One of the few International male models from India, Tony Luke has walked the ramp for various Indian and International designers. Though he was at the top of his game in the modeling circuit, Tony chose to give it up and follow his heart which was set on acting. He made a noticeable debut in Jeethu Joseph’s Oozham where he played a spoilt and suave son of a business magnate.
Tony has now landed a prominent role in the Siddharth Siva directed Nivin Pauly starrer Sakhavu. Besides the model looks, what strikes one is his intelligence, clarity of thought and passion for cinema. Talking about his role, Tony says, “I had done a year of theatre in Kochi and had played around 40 different characters which I recorded. I compiled all those videos and some of those found its way to the producer of the film, who put me in touch with Siddhartha Shiva. I did not have any credibility at the time and I was asked to give a look test. It was after Oozham that I got the confirmation and the character sketch.” His character is a ruthless and cunning estate manager of a tea plantation who exploits his workers. The antagonist role is pivotal in the film.
Tony understood the prominence of that character and more importantly the emotional depths he could plumb. He says, “My character called the Manager has absolutely no kindness and is at the top of his game, so he is cunning and conniving in aiming to stay there. Andrew of Oozham was a spoilt and stupid brat and people forgave him but the Manager is somebody people cannot forget.” What Tony himself cannot forget are the compliments coming his way. This, especially when people have a preconceived notion that models cannot act to save their lives. He also recalls the co-operation of co-star Nivin Pauly and his director.
The young actor has also gone the extra mile to add authenticity to his character in Sahkavu. He reveals, “I put on muscle weight of almost eight kilos and I have also styled my hair to look older.” Tony took inspiration from Leonardo DiCaprio of Django Unchained to style his look. The biggest appreciation he says has come from his mother who appreciated his acting. He adds, “She is my strongest critic, so her appreciation counts a lot.”
