Luke Cook Is Done Asking for Permission
Left: Full Look CALVIN KLEIN from NAC Media
From “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina” to “Good Cop, Bad Cop,” the Australian actor on fatherhood, fart jokes, and finding freedom in being a goofball.
“Honestly,” Luke Cook says with a grin, “I’m still an idiot.” He’s sitting across from us, post-photo shoot, arms comfortably folded like someone who knows how to laugh at the world, and himself.
Since we last featured him in 2019 for VULKAN, BELLO’s sister publication, Cook has shapeshifted in all the best ways. He’s gained ten kilos of pure muscle, become a devoted father to two sons, and landed his very first lead role in a network series. “I feel like I’m a man now,” he reflects. “I didn’t have kids back then. Now I do. And I get to lead a show, for the first time ever. That’s a big shift. But also, like I said, still an idiot.”
Left: Full Look CALVIN KLEIN from NAC Media / Right: CALVIN KLEIN sweater & Hugo Boss jeans from NAC Media/ Shirt Our Legacy
And yet, that “idiot” almost didn’t audition for Good Cop, Bad Cop. When the offer first came in, Cook turned it down. “I was like, ‘I don’t think I can play that,’” he admits. “There are people who can do this better.” But the team behind the show kept pushing, they believed in him, even before he did. “Who the hell are these people who know me better than I know myself?” he laughs. “Eventually, I said fine. And they were like, ‘That’s him. That’s our guy.’”
From the very first scene on set, something clicked. “We rehearsed a little bit, shot it, and the showrunner came up to me and said, ‘That was perfect.’ That’s when I knew, okay, I got this.”
The role turned out to be a surprising fit. “He’s the oddball. My sister’s the straight guy, she’s the feelings, I’m the facts,” Cook explains. “I never thought I could play someone like that. And then I did.” That revelation, the thrill of rising to a challenge he almost declined, is still fresh in his voice.
Full Look CALVIN KLEIN from NAC Media
The show, he tells us, was as fun behind the scenes as it is on screen. “We laughed constantly. Sure, TV is a lot of work. It’s fast-paced and slow-paced at the same time. Lots of waiting, then you’re suddenly on. But the camaraderie, the friendships, that’s everything.” His favorite moment? “In Australia, if you need to fart, you say ‘Pull my finger.’ So I did that to Leighton, two weeks into knowing her. I let it rip on set, while mic’d up. Everyone heard it. I still don’t know how she took it.”
Full Look CALVIN KLEIN from NAC Media/Shoes ADIDAS Samba from Electric Collective
That irreverent humor, the same mischievous spark fans love in his online sketches, was born out of something simpler than ambition: boredom. “No one was hiring me,” he says. “I had all this creative energy and nowhere to put it. So I started making videos. The beauty of social media? You don’t need anyone’s permission.”
For Cook, social media became a space where he could be unapologetically himself, free from gatekeepers or expectations. “Just do the thing only you can do. Don’t ask. Don’t wait for someone to give you the green light. Just start.” He’s seen firsthand how rough those early efforts can be “some people suck at first,” he says, “but two years later, they’re great” and it’s that persistence that he champions.
Left: CALVIN KLEIN sweater & Hugo Boss jeans from NAC Media/ Shirt Our Legacy / Right: Full Look CALVIN KLEIN from NAC Media/
Still, he’s aware that digital fame doesn’t necessarily equate to financial freedom. “You can be successful and not make money. Society messes with that idea. But when I get messages from people saying my stupid videos lifted them out of a bad day, that means something.”
And despite the layered humor that defines his content, Cook isn’t out to make social commentary or political statements. “It’s mostly just good fun,” he shrugs. “Sometimes it’s self-expression. But I don’t want to isolate people. I want everyone to feel welcome to have a laugh.”
CALVIN KLEIN sweater & Hugo Boss jeans from NAC Media/ Shirt Our Legacy
Even as his creative output continues to grow, he’s careful not to let any one version of himself define the whole. “People will quote my catchphrases back to me, and I think cool, but I’m not just that guy. I want to be ever-evolving. I want to be a chameleon. I want to disappear and pop up somewhere unexpected.” He credits some of this to his Sagittarius nature. “I want to learn a little of everything. Try different things. Do them right.”
