Joel Coen’s delivers a tale of murder, madness, ambition and cunning through his fierce adaptation of the Tragedy of Macbeth. Among the stars that make up the cast, a young actor makes his way to give life to "Fleance", a character who could shake the future of the King: Lucas Barker.

Hi Lucas, thank you very much for taking this time to share some experiences with us. Before moving on to the questions, we would like to know a little about your beginnings. Where are you from, where do you live, how was your acting training, if you have siblings, and how acting came into your life.

Lucas-A little about me; I was born in Chicago and moved to Durango, CO when I was a toddler, as a family we went from city living to a small mountain town.

When I was 5, I was introduced to a LA casting director from a family friend and photographer who had photos of me on their website and he suggested to my parents I get involved with acting. We decided to give it a try, traveling back n forth to LA until my younger brother was starting kindergarten and we moved to LA full time in 2015. Chase is four years younger than me, one of my biggest supporters and best friends!

My first audition in LA when I was 5 was for an indie film in which I booked a co-star role; since I didn’t read my mom would rehearse with me until I had the script memorized. On that set, I really started my training as they hired an acting coach to support me through various scenes, from then on I have always been training. I take scene study classes, cold reading class, improv, and individual coaching with my coaches. I’ve worked with many amazing teachers such as Diane Christiansen, Lisa Picotte, David Gray, and Devin Kawaoka together with them and my agents (AEFH, Nicole Jolly and Milton Perez) and my manager Bryan Leder at Authentic they have helped shape the actor I am today.

Today, My mom, brother and I are living in Charleston, SC we moved at the holidays last year to be closer to family and friends and I travel when needed for acting.

Lucas, what were the most special things about being in "The Tragedy of Macbeth"?

The most special part of The Tragedy of MacBeth is the people! Look at who I got a chance to work with and learn from Joel Coen, Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand! Everyone on the team is incredible from the costumes, to set design, and cinematography all these incredible talent and I got to be a part of it!

Can you describe your character "Fleance"?

Fleance is an important character to Lord MacBeth because he can disturb his chances of becoming king. It is a smaller role in the overall film but very critical to the storyline.

The movie has a luxurious cast. How was it working with great actors like Denzel Washington, Francis McDorman and under the direction of Joel Cohen?

It was such an incredible experience to work with Joel Coen, Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand, they are Hollywood elite! It was interesting and inspiring to watch the actors go through their process to become their characters, and I was surprised that even Hollywood elite prepare ALOT and once shooting begins the focus never breaks. Joel Coen was the most incredible director, he is very hands on and really takes the time to work with you so you can see the vision of the shot and put your best work forward. He even laid in the dirt with me to work on a scene so I could see on camera how it should look.

Can you tell us how you came to this role? How was the Audition process ?

I got the initial audition for this role around October, and I made sure to prepare as much as possible, as I do for any role. At first it was a self-tape, which is nice because I'm able to have more than one take. It was a while until we heard anything. Then, sometime in November, I got the callback, and it was super exciting. Every audition and opportunity is a little nerve-racking, because you never know what exactly will happen. After the callback, I got news that I would be doing a director’s session with Joel Cohen himself! I made sure I did the best that I could and felt really good about how I did. Then, we got the call that I booked it! That is one of the most exciting moments of my life! We made sure to have a big celebration that day.

We understand that you had to learn to ride a horse for the filming, what other challenges this production involved for you?

yes, I had to learn to ride a horse which was very fun and a great new skill to have! I attended lessons after school during the pre-production period and by the time filming started I was comfortable and looked like I knew what I was doing. Obviously, COVID made things difficult, production was shut down in March 2020 and did not resume until Mid July 2020. We were on of the first production to start up again on the Warner Bros lot which was a little weird because usually there are people everywhere, lots of sets working at that time, and it was very quiet but also very safe given the procedures we followed. The wardrobe department as well as Joel Coen were concerned if I grew a lot , as you know I’m a teenager, and how it would effect scenes and the custom made costumes. I did grow about 2 inches but we got it all figured out!

What do you consider the most complex and the most pleasant of your career?

This movie is definitely the highlight of my career so far! I loved having the opportunity to become my character and see how the Hollywood Elite work.

If you could imagine yourself in a few years, where would you like to be?

Well in a few years, I will be in college because education is so important. I’m hoping that this role along with the dedication and hard work I put into acting will lend itself to additional roles as I’m always auditioning and speaking with producers and directors to find the next thing.

Describe a normal day in your life

My life right now has been all about high-school, I started a new school here , Wando High School, I went from a a very small school to a big school so it is an adjustment. I’m taking a lot of challenging honor and AP classes so besides auditions and homework there is not much time.

What things do you like besides acting?

In my free time, I love spending time with my friends and family, I’m really into one-wheeling and always looking for new trails and such to ride on, I’m on the Robotics team and we are preparing for our first competition of the year, and I have a side business helping people in the neighborhood with any computer technical issues and building computers. I’ve built around 8 computers so far!

You are part of an anti-bulling campaign, why did you decide to do it? Have you been a victim of it?

I got started with anti-bullying while in school in LA (Brighton Hall) as a member of the student council. Kids today are under alot of pressure and that was before the pandemic so it is harder now, I co-chaired the creation of a zen zone at our school so students could take a minute when they needed to deal with whatever is happening. If kids have safe spaces to be, they can handle situations that arise even bullying. I had the pleasure of working I the movie Reach, which was released to combat bullying and instead focus on acts of kindness to others. Kindness at every age goes a long way. I haven’t really been bullied but have seen how dramatically it can effect your life and I don’t want other kids to ever feel that way.

Lucas Barker is “Fleance” in “The Tragedy of Macbeth”

©WAV RECORDS • POWERED BY SQUARESPACE