Derek grew up in the Orange County suburb of Huntington Beach, CA. While attending USC's School of Cinematic Arts he appeared in numerous commercials and print ads. Upon graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Film Production, he landed a recurring role on the hit television series Greek on ABC Family (now Freeform). Since then Derek has guest starred on such reputable shows as Supergirl, House M.D., CSI, Bones, NCIS:LA, Togetherness and The Good Wife. He also stars in Darren Stein's independent teen comedy G.B.F. as well as Spooked, a digital series produced by Bryan Singer's Bad Hat Harry Productions and Felicia Day's Geek and Sundry network. He is an alumnus of the Meisner-based Joanne Baron/ D.W. Brown Studio and studied at The Michael Woolson Studio and Upright Citizens Brigade. Derek has also performed stand-up comedy at the HaHa Comedy Club, The Laugh Factory, and The World Famous Comedy Store on Sunset Blvd.