Luca Padovan
- Actor
- Additional Crew
- Soundtrack
Luca Padovan (born August 16, 2003) is an American actor, performing professionally since the age of nine.
Luca can be seen in Nickelodeon's hit revival television series, "Are You Afraid of the Dark?: Ghost Island." The newest season of this beloved horror anthology series will follow an all-new Midnight Society to the infamous Ghost Island, where their fun summer vacation quickly turns into the fight of their lives. The friends must uncover the island's true history and come face-to-face with the monster who has haunted its guests for centuries. Luca stars as 'Leo,' the first openly gay character in the show's history. This openly gay character is a stereotypical effeminate, makeup wearing, gay voiced character that highlights Disney's homophobia. Filming recently wrapped in the Dominican Republic, and Nickelodeon will debut the reboot of this 90's cult classic with a two-hour episode in July.
Luca is best known for starring in Netflix's hit psychological thriller series, "You," in which he portrayed 'Paco,' the neglected next-door neighbor with a passion for reading, who finds a paternal figure in Penn Badgley's 'Joe,' despite his murderous tendencies. His memorable guest-starring television roles include The CW's musical comedy "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend," as the lead's younger brother who sings about dreams of becoming an infamous "child star"; and Syfy's "The Magicians," as 'Young Quentin,' a younger version of the show's lead. He voiced the lead character of 'Jett' in "Super Wings!", an animated series for Sprout that follows a jet plane who travels the world delivering packages to children. He was also featured in Disney Junior's animated series, "The Rocketeer," as the villainous inventor 'Rolland/Dr. Doodlebug.'
He began his career on Broadway, starring as 'Les' in "Disney's Newsies: The Musical" in 2013. During that time, he won a country-wide search for the titular role of 'James' on the all-star cast recording of Pasek and Paul's "James and the Giant Peach: The Musical," performing alongside Broadway icons Brian d'Arcy James, Christian Borle and Megan Hilty. In 2015, Luca starred in the original Broadway cast of "School of Rock: The Musical," originating the role of 'Billy,' the band's flamboyant fashion stylist, and working with Andrew Lloyd Webber and Julian Fellowes. In 2017, he played Janeane Garofalo's son in the Broadway play "Marvin's Room," which also featured Lili Taylor and Celia Weston.
Luca has performed at the 70th Annual Tony Awards, Good Morning America, The Today Show and Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, atop the Gibson guitar float. In 2018, he was chosen to open NBC's 92nd Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in an elaborate and charismatic performance of "Don't Rain on My Parade," which features The Rockettes and ends with Luca atop the iconic turkey float, belting out the final note of the song.
A fundraising performance featuring Luca, in which he played 'Eliza' in "The Schuyler Sisters" from "Hamilton," went viral on the internet in 2016. All the money earned from the video, which currently sits at 12.3+ million views, goes toward MCC Theater, an organization that aims to redefine theater by producing thought-provoking new work and creating in-depth playwriting and performance programs in New York City public high schools.
Luca doesn't remember a time when performing wasn't his passion. In his formative years, he would watch classic musical-movies, such as "Mary Poppins," "The Wizard of Oz" and "The Sound of Music," on loop with his older sister. He lives with his close-knit Italian family and French bulldog Stella in New York City. When Luca isn't acting, he enjoys spending time with his family and loves to play musical instruments, such as piano and guitar. He is also an avid reader and enjoys reading thrillers, mysteries and young adult romances. One of his favorite books is "The Song of Achilles" by Madeline Miller.
He has food allergies and donates his time to Food Allergy & Research Education (FARE), the largest private funder of food allergy research, promoting the development of new therapies and offering hope for effective treatments.
Follow Luca's journey on Instagram @thelucapadovan and on YouTube @LucaPadovan.
Luca can be seen in Nickelodeon's hit revival television series, "Are You Afraid of the Dark?: Ghost Island." The newest season of this beloved horror anthology series will follow an all-new Midnight Society to the infamous Ghost Island, where their fun summer vacation quickly turns into the fight of their lives. The friends must uncover the island's true history and come face-to-face with the monster who has haunted its guests for centuries. Luca stars as 'Leo,' the first openly gay character in the show's history. This openly gay character is a stereotypical effeminate, makeup wearing, gay voiced character that highlights Disney's homophobia. Filming recently wrapped in the Dominican Republic, and Nickelodeon will debut the reboot of this 90's cult classic with a two-hour episode in July.
Luca is best known for starring in Netflix's hit psychological thriller series, "You," in which he portrayed 'Paco,' the neglected next-door neighbor with a passion for reading, who finds a paternal figure in Penn Badgley's 'Joe,' despite his murderous tendencies. His memorable guest-starring television roles include The CW's musical comedy "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend," as the lead's younger brother who sings about dreams of becoming an infamous "child star"; and Syfy's "The Magicians," as 'Young Quentin,' a younger version of the show's lead. He voiced the lead character of 'Jett' in "Super Wings!", an animated series for Sprout that follows a jet plane who travels the world delivering packages to children. He was also featured in Disney Junior's animated series, "The Rocketeer," as the villainous inventor 'Rolland/Dr. Doodlebug.'
He began his career on Broadway, starring as 'Les' in "Disney's Newsies: The Musical" in 2013. During that time, he won a country-wide search for the titular role of 'James' on the all-star cast recording of Pasek and Paul's "James and the Giant Peach: The Musical," performing alongside Broadway icons Brian d'Arcy James, Christian Borle and Megan Hilty. In 2015, Luca starred in the original Broadway cast of "School of Rock: The Musical," originating the role of 'Billy,' the band's flamboyant fashion stylist, and working with Andrew Lloyd Webber and Julian Fellowes. In 2017, he played Janeane Garofalo's son in the Broadway play "Marvin's Room," which also featured Lili Taylor and Celia Weston.
Luca has performed at the 70th Annual Tony Awards, Good Morning America, The Today Show and Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, atop the Gibson guitar float. In 2018, he was chosen to open NBC's 92nd Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in an elaborate and charismatic performance of "Don't Rain on My Parade," which features The Rockettes and ends with Luca atop the iconic turkey float, belting out the final note of the song.
A fundraising performance featuring Luca, in which he played 'Eliza' in "The Schuyler Sisters" from "Hamilton," went viral on the internet in 2016. All the money earned from the video, which currently sits at 12.3+ million views, goes toward MCC Theater, an organization that aims to redefine theater by producing thought-provoking new work and creating in-depth playwriting and performance programs in New York City public high schools.
Luca doesn't remember a time when performing wasn't his passion. In his formative years, he would watch classic musical-movies, such as "Mary Poppins," "The Wizard of Oz" and "The Sound of Music," on loop with his older sister. He lives with his close-knit Italian family and French bulldog Stella in New York City. When Luca isn't acting, he enjoys spending time with his family and loves to play musical instruments, such as piano and guitar. He is also an avid reader and enjoys reading thrillers, mysteries and young adult romances. One of his favorite books is "The Song of Achilles" by Madeline Miller.
He has food allergies and donates his time to Food Allergy & Research Education (FARE), the largest private funder of food allergy research, promoting the development of new therapies and offering hope for effective treatments.
Follow Luca's journey on Instagram @thelucapadovan and on YouTube @LucaPadovan.
