Multi-faceted entertainer Tony Luke Jr wrote and stars in “The Nail”, the rousing story of a grizzled former heavy-weight boxer from Philadelphia. And what a fabulous flick – and performance – it is, too! But there’s more to Luke Jr than his cinematic plights – he’s also one hell of a cheese steak maker! With his family, Luke has been grilling steaks for all of America (his cheese steaks are available on QVC and in over 2000 stores nationwide) since 1992. In this exclusive interview, Clint Morris ‘grills’ Luke Jr about his film… and the art of searing a good slab of meat.

First up, we don’t have a Cheese Steak down under – - can you explain to the Aussie readers what a ‘Cheese Steak’ actually is? Is it, as it sounds, melted cheese on a slab of meat?

It is thinly sliced Rib-Eye Steak on a long Italian roll with cheese melted on top, preferably Cheese Whiz

Yummo! So how did you become the king of the Cheese Steak?

I have been in business now for over 17 years. My philosophy has always been to treat every customer like family. We always give them the best ingredients available and we bake all of our bread fresh every half hour. Philadelphia has a lot of great Cheese Steak places, I’m honored to be considered one of the best .

And speaking of the best, “The Nail” is one of the finest independent films on release right now. How long ago did you write it?

I wrote the story “The Nail The Story of Joey Nardone” almost 3 years ago

And was it difficult to find financing?

Yes, it was very difficult. Everyone knew me as a restaurateur not a film maker. I could have raised any amount of money to open up a restaurant, but a film was another story. So we went outside Philadelphia to raise the money then the problem was no investor wanted me to play the lead. I had done smaller roles in film but never a lead role. After almost 3 years of trying to raise the money we finally found an investor willing to take a chance with me playing the lead.

Does Philadelphia have any tax incentives? Is it an affordable place to film a movie?
Yes, there is a 25% tax incentive. Philadelphia is a great place to make a movie. Sharon Pinkinson, who heads the greater Philadelphia film office, does everything she can to make your experience making a film in Philadelphia a great one.

Was it difficult to attract the likes of William Forsythe, Tony Danza and Leo Rossi?

Leo Rossi has been a dear friend of mine for many years, we have worked on 3 film together now. Leo was instrumental in bringing this project together. He is very good friends with William Forsythe and he got Tony Danza involved. He also brought James Quattrochi in to direct the movie.

And you always intended on playing a role in it yourself?

Yes I always wanted to play the role of Joey Nardone, but if I wasn’t able to play that role I would have liked to play Massimo, the role that William Forsythe plays.

Are you a boxer yourself, or did you have to learn from scratch?

Yes I was an amateur boxer and kick boxer when I was younger. Even though it has been many years since I was actually training it’s sort of like riding a bike. Once you start again everything just seems to flow into place

Were you training throughout the film?

Actually I was battling severe nose bleeds right before we started filming. I had had an operation on my nose to fix a deviated septum and have my turbinates reduced so I could breath better, but the surgery did not go well and I was hospitalized 3 times before we started shooting. In fact there was a doctor on set just in case it started to bleed again. It was a nightmare but I got through it without any incidents.

And where can we see the movie?

It is currently playing on Showtime and The Movie Channel and it is available on Netflix. You can also order it online at www.thenailthemovie.com.

I wanted to ask about the lycanthrope movie you’re doing with Bruce Campbell? What’s the goss on that?

It’s the first script that I co-wrote with my son Michael . It’s about strippers ,bikers, werewolves and vampires with a lot of action. I will be playing the character of Wolf, the outlaw biker. I am going to be working with a stunt coordinator who is very good friends with Bruce Campbell. We have not approached Bruce yet but the stunt coordinator read the script and he thinks Bruce would love it. We should start shooting this sometime in September 2010. I have to tell you, I cant wait to see your film. I’m a big fan of Eric Stoltz and C. Thomas Howell

THE NAIL is available to order at www.thenailthemovie.com