On paper, Patrick Luwis’ career seems to follow a straightforward path. He got his bachelor’s degree in Theatre (and Rhetoric), moved to Los Angeles, found a manager within a year and started booking small roles in films and series that led to his biggest role yet, martial artist Axel Kovacevic in the sixth and final season of Netflix’s hit Cobra Kai. But when reflecting about his career with us on Actors With Issues, it’s not as straightforward a path as it seems.
“[Acting] was the last thing on my mind. I didn’t really have any friends who did it, and I hadn’t been introduced to it through parents or mentors,” he recalls. It wasn’t until college that Luwis stumbled upon his passion. “I ended up taking a theater class to fill a fine arts requirement, and I loved it. I was sort of like, ‘Where has this been my whole life?’” That moment led him to audition for Romeo and Juliet at his college, where he landed the role of Romeo. One of Shakespeare’s most iconic roles as his first time onstage. Daunting a task, I’m sure, but one that he took on with a level of perseverance that would set the tone for his next few years.
After graduation, Luwis set a personal challenge: move to Los Angeles and give acting a year. “I knew I’d regret not doing it if I didn’t try,” he admits. What he didn’t realize was how tough the journey would be. “There’s no blueprint… it’s really difficult to start out,” he explains. “In order to get a rep, you need to have credits, but to have credits, you need a rep.” A vicious cycle nearly every actor is all too familiar with.
Despite the odds, Luwis’ determination paid off. “A year to the day, I got my manager and started getting better auditions,” he says. Now, six years into his career, Luwis reflects on the commitment required to succeed. “On average, it really does take most people about 10 years to become a consistent, working actor. It’s a lot of commitment and a lot of suffering as an actor, because you’re spending a lot of time waiting for the next thing.”
When asked about the challenges he’s faced, Luwis emphasizes the importance of accepting failure. “It’s important to be okay with doing bad work and with failing,” he says. Acting, after all, requires putting yourself out there to be judged. “Not everything you do is going to be good, and you can’t expect it to be. But if you’re doing [bad] work, it means you’re trying things.”
For Luwis, seeing progress over time is key. “I look back at something I did four years ago and think, ‘That wasn’t good,’ but it got me here,” he reflects. He encourages others to take risks and learn from every experience. “I have friends who are nervous about doing anything that isn’t perfect. But you’re not going to get anywhere by being too selective. Be comfortable putting yourself out there.”
When his manager was pitching the role of Axel Kovacevic in Cobra Kai, Patrick was skeptical, to say the least. The character was described as being a martial arts prodigy and of foreign descent, so the role required an accent. “So all these things felt like it was an uphill battle already,” he laughed. “I thought, ‘I’m going to look like an idiot to this casting office’. I was talking myself out of it.” He went against his initial instincts and put himself on tape, eventually finding a take for the character that felt natural to him.
“I end up getting a call back and eventually booking the role,” he said with a smile. “It’s like a perfect example of initially feeling intimidated and finding all these reasons why you shouldn’t or couldn’t do it, and it ends up being the best decision I could have made.”You can see Patrick Luwis in Cobra Kai, part two of season six, premiering November 15th on Netflix!
