Born on August 3rd, 1982, Luis Fernando Da Silva Jr. has since taken the world by storm with his God-given talent to entertain people with his performances in basketball and acting. Luis first picked up a basketball at the age of ten, and over the years has tirelessly developed his skills to become known as "the world's best basketball handler". Luis has the ability to captivate any audience through his memorable performances and has traveled the world sharing his talent and passion for basketball. Recently, his talents have lead to opportunities outside of the sports world, including co-starring along side Oscar Award winning actors in major motion pictures. His legacy is just beginning but throughout his journey he never forgets his home, community and life in Elizabeth, New Jersey.
Luis was born to Luis Da Silva Sr. and Dana Da Silva in the city of Elizabeth, NJ and is the older brother of Shari Da Silva, all current residents of the state of New Jersey. He always reminisces about his childhood and appreciates his life in the city of Elizabeth. His career didn't begin with dreams of basketball success, his interests surrounded baseball and the martial art: Aikido. It was only at the age of thirteen that he picked up a basketball and fell in love with the sport. He attended grade school at St. Peter and Paul Catholic School, which was followed by high school at St. Patrick's High School. Having only the space of his small concrete backyard, he began to practice daily, from the early hours of the morning to late night. He mimicked the moves of his idols - Michael Jordan, Allen Iverson - and practiced until he perfected the moves or his hands bled and he could no longer practice. Luis' inspirations were from not only great NBA players but street ball players such as "Pistol" Pete Marvich and God Sham God. However, his path did not initially lead him to the NBA or a street ball team. He had the opportunity to demonstrate his talents so that every home in the United States and across the world could sit mesmerized by his never before seen basketball moves.
As an eighteen year old, Luis walked into an open audition for a commercial for Nike. They told him to "do some tricks with the basketball", but little did they know the countless hours Luis had spent practicing tricks with his Spalding basketball. He had been practicing various ways to dribble and created reams which would later define the style of "freestyle basketball". Nike was in awe of this young talent and immediately signed him to represent their Nike ad campaign which is, to this day, one of the most widely recognized commercials to ever air on television. Just a few weeks after the commercials debut, the Wall Street Journal published an article, featuring Luis' picture on the front page, about the success of his street ball image and the impact it had on Nike's spike in increasing sales. He performed with the new talent, Alicia Keys, in 2001 in New York City's Niketown when promoting his Nike spotlight. Luis was the only non-NBA player and, at the time, the youngest person to ever sign an endorsement deal with Nike. He was recognized in Scoop Jackson's book, titled "Sole Provider", which recognized the best of Nike's 35 year history. The impact of the commercial's success was global and Luis' image even graced the cover of the Taiwan's Time magazine. After his contract with Nike ended, he found a home with the Harlem Wizards Show Basketball team and became the youngest player ever signed. In 2005, he performed in the NBA Game1 Finals halftime show alongside Will Smith's performance of "Switch". His next great accomplishment was presented when one of his basketball heroes, Stephon Marbury, recognized his talent and offered him to be the face of "Starbury", a new clothing line distributed in all Steve & Barry's locations. Luis signed with Steve & Barry's in 2006 and traveled across the United States on a 120 city tour in 60 days. His tour performances are not only entertaining they are inspirational to people of all ages.
After such great exposure through his endorsements, Midway Games offered Luis a lead in the newly developed video game, L.A. Rush, which sold 1 million units internationally. He has also worked with Midway performing the video game motion capturing for NBA Ballers, NBA Ballers II, NBA Ballers III, NBA 2K8, NBA 2K9 and AND1 Streetball video games. Following his video game release, Luis began to take small roles in televisions shows such as Law & Order: Criminal Intent and was featured on ESPN, Nickelodeon and Telemundo. In the summer of 2006, he was contacted and auditioned for his first major motion picture, which he booked. In 2007, "The Brave One" was released, becoming the #1 movie four weeks in a row and Luis' first project in the movie industry. He worked alongside Academy Award winner Jodie Foster and Academy Award nominee Terrance Howard. His performance led him to be cast in the film, "Pride & Glory", featuring Academy Award winner Jon Voight, actors Edward Norton and Colin Ferrell. Most recently, Luis' career has led him to work with television actors such as Jeffery Donovan ("Burn Notice), Dana Delany ("Body Of Proof") and Laura Linney ("The Big C"). His movie career has been on the rise and led him on-screen the infamous cast of the summer blockbuster 2011's "Fast Five" in which he played "Diego", the only character to street race Vin Diesel's "Dominic". In 2012, Luis was successful in landing a role in the summer comedy, "21 Jump Street", alongside Channing Tatum, Jonah Hill and Johnny Depp. With the release of "Dead Man Down", in which Luis is again working with Colin Farrell, Luis gained his most note-worthy role as "Terry", the henchman of a notorious gang. His performance landed him on the red-carpet with fellow actors Terrance Howard, Noomi Rapace and Dominic Cooper. This lead role is followed up by a role in the 2013 summer hit "The Heat" featuring Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy. Luis has over a half a dozen features that will be release this year 2015.
Luis' has been making a name for himself with his work and his performances on screen side by side with some of Hollywood biggest names. His charismatic and energetic performances with a edge has quickly drawing a lot of buzz in Hollwood. He has been viewed as the new era of edge style bad guys yet clean cut image and good looks. He is often compared to Adrien Brody and John Turturro. These are great accomplishments for a young man from Elizabeth, NJ, and it is only the beginning of a legendary entertainment career.
