, co-wrote, and co-produced Kickstarter to help Luke & Tanner do COOL STUFF!, which premiered in April 2013. The film spoofs several Kickstarter crowdfunding campaigns by already successful, wealthy celebrities to finance new projects such as the Veronica Mars film and the Garden State sequel. Barnett and Tanner Thomason appeal to celebrities to donate money to regular folks like them, so they can watch the celebrities' films and do other cool stuff – in exchange for rewards like "verbal confirmation, to a stranger, of how rad the Veronica Mars movie was".[16][17] In reviewing the spoof, Mashable noted that "... Hollywood stars have recently come under fire for using Kickstarter because, as the argument goes, they may deflect attention from lesser-known filmmakers who rely solely on crowdfunding to support their projects."[17] Barnett was interviewed by Mashable regarding the Kickstarter spoof, and he and Thomason were interviewed about it on Southern California Public Radio.[18] The film was also featured on news sites including News Hour 24[19] and France 24[20] and other political and international sites.[21][22]
In September 2013 Barnett co-wrote, co-produced, and starred in A Message to Aaron Sorkin, which spoofs the opening scene of Sorkin's show The Newsroom.[23] Barnett plays the lead character, Will McAvoy, played in the series by Jeff Daniels. Of the Newsroom spoof, Huffington Post said it "nails everything that's wrong with Aaron Sorkin's show".[24] Entertainment Weekly noted that "Mirroring the opening scene of the series nearly shot-for-shot, ... Funny or Die seamlessly parodies the show by asking bizarro Will McAvoy, 'Can you say why The Newsroom is the greatest show on television?'"[25] Perez Hilton opined that "As smart as the show tries to be, a new parody video from Funny or Die may be even SMARTER!"[26] The spoof was also featured on ESPN's Grantland,[27] The New York Observer,[28] and international sites such as 56.com.[29][30]
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Orange County | Bon-Fire Friend | Uncredited |
| 2007 | Mama's Boy | Cool Guy Skater | Uncredited |
| 2008 | Safehouse | Mitchell | |
| 2010 | Weeding Out | Glenn | |
| 2010 | You, Only Better... | ||
| 2011 | Sedona | Nicholas | |
| 2011 | Coffin | Pete | |
| 2014 | The Scribbler | Orderly | |
| 2014 | Making the Rules | Mexican Restaurant Waiter | |
| 2015 | 400 Days | Reporter | |
| 2016 | Pandemic | Desperate Infected | |
| 2016 | Aaron's Blood | Officer Vaughn | |
| 2020 | Faith Based | Luke | Also writer and producer |
| 2023 | Dark Obsession | Clark |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Grounded for Life | Nick | Episode: "Tonight's the Night" |
| 2007 | Manswers | Stoner Joe | 3 episodes |
| 2021 | List of a Lifetime | Franceso | TV movie |
References
- ^ a b c Wagner, Eric. "Clinton native finds success with comedic short film". Washington Post. April 11, 2012.
- ^ a b "Luke Barnett". Envision Film Festival: 2010 Festival. EnvisionFilmFestival.com.
- ^ "Luke Barnett has a lot going on these days ...". WorkingActor.com. October 16, 2011.
- ^ "D.C. Native Luke Barnett Talks About His New Film Faith Based". Washington City Paper. 8 October 2020. Archived from the original on October 9, 2020.
- ^ "Local man debuts in his new movie "Faith Based"". 17 October 2020. Archived from the original on 2020-10-21.
- ^ The Playground: Credits Archived 2013-09-26 at the Wayback Machine. ThePlaygroundLive.com.
- ^ Luke Barnett at the Internet Movie Database
- ^ a b O'Neal, Dink. "LA Theater Review: Bayside High School Musical". Backstage. September 21, 2011.
- ^ "Luke Barnett To Experience the Amityville Haunting". Dread Central. August 31, 2011.
- ^ Keegan, Rebecca. "Growing Up With Gosling new addition to the Ryan oeuvre". Los Angeles Times. April 5, 2012.
- ^ "OFFICIAL SELECTIONS OF THE 11TH LA COMEDY FESTIVAL ANNOUNCED" Archived 2013-09-26 at the Wayback Machine. LAComedyFest.com. March 28, 2012.
- ^ "Playhouse West Film Festival: 2012 Official Jury Selections" Archived 2013-09-26 at the Wayback Machine. PlayhouseWest.net.
- ^ "Shorts spotlight: Growing Up With Gosling" Archived 2013-09-26 at the Wayback Machine. Laugh Track Comedy Fest. LaughTrackComedyFest.com.
- ^ "Growing up With Gosling to Screen in Denver's Laugh Track Comedy Festival August 4, 2012". SB Wire. August 1, 2012.
- ^ "LA FILM, TV & WEBISODE FESTIVAL AWARDS – FALL 2012" Archived 2013-11-03 at the Wayback Machine. LA Film, TV, & Webisode Festival. LAFilmTVNewMediaFestival.com.
- ^ Kickstarter Campaign to help Luke & Tanner do COOL STUFF!. Kickstarter.com.
- ^ a b Li, Anita. "Kickstarter Campaign Asks Celebs to Pay Regular Guys to See Their Films". Mashable. April 30, 2013.
- ^ Take Two: "Is it wrong for wealthy celebrities to use Kickstarter to fund projects?". KPCC. May 2, 2013.
- ^ "Kickstarter Campaign Asks Celebs to Pay Regular Guys to See Their Films" Archived 2013-09-15 at archive.today. News Hour 24. May 1, 2013.
- ^ "Deux internautes se moquent des campagnes de crowdfunding". France 24. May 5, 2013.
- ^ "Kickstarter Campaign Asks Celebs to Pay Regular Guys to See Their Films". Social First. May 1, 2013.
- ^ LaPotin, Katie. "New Funny or Die video spoofs Veronica Mars, Garden State Kickstarter campaigns". Red Alert Politics. May 2, 2013.
- ^ Gilman, Greg. "Aaron Sorkin’s The Newsroom Gets Eviscerated in Funny or Die Sketch". The Wrap. September 11, 2013.
- ^ "Funny Or Die's Newsroom Spoof Nails Everything That's Wrong With Aaron Sorkin's Show". Huffington Post. September 10, 2013.
- ^ Li, Shirley. "Funny or Die to Aaron Sorkin: Here's how to fix The Newsroom". Entertainment Weekly. September 10, 2013.
- ^ Hilton, Perez. "The Newsroom Isn't The Best Show On TV! But It Can Be In New HIGHlarious Video Parody!". PerezHilton.com. September 11, 2013.
- ^ Lynch, Tess. "Afternoon Links: Is The Newsroom the Greatest Show on Television?". Grantland. September 11, 2013
- ^ Grant, Drew. "Why We Need Shows Like The Newsroom: A Satire". New York Observer. September 13, 2013.
- ^ "A Message to Aaron Sorkin". 56.com.
- ^ "HBO parodiée, une nouvelle tendance". Spin-Off.fr. September 12, 2013.