{{short description|Indian actor, film director, producer, and music director}} {{BLP sources|date=January 2024}} {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2025}} {{Use Indian English|date=June 2022}} {{Infobox person | name = Luke Kenny | image = Luke Kenny.jpg | caption = Kenny in 2012 | birth_place = Kolkata, West Bengal, India | years_active = 1989–present | known_for = ''Rock On!!'' }}
'''Luke Kenny''' is an Indian actor, film director, producer, music director, composer, and former VJ. He began his career as a DJ, followed by a successful stint as the first male VJ on Channel V.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.fireflydaily.com/kya-karrele-hai-baapu/|title=This Is What Our Favorite Channel V and MTV VJs Are Doing These Days|website=Firefly Daily|access-date=18 August 2019|archive-date=18 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190818073519/http://www.fireflydaily.com/kya-karrele-hai-baapu/|url-status=dead}}</ref> He gained widespread recognition for his role in the 2008 rock musical drama ''Rock On!!''
In 2018, Kenny came back into prominence for his role as the hired mercenary Malcolm Murad in the Netflix series ''Sacred Games''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Nathan |first=Archana |title=Cuckoo, Katekar and Malcom: Introducing three stand-out characters (and actors) from 'Sacred Games' |url=https://scroll.in/reel/885232/cuckoo-katekar-and-malcom-introducing-three-stand-out-characters-and-actors-from-sacred-games |access-date=7 August 2022 |website=Scroll.in|date=5 July 2018 }}</ref>
==Early life== Kenny was born in Kolkata and is of Anglo-Indian descent. His Irish grandfather was originally from Burma but moved to India after WWII and married Kenny's British grandmother. The actor's father, Robert Kenny, was born in Delhi and was a musician. He later moved to Kolkata and married Kenny's mother, who was Italian.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Lal |first1=Niharika |title=I love Delhi, but not its people, says Luke Kenny – Times of India |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/music/news/I-love-Delhi-but-not-its-people-says-Luke-Kenny/articleshow/45238780.cms |accessdate=20 August 2019 |work=The Times of India |date=22 November 2014}}</ref> Kenny's parents divorced when he was very young and he grew up in Mumbai with his father and grandfather, both musicians, prompting his interest in music from a young age.{{Citation needed|date=September 2023}} He was a student at Elphinstone College in Mumbai but left the school early to pursue a career in music.{{Citation needed|date=September 2023}}
==Career== Kenny began his career as a dancer, influenced by Michael Jackson. He was spotted and later recruited by Arshad Warsi's dance crew. In 1991, he joined the rock band Greek as a vocalist. Between 1993 and 1995, he had a small stint as a DJ. In 1995, he joined the newly launched Channel V as their first male VJ. He became popular and had a long-term association with the channel.<ref>{{cite news |title=Been creatively contributive whenever I could be: VJ Luke Kenny |url=https://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ians/been-creatively-contributive-whenever-i-could-be-vj-luke-kenny-116102100239_1.html |accessdate=20 August 2019 |work=Business Standard India |date=21 October 2016}}</ref> Kenny got his first acting break in the 1997 film ''Bombay Boys'' alongside Naveen Andrews, albeit in a small role. After this, he went back to Channel V and served as their head of music programming until 2008. In 2005, Kenny tried his hand at directing and producing, with the film ''13th Floor'', starring Purab Kohli and Sandhya Mridul. The production was India's first digitally-released film and received recognition at film festivals. Kenny returned to acting with his breakthrough role in the 2008 film ''Rock On!!''<ref>{{Cite web |last=Banerjee |first=Kaushani |date=8 March 2020 |title='Rock On!!' fames Luke Kenny's journey in Bollywood |url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/magazine/2020/Mar/08/rock-on-fames-luke-kennys-journey-in-bollywood-2112855.html |access-date=11 July 2025 |website=The New Indian Express}}</ref>
Kenny has also been a contributor to various news columns. He used to write "If I May Say So" for the ''Hindustan Times'' and "LukeBox" for ''Rolling Stone India''. In 2011 he became the channel head of 9XO, a 24/7 international music channel owned by 9X Media. In 2013, he produced and starred in India's first zombie film, ''Rise of the Zombie''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Getting ready for Rise of the Zombie was painful: Luke Kenny - NDTV Movies |url=https://movies.ndtv.com/bollywood/getting-ready-for-rise-of-of-the-zombie-was-painful-luke-kenny-610554 |website=NDTVMovies.com |date=February 2013 |accessdate=20 August 2019}}</ref>
Kenny recently regained public attention with his acclaimed portrayal of Malcolm Murad, a hired mercenary, in the first Netflix India original series, ''Sacred Games''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.easterneye.biz/cast-of-sacred-games-2-goes-retro-in-latest-photoshoot/|title=Cast of Sacred Games 2 goes retro in latest photoshoot|last=Singh|first=Mohnish|date=22 July 2019|website=EasternEye|language=en-GB|access-date=13 December 2019}}</ref> Kenny was part of the cast in both seasons of the show. He next appeared as GDPA official Wolfgang Hummels (inspired by WADA) in the second season of the Amazon Prime show ''Inside Edge''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/tv/inside-edge-season-2-trailer-amazon-s-indian-original-will-sustain-you-till-mirzapur-2/story-TzpNmc405LqaQugzNMKpFK.html|title=Inside Edge season 2 trailer: Amazon's Indian original will sustain you till Mirzapur 2|date=18 November 2019|website=Hindustan Times|language=en|access-date=13 December 2019}}</ref> The same year, he also appeared in the film ''Tanhaji'', portraying the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb.
