Luke Benward: Actor, Singer, Teenager!

Luke Benward - Movie Career

Born May 12, 1995, Luke Benward is best known for his starring role as Billy in How to Eat Fried Worms, his lead role in Disney Channel's Mostly Ghostly: Who Let the Ghosts Out? and his performance as Charlie Tuttle in the 2008 Disney Channel Original Movie, Minutemen. He has also had roes in "Because of Winn Dixie" and other movies as well as acting in quite a few commercials.

Luke's first break was at the age of five, appearing along side Mel Gibson in "We Were Soldiers." When he was seven years old, Luke appeared in Martina McBride's music video Concrete Angel. Since then Benward has appeared in numerous films and television movies. In 2009, Luke Benward will take on a new acting challenge by playing a teen with disabilities in "Dear John," based on a novel by Nicholas Sparks.

Young Luke Benward has also been nominated for his second Young Artist Award for "Best Performance in a TV, Movie, Miniseries or Special by A Leading Young Actor" in "Minutemen." Luke won a Young Artist Award in 2007 for his leading role in "How to Eat Fried Worms."

How did he catch the acting bug? Luke decided he wanted to be an actor tagging along to auditions with his mom.

Luke Benward - Music Career

Now at 13, Luke Benward is making his mark on the music scene with his first album Let Your Love Out which releases April 21, 2008 on iShine Records. Produced by "In Crowd," Shaun Shankel and Luke's father Aaron Benward, Luke Benward's first album contains ten tracks. Five songs are performed by Benward and the remaining 5 songs are instrumental versions for his fans to sing along with. Besides the title track, "Let Your Love Out," other songs include "Get Up," "Shine" and "Everyday Hero," a song Benward dedicated to his mother. Benward also covers a version of Steve Winwood's classic hit, "Higher Love."

Luke Benward was featured on iTunes ® "What's Hot" music page the week of March 2, alongside the likes of Keith Urban, and Taylor Swift, where enthusiastic fans were already commenting on Let Your Love Out. The "Rachael Ray" show has also selected Benward's title track "Let Your Love Out" for their sweeps starting March 16.

What are Luke's inspirations as a musician? He comes from a family of musicians, so he doubtless was inspired by his father Aaron Benward and his grandfather Jeffrey Benward (who performed gospel music together in the 1990s as music duo Aaron * Jeoffrey). However, Luke lists the Beatles and Switchfoot as two of his favorite bands.

Luke Benward - Family Life

Luke Benward appears to be like any other 13-year-old boy at first glance. Born and raised in a Christian home in Franklin, Tennessee (just outside of Nashville), Luke spends his free time like most 13-year-olds: going to school, playing football and video games, working on his dance moves and practicing on his new electric guitar. His father, Aaron Benward, is one half of country duo, Blue County, and his mother, Kenda Benward, is a part time actress, model, and acting coach. Luke Benward has two younger sisters, Gracie and Ella. The Benward family currently lives in Nashville, Tennessee.

How does Luke Benward handle the pressures of fame? He says his parents remind him that he can't do it alone, and that it is God's will that he is where he is today.

Sources

1. wikipedia.org/wiki/Luke_Benward

2. Meet Luke Benward

3. imdb.com

4. lukebenwardonline.com

5. http://www.newreleasetuesday

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