Luke Wilson
Luke Cunningham Wilson (born September 21, 1971) is an American actor. He is known for his roles in films such as Bottle Rocket (1996), Rushmore (1998), My Dog Skip (2000), Legally Blonde (2001), The Royal Tenenbaums (2001), Old School (2003), Idiocracy (2006), You Kill Me (2007), The Skeleton Twins (2014), Meadowland (2015) and Brad's Status (2017). On television, he played Casey Kelso on That '70s Show (2002–2005), Levi Callow on Enlightened (2011–2013) and Pat Dugan / S.T.R.I.P.E. on Stargirl (2020–2022). He is the younger brother of actors Andrew Wilson and Owen Wilson.
Luke Wilson | |
---|---|
![]() Wilson in 2021 | |
Born | Luke Cunningham Wilson September 21, 1971[1] |
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 1994–present |
Parent |
|
Relatives |
|
Early life
Wilson was born in Dallas, Texas, the youngest of three sons of Robert Andrew Wilson (1941–2017), an advertising and television executive, and his wife Laura (née Cunningham; born 1939), a photographer.[2] His family, originally from Massachusetts, is of Irish Catholic descent.[3]
All three Wilson boys attended St. Mark's School of Texas. According to Owen, Luke was voted class president the first year he attended St. Mark's.[4] He became interested in acting while attending Occidental College in Los Angeles.[5]
Career
Wilson's acting career began with the lead role in the short film Bottle Rocket in 1994 which was co-written by his older brother Owen and director Wes Anderson. It was remade as a feature-length film in 1996.[2] After moving to Hollywood with his two brothers, he was cast opposite Calista Flockhart in Telling Lies in America[2] and made a cameo appearance in the film-within-the-film of Scream 2,[2] both in 1997. Wilson filmed back-to-back romantic films in 1998, opposite Drew Barrymore, Best Men, about a group of friends who pull off a heist on their way to a wedding,[2] and Home Fries which is about two brothers interested in the same woman for different reasons.[2] He played the physician beau of a schoolteacher in Rushmore (also released in 1998) also directed by Anderson and co-written by his brother Owen.[2]

In 1999, he portrayed Detective Carlson in Blue Streak. He later starred opposite Reese Witherspoon in the 2001 comedy Legally Blonde.[6] It was followed by Old School and The Royal Tenenbaums.[2] Wilson also had a role on That '70s Show, as Michael Kelso's older brother Casey Kelso appearing sporadically from 2002 through 2005.[7]
In 2006, Wilson starred in Idiocracy, a dystopian comedy directed by Mike Judge. Wilson portrayed an ordinary serviceman frozen in a cryogenics project. He awakens after hundreds of years in an America which is significantly less intelligent.[8]
In 2007, Wilson starred in the thriller Vacancy, opposite Kate Beckinsale,[9] and Blonde Ambition. In the same year, he worked on Henry Poole is Here in La Mirada, California which was released in 2008.[2] In 2009, he starred in Tenure.[2][10] In 2010, he appeared in films Death at a Funeral and Middle Men.[2] From 2011 to 2013 he starred in the HBO TV series Enlightened.[11]
.jpg.webp)
Since 2020, Wilson stars in the DC Universe/The CW series Stargirl as sidekick-turned-mechanic-turned superhero Pat Dugan / S.T.R.I.P.E.[12]
In 2023, he starred in the HBO Max animated series Fired on Mars as Jeffrey Cooper, a graphic designer for a business on Mars whose life is changed upon his termination.
Wilson has written a Wright Brothers biopic with his brother Owen, in which they also plan to star.[13]
Personal life
Wilson was formerly in a relationship with Home Fries co-star Drew Barrymore.[14]
In a 2019 interview, he commented on the fact that he has publicly expressed interest in starting a family since 1996, saying, "I'm 47, I'm ready for that. I need to get to work."[15]
Filmography
Film
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1996 | Bottle Rocket | Anthony Adams | |
1997 | Bongwater | David | |
Telling Lies in America | Henry | ||
Best Men | Jesse Reilly | ||
Scream 2 | Billy Loomis | Plays a character in the film-within-a-film Stab. | |
1998 | Dog Park | Andy | |
Home Fries | Dorian Montier | ||
Rushmore | Dr. Peter Flynn | ||
1999 | Kill the Man | Stanley Simon | |
Blue Streak | Detective Carlson | ||
2000 | My Dog Skip | Dink Jenkins | |
Committed | Carl | ||
Preston Tylk | Preston Tylk | ||
Charlie's Angels | Peter Kominsky | ||
2001 | Legally Blonde | Emmett Richmond | |
Soul Survivors | Jude | ||
The Royal Tenenbaums | Richard "Richie" Tenenbaum | ||
2002 | The Third Wheel | Stanley | |
2003 | Masked and Anonymous | Bobby Cupid | |
Old School | Mitch Martin | ||
