Luke Grimes

Luke Grimes first attracted notice through his performances in the Fifty Shades of Grey film series and later secured steady visibility as a cast member on the neo-Western series Yellowstone. Drawing on those opportunities, he began a parallel path in music by presenting himself as a grounded troubadour reminiscent of Zach Bryan and Turnpike Troubadours. His debut single, “No Horse to Ride,” surfaced in early 2022 and later anchored the 2023 EP Pain Pills or Pews.

Born January 21, 1984, in Dayton, Ohio, to a Pentecostal pastor, Grimes spent his childhood immersed in church music, where he acquired skills on guitar, piano, and drums. After finishing high school he moved to New York City, enrolling in acting classes while performing with his alt-country outfit Mitchell’s Folly. His screen debut arrived in 2006 with a role in the horror feature All the Boys Love Mandy Lane. Two years afterward the band issued its first album, Whirlwind, yet acting commitments gradually eclipsed musical pursuits.

A recurring part on the fourth season of Brothers & Sisters in 2009 opened further doors, including an appearance in Taken 2 in 2021 and six episodes of True Blood in 2013. Clint Eastwood selected him to portray Marc Lee in the 2014 release American Sniper. The following year Grimes portrayed Elliot Grey in Sam Taylor-Johnson’s adaptation of Fifty Shades of Grey, returning for Fifty Shades Darker and Fifty Shades Freed.

Joining the principal ensemble of Taylor Sheridan’s contemporary Western Yellowstone in 2018, Grimes remained with the series through its growing audience in the early 2020s. That platform facilitated a return to music; he signed with UMG Nashville and issued “No Horse to Ride” in December 2022. Early the next year he followed with the singles “Burn” and “Hold On,” both of which appeared on Pain Pills or Pews when the EP arrived in September.