In 2022, Kenny appeared in the Disney+ Hotstar series ''Rudra: The Edge of Darkness''. The same year, he was added to the upcoming web series ''Parth aur Jugnu''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Suthar |first=Manisha |date=16 July 2022 |title=Exclusive: Luke Kenny bags web series Parth aur Jugnu |url=https://www.iwmbuzz.com/digital/news-digital/exclusive-luke-kenny-bags-web-series-parth-aur-jugnu/2022/07/16 |access-date=7 August 2022 |website=IWMBuzz}}</ref>
==Filmography== <!-- Rowspans are only allowed for the "Year" column, per WP:FILMOGRAPHY -->
===Film=== {| class="wikitable sortable" |+ {{Sronly|List of film appearances, with year, title, and role shown}} ! Year ! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |- | 1998 | ''Bombay Boys'' | Xavier | |- | 2008 | ''Rock On!!'' | Rob Nancy | |- | 2013 | ''Rise of the Zombie'' | Neil Parker | |- | rowspan=2|2016 | ''Banjo'' | Mickey a.k.a. Mic | |- | ''Rock On 2'' | Rob Nancy | Cameo in the song "You Know What I Mean" |- | 2017 | ''Qarib Qarib Singlle'' | Sidkong | |- | 2020 | ''Tanhaji'' | Aurangzeb | |- | 2023 | ''The Archies'' | Ricky Mantle | |- | 2024 | ''Merry Christmas'' | Jerome | |- | 2025 | ''Kesari Chapter 2'' | Appeal court judge | |}
===Television=== {| class="wikitable sortable" |+ {{Sronly|List of television appearances, with year, title, and role shown}} ! Year ! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |- | 2018 | ''21 Sarfarosh – Saragarhi 1897'' | Major Des Voeux | Discovery Jeet |- | 2018 | ''Sacred Games'' | Malcolm Mourad | Netflix |- | 2019 | ''Inside Edge'' | Wolfgang Hummels | Amazon Prime Video |- |rowspan="2"|2022 | ''Rudra: The Edge of Darkness'' | JK Lamba | Disney+ Hotstar |- | ''Dharavi Bank'' | Michael | Disney+ Hotstar |- | 2023 | ''Fireflies: Parth Aur Jugnu'' | Sleeman/Mritunjay Vyas | ZEE5 |- |2025 |''The Royals'' |Adi Mehta / Maurice |Netflix |- |}
===Other crew positions=== {| class="wikitable" |- ! Year || Title ! Director || Producer |- | 2005 | ''13th Floor'' | {{Yes}} | {{Yes}} |- | 2013 | ''Rise of the Zombie'' | | {{Yes}} |}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{Commons}} * {{IMDb title}} * {{BH person}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kenny, Luke}} Category:Living people Category:Male actors from Kolkata Category:Indian male film actors Category:Male actors in Hindi cinema Category:Indian male television actors Category:Male actors in Hindi television Category:Indian people of Italian descent Category:Indian people of Irish descent Category:Anglo-Indian people Category:Indian people of Anglo-Burmese descent Category:Year of birth missing (living people) Category:21st-century Indian male actors Category:21st-century Indian composers