Kenny Lucas and Keith Lucas[1] (born September 13, 1985), collectively referred to as The Lucas Brothers,[2] are American identical twin brothers who work together as comedians,[3] actors, filmmakers, writers,[4] and producers.
The Lucas Brothers | |
|---|---|
 The Lucas Bros - photo by Lindsey Byrnes | |
| Born | September 13, 1985 Newark, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 2011–present |
| Known for | Lucas Bros. Moving Co., Judas and the Black Messiah |
| Comedy career | |
| Medium | Stand-up, film, television |
| Genres |
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| Subject(s) | |
They co-wrote and co-produced Judas and the Black Messiah (2021), for which they were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Original Screenplay; they won the Paul Selvin Award and the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Writing in a Motion Picture. The film itself was nominated for six Academy Awards, including the Academy Award for Best Picture.
Early lives
The Lucas Brothers were born and raised in Newark, New Jersey. They also spent some time in High Point, North Carolina.[5] They moved to Irvington, New Jersey and both graduated from Irvington High School.[6]
The brothers both graduated with honors from the College of New Jersey in 2007 with degrees in philosophy.[6][7] Kenny attended New York University School of Law and Keith attended Duke University School of Law until the final week of their third year of law school, when they dropped out to pursue stand-up comedy full-time.[8]
The Lucas Bros were inducted into Phi Beta Kappa honors society as alumni members by The College of New Jersey in 2022.[9]
Career
They made their late-night debut on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon in 2012, and have appeared as guests multiple times after.[10][11] The duo created the animated series Lucas Bros. Moving Co..[12] They starred in truTV's series Friends of the People. They appeared in the feature film 22 Jump Street (2014). In July 2014, they made Variety magazine's "Ten Comics to Watch in 2014" list.[13] The brothers also appeared in episodes of the highly acclaimed Fox TV series The Grinder in 2016 and have played themselves in the Netflix series Lady Dynamite.
The Lucas Brothers released their first comedy special, On Drugs, on Netflix in April 2017.[14] Paste ranked it as the 9th best comedy special of 2017.[15]
They have additionally provided content for Fox and the associated YouTube channel Animation Domination High-Def including the short-form web-series OG Sherlock Kush starring Peter Serafinowicz and Rich Fulcher.
More recently, the Lucas Brothers co-wrote and co-produced Judas and the Black Messiah (2021), the biopic of Fred Hampton, which was co-written, along with Will Berson, and directed by Shaka King.[16] For their contributions, the Lucas Brothers received nominations for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Original Screenplay. They won the Paul Selvin Award and the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Writing in a Motion Picture.
They are also developing a comedy project with Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, who directed 22 Jump Street.[17] In addition, they are set to write and star in a semi-autobiographical film to be produced by Judd Apatow.[18]
They are paid regulars at the Comedy Cellar.
Filmography
Actors
| Year | Title | Kenny's role | Keith's role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Arrested Development | Lucas Brother No. 2 | Lucas Brother No. 1 | Episode: "Blockheads" |
| 2013–2015 | Lucas Bros. Moving Co. | Kenny (voice) | Keef (voice) | Also writers and producers |
| 2014 | 22 Jump Street | Kenny Yang | Keith Yang | |
| 2014–2015 | Friends of the People | Various | Also writers and producers | |
| 2016 | The Grinder | Cory Manler | Second Cory Manler | Kenny: 4 episodes, Keith: 1 episode |
| 2016 | Lady Dynamite | Themselves | 4 episodes | |
| 2017 | Lucas Brothers: On Drugs | Themselves | Netflix special | |
| 2017 | The High Court with Doug Benson | Guest Bailiff | TV short | |
| 2017 | Dope State | Craig | Jake | Documentary series |
| 2018 | The History of Comedy | Themselves | 1 episode; documentary series | |
| 2018 | Crashing | Themselves | Episode: "Too Good" | |
| 2019 | Sherman's Showcase | Themselves | 2 episodes | |
| 2022 | That Damn Michael Che | Themselves | Episode: "Higher Power" | |
| 2024 | Babes | Benny | Bobby | |
Writers
| Year | Title | Kenny | Keith | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013–2015 | Lucas Bros Moving Co | Yes | Yes | 17 episodes |
| 2017 | Lucas Brothers: On Drugs | Yes | Yes | Stand-up special |
| 2019 | In Other Words | Yes | No | Short film |
| 2020 | It's Personal with Amy Hoggart | Yes | Yes | 8 episodes |
| 2021 | Judas and the Black Messiah | Yes | Yes | Film writing debut Story by and co-producers Nominated - Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay |