The 2020 Netflix musical fantasy series Julie and the Phantoms is a major hit. Here is everything you need to know about Charlie Gillespie, the actor who plays the show’s teen heartthrob Luke Patterson.
Who is Luke Patterson?
Julie and the Phantoms is a Netflix original series directed by Kenny Ortega. The show’s main protagonist Julie Molina (Madison Reyes) is a grieving teenage girl who finds herself without any inspiration to crank out some new tunes.
While digging through her departed mother’s studio and belongings, Julie accidentally summons the ghosts of three members from the popular 90s boy band Sunset Curve— entirely fictional. That strange circumstance is what introduces the characters Alex Mercer (Owen Joyner), Reggie Peters (Jeremy Shada), and Luke Patterson (Charlie Gillespie).
Honing in on Luke Patterson, he was Sunset Curve’s lead vocalist and guitarist. After being brought back to life by Julie, the four collaborate to create the also-fictional band Julie and the Phantoms.
Luke brings his multiple musical talents to the table but shares the singing spotlight with Julie.
Who is Charlie Gillespie?
Starring as Julie and the Phantom’s Luke Patterson, Charlie Gillespie is a 22-year-old Canadian actor. In the series, he demonstrates his real-life musical talent.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Gillespie admitted to trading out his usual acoustic guitar for an electric one. He did while connecting to his character.
When Gillespie was asked about the traits he shares with his character, he answered:
I’m going into [the direction of] who he is a lot more because of the show, but at the start, I only had an acoustic guitar and I’d bring my guitar around to a bonfire. I’d play a bunch of songs, we’d all sing and that was kind of it. When I went to the little electric [guitar], I started going around Los Angeles and I would go to every open mic that I could find; I was at two per night.
Entertainment Weekly
Where else can we find Charlie Gillespie?
Although the actor has been in a few projects before Julie and the Phantoms, this has been his biggest role yet.
Gillespie has a rapidly growing fanbase. He currently has 1.6 million followers on Instagram which he uses with the username @charles_gillespie.
On his Instagram account, he often shares adventurous pictures of nature and animals.
Where can you find Charlie Gillespie on the TV screen?
The Julie actor was featured in another series that is currently available for streaming on Netflix. He played the protective boyfriend character Brian in the 2018 reboot of the fantasy-drama series Charmed.
Gillespie was also credited in one episode of Degrassi: Next Class. He played Oliver, who was the recently-dumped hospital roommate of the main character Tristan.
Other projects he’s been featured in include the TV series The Next Step and 2nd Generation. Listed on IMDb are two upcoming projects of his which are: Love You Anyways and The Class— the latter of the two is described as “the Breakfast Club for the new generation” and stars the original Breakfast Club brainiac, Anthony Michael Hall.
It is certain that we’ll be seeing much more of Charlie Gillespie in the future, perhaps in a second season of Julie and the Phantoms.
Julie and the Phantoms season one is available for streaming on Netflix.