Nic Luken joined the cast of Nashville late in the series' run, but, like other cast members who were introduced in the show's later seasons, he says he quickly felt like part of the family. Luken's character, Jonah Ford, is, however, an outsider in one respect: He is a pop superstar on the outskirts of the country community.

"It was a little intimidating," Luken says of portraying his character's pop background. "Everyone's used to just country stuff [on the show], but there were fans of both, for sure."

While Luken's stint as a cast member was relatively brief, he explains that he's leaving the show with some lasting friendships: "All the people are super talented, and I learned a lot," he says. "It went by really fast. But the kids that play my friends all live in LA, so we became friends in real life."

The young actor also learned important lessons from his fellow cast members. He says that being around the veteran Nashville stars, such as Charles Esten (who portrays Deacon Claybourne), was an invaluable experience.

"I learned something from [Esten] that wasn't directly spoken to me," Luken recalls. "We had a little scene at the door, where I meet him, and just that little scene, he was so in it. It was only two seconds, but he was so focused. I was like, 'Wow, this guy is always on.'"

As a young pop star dealing with the complications that come with celebrity, Jonah makes plenty of mistakes on the show; however, Luken says he likes to think that Jonah will continue to mature and learn from the past in his offscreen future.

"Biased opinion? I can see him learning his lesson after he loses so many people in his life the way he did," Luke says. "I think he continues to make music and matures. It's kind of the typical arc of a lot of these stars in real life. They come around eventually."

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