Luke Baines Words by Jasmine Perrier Styling by Lucy Warren
L
uke Baines’ assurance and kindness are some of the first things you notice when speaking to him. He is downto-earth, laid-back and easy to talk to. Born in the United Kingdom, brought up in Australia, and now living in the United States, Luke is related to a crossroad of cultures. According to him, his exploration of the world helps him learn a different set of skills that he expresses through the few notable roles he has embodied beautifully until this point. ‘‘Sometimes the job can be very challenging, but I love to use my imagination and get to jump into another character’s skin.’’ Last February 25, Luke made his entrance into the Shadow World on Freefrom’s Shadowhunters, to reveal the true face of Jonathan Morgenstern after he was resurrected. If you are not familiar with Luke Baines, it’s time you get to know him!
The Australian actor got into acting at a really young age. He remembers telling his mom, ‘‘I want to do that,’’ when he was just 5. ‘‘She took me acting lessons, and I just loved it. I love playing and exploring that part of my imagination. I’ve always been drawn to it, and whether it’s acting or some other kind of performance,’’ he shares. However, it wasn’t until he was 15 that he decided to take it more seriously. ‘‘I went to Performing Arts School in Australia, and I studied drama, music and dance. And I did that for three years, and that’s really
Photos by Harvy Moon Grooming by KC Fee where I started looking at it as a career. I’ve been fortunate enough over the past few years to really make that a reality.’’ ‘‘When you move countries, it’s a really overwhelming experience because everything you know is different. Whether it’s something small like the store that you go to to buy milk, or your support system around you, that pushes yourself out of your comfort zone. It really helps you as an artist to be able to create different people and different characters,’’ he says on experiencing different cultures. From production movies to TV shows, Luke got to play numerous breakthrough and complex roles so far in his career, including portraying a serial killer in Wes Craven’s The Girl With the Photographs. ‘‘With every life event that has happened to me, I have changed, I think in terms of an evolution. I think the older I get, the more I live, the more rich my acting gets,’’ he articulates. Over the course of his journey, Luke has aimed to stay honest with himself and the audience. ‘‘As long as you’re putting forward something honest and truthful, then it’s gonna have the most impact.’’ Being a huge fan of dark fantasy growing up, Luke was excited to take on the role of Jonathan Morgenstern in Freeform’s hit show Shadowhunters, and explore his story that has a lot going on. ‘‘I used to
‘‘ Shadowhunters is probably the toughest challenge I’ve ever had as an actor. But at the same time, I loved being out of my comfort zone’’
ISSUE NO.13
GRUMPYMAGAZINE.COM
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