Canadian fit for U.S. TV duty
By NOEL GALLAGHER - London Free Press
Actor Luke Macfarlane is the first to admit he's been lucky.
"Of course, you need talent and hard work -- and I work damned hard -- but it's naive to think that good fortune doesn't play a pretty big part in this business," says the 25-year-old London native, who has a major role in Over There.
The new FX series, which begins its Canadian debut run on History Television on Tuesday night, focuses on a group of American soldiers on their first tour of duty in Iraq.
Over There producer Steven Bochco, whose list of TV hits includes Hill Street Blues, L.A. Law and NYPD Blue, auditioned hundreds of young actors before choosing Macfarlane to play soldier Frank (Dim) Dumphy.
"My character's a smart, intellectual, compassionate guy who finds himself stuck in this war," explains Macfarlane. "I figure I got the role because I wanted and needed the job so darned desperately. Being broke makes you real determined."
Macfarlane, a 2003 graduate of Juilliard Drama Division, attended the elite New York City theatre school's four-year program on a scholarship.
"The most important thing I learned at Julliard is how important theatre can be," he recalls. "I was surrounded by people, both students and teachers, who have devoted their whole lives and careers to the art of acting.
After appearing in several off-Broadway productions, Macfarlane's career was jump-started last year when he won his first feature film assignment in Kinsey. He was cast as Bruce, the son of sex researcher Alfred Kinsey (Liam Neeson) and his wife, Clara, played by Laura Linney, another Julliard drama grad.
"Working with them and a fantastic director like Bill Condon was an invaluable learning experience for me," he says.
Macfarlane got his first stage assignment while attending Lester B. Pearson School for the Performing Arts. He and his Grade 8 classmates Graeme Cornies and Nate Kreiswirth formed the rock band Slipnaught, which became Fellow Nameless, and is now called van A. Primer.
"We were a progressive, alternative rock group with a pop element added," says Macfarlane. "I was just the guy acting like the band's lead singer. Graeme and Nate were the real musical talents."
"That's definitely not true," counters Kreiswirth. "Luke's got an extremely beautiful, emotionally strong and honest singing voice and a very good ear for music. He was also an animated guy onstage and I wasn't surprised when he decided to go to Julliard and become an actor."
Nor was the actor's father, Dr. Tom Macfarlane, the director of student health services at the University of Western Ontario.
"Luke was always a creative, entertaining kid and kept telling us he was going to be either a scientist or an actor," says the seniorMacfarlane, adding that his son refused to allow a learning disability to keep him from being a good student.
"He's dyslexic and it blew me away to see him staying up into the wee hours of the morning, struggling to read and learn things." his father recalls. "He was also a pretty adventuresome character, doing things on the edge, which didn't endear him to us, like going mountainbiking on the side of a cliff or swimming in the Colorado River."
While attending Central secondary school, Macfarlane encountered Ann MacMillan, the drama teacher who became his mentor.
"That's when I fell in love with theatre. Ann treated her students like professionals and got me thinking about an acting career. She really encouraged me to go to New York and audition for Julliard."
At Central, Macfarlane co-starred in several school shows with his twin sister and best friend, Ruth.
"We both loved performing, but Luke had much more ambition than me and the passion, drive and inner strength it takes to succeed in show business," says Ruth Macfarlane, manager of the Waltzing Weasel, a London bar and restaurant. "I always knew Luke would be famous some day."
His mother, Penny Macfarlane, a mental health nurse at a London hospital, realized her son's acting potential the first time she saw him perform in a high school show.
"He just had this charisma about him and just lit up the stage. Luke has got 'the gift' and knows how to use it," she says.
The pursuit of his dream has taken Macfarlane from his hometown London to New York and now to Los Angeles.
"I've got one of the best jobs in the world," says the young actor, but he's also aware of the challenges success creates.
"The hardest thing about this business is that the more you have, or achieve, the more fear there is of of losing it. There's this huge pressure to keep improving and going to that next step.
"For instance, being in Over There is a wonderful thing, but, at the same time, I don't want it to be the highlight of my career."
