1. Early life
Luke Ford was born on March 26, 1981, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. He was raised in Sydney, Australia, where he also received his education and acting training.
1.1. Childhood and education
Ford attended Parramatta Marist High School in Westmead, Sydney. Before pursuing acting full-time, he worked at the Winston Hills Hotel and had a brief stint at Universal Magazines in North Ryde. He studied acting at The Actor's Pulse in Sydney, becoming one of the school's earliest graduates. Ford later returned to The Actor's Pulse to teach the Meisner technique during periods between his film roles.
2. Film career
Ford's film career began with the Australian film Kokoda in 2006, where he delivered a performance as Burke, a soldier who is slain on the historic Kokoda Trail.
His next significant role was in The Black Balloon, released in 2008, co-starring with Toni Collette. For his portrayal of Charlie Mollison, a teenager with autism and ADD, Ford won an Australian Film Institute Award for Best Supporting Actor in 2008. To prepare for the role, Ford dedicated six months to research, including practicing his characterization on the streets of Sydney to gauge its effectiveness. The Black Balloon premiered at the Berlin Film Festival, where it was awarded the Crystal Bear.
Immediately following his work on The Black Balloon, Ford was cast in the third installment of The Mummy series, The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. In this film, he starred opposite Brendan Fraser and Maria Bello, playing Alex O'Connell, the son of Fraser's character Rick O'Connell and Bello's character Evelyn O'Connell. The film was released in the United States on August 1, 2008, and grossed 403.00 M USD worldwide.
In 2009, Ford appeared in 3 Acts of Murder and Ghost Machine. Over 2010 and 2011, he took on roles in several other Australian films, including Animal Kingdom, Red Dog, and Face to Face.
3. Television work
Luke Ford began his professional acting career in Australian television, starting with a guest-starring role on Water Rats in 2000. This was followed by appearances on other popular series such as McLeod's Daughters, Home and Away, Stingers, Breakers, and All Saints.
He also appeared in several television movies, including Junction Boys alongside Tom Berenger, and as Iphicles in the NBC miniseries Hercules. Ford also featured in the short-lived Australian series Headland. For his recurring role as Craig Woodland on McLeod's Daughters, Ford was short-listed for a 'Best New Talent' Logie Award.
Later in his career, Ford secured prominent roles in various Australian television series. In 2013, he appeared in Underbelly: Squizzy as Albert "Tankbuster" McDonald across seven episodes. He also starred as Tim Dolan in six episodes of Cleverman in 2017, and as Paul in eight episodes of Amazing Grace in 2021. Other television appearances include Nomads (a TV movie), Bikie Wars: Brothers in Arms, The Other Guy, Halifax: Retribution, and Fires. He also made guest appearances as himself on talk shows like HBO First Look and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and on The Movie Loft.
4. Filmography
Luke Ford's acting credits span across films, television, and video games.
4.1. Films
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Junction Boys | Perch | TV movie |
| 2005 | Hercules | Iphicles | TV movie |
| 2006 | Kokoda | Burke | |
| 2008 | The Black Balloon | Charlie Mollison | AACTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role |
| The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor | Alex O'Connell | Replacing Freddie Boath from The Mummy Returns | |
| 2009 | Ghost Machine | Vic | |
| 3 Acts of Murder | Snowy Rowles | TV movie | |
| 2010 | Animal Kingdom | Darren Cody | |
| 2011 | Red Dog | Thomas | |
| Face to Face | Wayne Travers | ||
| 2012 | The King is Dead | Shrek | |
| 2013 | Charlie's Country | Luke | |
| 2015 | Infini | Chester Huntington | |
| 2016 | The Osiris Child: Science Fiction Volume One | Bill | |
| 2017 | What If It Works? | Adrian McKinnon | |
| 2018 | A Suburban Love Story | Brett |
4.2. Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Water Rats | Harley Strachan | 1 episode (Family Ties) |
| Home and Away | JT Hanson | 5 episodes | |
| 2001 | Stingers | Craig Williams | 1 episode (Just Another Day) |
| McLeod's Daughters | Craig Woodland | 22 episodes (2001-2004) | |
| 2002 | All Saints | Leon Fahey | 1 episode (Overload) |
| 2004 | All Saints | Ray Branal | 1 episode (Bad Seed) |
| 2005 | Headland | Seth Baxter | 5 episodes |
| 2008 | HBO First Look | Himself | 1 episode (The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor) |
| The Tonight Show with Jay Leno | Himself | 1 episode | |
| 2009 | The Movie Loft | Himself | 1 episode |
| 2010 | Nomads | Zack | TV movie |
| 2012 | Bikie Wars: Brothers in Arms | Snowy | |
| 2013 | Underbelly: Squizzy | Albert "Tankbuster" McDonald | 7 episodes |
| 2017 | Cleverman | Tim Dolan | 6 episodes |
| The Other Guy | Henry | 2 episodes | |
| 2020 | Halifax: Retribution | Neil | 1 episode |
| 2021 | Amazing Grace | Paul | 8 episodes |
| Fires | Panicked Man on Phone | 1 episode |
4.3. Video games
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor | Alex O'Connell | Voice |