Left: CALVIN KLEIN Sweater from NAC Media & Andersson Bell Jeans / Right: Hugo Boss Jacket & CALVIN KLEIN pants from NAC Media
He’s not chasing a niche, even if he occasionally envies those who do. “Celeste Barber? She nailed a niche and repeated it to perfection. She’s killing it. I respect that. But me? I’d get bored. I want to keep people guessing.”
There’s a freedom, too, in embracing contradiction, especially when balancing comedic work with dramatic roles. “People sometimes say, ‘I couldn’t take you seriously in this role,’ and I’m like well, that’s your lack of imagination, isn’t it?” he says. “We’re all multifaceted. I like doing both. I like surprising people.”
Hugo Boss Jacket & CALVIN KLEIN pants from NAC Media / Shoes ADIDAS Samba from Electric Collective
At the core of everything, though, is creativity. “I just want to be creatively fulfilled,” he says. “If I can make money doing that, amazing. But even when you’re pulled into commercial stuff, or jobs that don’t excite you, you still hope you can carve out something real.”
When we ask what his dream looks like, he doesn’t miss a beat: “Mark Wahlberg. But less douchey.” He laughs. “He’s got the tequila, the prayer app, the clothing brand, and all the movies. I want that, but fun, and things I actually believe in. I want to make stuff, sell stuff, act in a bunch of things, and feel good about all of it.”
And while that ambition burns bright, his feet remain firmly on the ground. “No one worships me,” he says. “That helps.” Fame hasn’t changed how he walks down the street, or how he sees himself. “People like me because I’m normal, or human. That’s how I want it.”
Of course, that could all shift if one breakout role changes the game. “Let’s talk again in five years,” he grins. “We’ll see if I’ve found that one character who follows me around forever.”
He’s game for it all, fantasy epics, period dramas, swords, and knights. “I’d love to do that stuff,” he says. “But no one’s come to me with it yet. I’m praying it happens.”
In the meantime, the actor stays creatively recharged through a ritual that grounds him more than any red carpet: exercise. “That hour in the gym? It’s my meditation. Push heavy stuff, clear my head. I go in moody, come out better. It’s always been the thing that balances me.”
Fatherhood helps too. “Kids cure moodiness fast. You don’t have time to wallow when they need you. Everything becomes about them, and that’s a good thing.”
As for what’s next? He’s relaunching Shakewell, his clean, filler-free protein drink, in May. And later this year, he stars in Watching You (on Stan), a psychological thriller. “It’s an Aussie show, and hopefully it finds a big audience now that it’s landing on a major platform.”
Full Look CALVIN KLEIN from NAC Media/Shoes ADIDAS Samba from Electric Collective
When pressed to choose between a critically acclaimed dramatic role or a wildly successful sitcom, Cook doesn’t hesitate. “Give me the sitcom. Let me be creative and feed my family. I don’t need an award. I need to enjoy my job and put food on the table. That’s it.”
And if there’s one thing he hopes people take away from everything he creates, whether it’s a scripted scene, a sketch, or a protein shake, it’s this: “Have fun. We’re on this planet for such a short time. People take everything so seriously. But we’re all going to die. And everything we love will pass. So why not dance for ten seconds?”
Like the hummingbird he describes, darting through life in unpredictable, joyful zigzags, Luke Cook isn’t here for the straight line. He’s here for the ride.
Luke Cook @thelukecook Photography JP Velarde @jpvelarde Styling Sebastian Blazely @sebastian_blazely Grooming Angelina Bradatsch Styling Assistant Kristina Angela @kristinaangelaaa Conversation by Aleksandar Tomovic @alekandsteph
Left: CALVIN KLEIN sweater & Hugo Boss jeans from NAC Media/ Shirt Our Legacy Right: Full Look CALVIN KLEIN from NAC Media