Stuck on You | Himself | ||
Alex and Emma | Alex Sheldon / Adam Shipley | ||
Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle | Peter Kominsky | ||
Legally Blonde 2: Red, White and Blonde | Emmett Richmond | ||
2004 | Around the World in 80 Days | Orville Wright | |
Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy | Frank Vitchard | ||
Wake Up, Ron Burgundy: The Lost Movie | Direct-to-video | ||
2005 | The Wendell Baker Story | Wendell Baker | Also director, writer and producer |
The Family Stone | Ben Stone | ||
2006 | Hoot | Officer David Delinko | |
Mini's First Time | John Garson | ||
My Super Ex-Girlfriend | Matt Saunders | ||
Idiocracy | Corporal Joe Bauers | ||
Jackass Number Two | Himself | ||
2007 | You Kill Me | Tom | |
Vacancy | David Fox | ||
3:10 to Yuma | Zeke | ||
Blades of Glory | Sex Class Instructor | ||
Battle for Terra | Lt. James "Jim" Stanton | Voice | |
Blonde Ambition | Ben | ||
2008 | Henry Poole Is Here | Henry Poole | |
Vacancy 2: The First Cut | David Fox | Archive footage | |
2009 | Tenure | Charlie Thurber | |
2010 | Death at a Funeral | Derek | |
Middle Men | Jack Harris | ||
2012 | Meeting Evil | John | |
Straight A's | William | ||
2013 | Move Me Brightly | The Interviewer | Documentary |
2014 | The Skeleton Twins | Lance | |
Ride | Ian | ||
2015 | Playing It Cool | Samson | |
Meadowland | Phil | ||
The Ridiculous 6 | Danny | ||
Concussion | Roger Goodell | ||
2016 | Outlaws and Angels | Josiah | |
Dear Eleanor | Bob Potter | ||
All We Had | Lee | ||
Rock Dog | Bodi | Voice | |
Approaching the Unknown | Louis Skinner | ||
2017 | Brad's Status | Jason Hatfield | |
The Girl Who Invented Kissing | Leo | ||
2018 | Arizona | Scott | |
Measure of a Man | Marty Marks | ||
High Voltage | Rick | ||
2019 | Berlin, I Love You | Burke Linz | |
Phil | Detective Welling | ||
Guest of Honour | Father Greg | ||
The Goldfinch | Larry Decker | ||
Zombieland: Double Tap | Albuquerque | ||
2020 | All the Bright Places | James | |
Bobbleheads: The Movie | Earl | Voice Direct-to-video | |
2021 | 12 Mighty Orphans | Rusty Russell | |
The Cleaner | Jim Russell | ||
2022 | Gasoline Alley | Vargas | |
Look Both Ways | Rick | ||
2023 | Miranda's Victim | Lawrence Turoff | |
Fingernails | Duncan | ||
Merry Little Batman | Batman | Voice[16] | |
2024 | Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 | Post-production | |
Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 2 | Post-production | ||
TBA | Plus/Minus | Post-production | |
You Gotta Believe | Bobby Ratliff |
Television
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1998 | The X-Files | Sheriff Hartwell | Episode: "Bad Blood" |
2001–2004 | That '70s Show | Casey Kelso | 6 episodes |
2004 | Entourage | Himself | Episode: "Talk Show" |
Saturday Night Live | Himself (host) | Episode: "Luke Wilson/U2" | |
2011–2013 | Enlightened | Levi Callow | 11 episodes |
2013 | Drunk History | Will Keith Kellogg | Episode: "Detroit" |
2016 | Roadies | Bill | 10 episodes |
2019 | Room 104 | Remus | Episode: "The Plot" |
2020–2022 | Stargirl | Pat Dugan / S.T.R.I.P.E. | Main role |
2020–2021 | Emergency Call | Himself (host) | 10 episodes |
2023–present | Fired on Mars | Jeff Cooper (voice) | Main role |
TBA | No Good Deed | JD Campbell | Upcoming series[17] |
References
- Fernández, Alexia (June 17, 2021). "Luke Wilson Says He's 'Starting to Feel Panicky' About Turning 50: 'When Did This Happen?'". People. Dotdash Meredith.
- "Luke Wilson- Biography". Yahoo!. Retrieved March 26, 2023.
- Stuever, Hank (July 20, 2006). "The Brothers Grin". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 11, 2010.
- audio commentary on Criterion Collection's Bottle Rocket DVD
- Zoller Seitz, Matt (August 4, 2010). "Luke Wilson: How it feels to be America's boyfriend". Salon. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
- ""Legally Blonde" Movie Review". about.com. Retrieved October 11, 2012.
- "Everybody Loves Casey". tv.com. Retrieved October 11, 2012.
- "Idiocracy". empire online. Archived from the original on March 9, 2012. Retrieved October 11, 2012.
- "Picks and Pans Review: Vacancy's Luke Wilson ... Checks in About Brotherly Love—and the Other Kind Too!". people. May 7, 2007. Retrieved October 12, 2012.
- "DVD Review: Luke Wilson in "Tenure"". Orlando Sentinel. April 23, 2010. Archived from the original on April 26, 2010. Retrieved October 12, 2012.
- Patterson, Troy (October 14, 2011). "Laura Dern Is Enlightened". slate.com. Retrieved October 12, 2012.
- Boucher, Geoff (January 8, 2019). "'Stargirl': Luke Wilson Joins Cast of DC Universe Series". Deadline. Retrieved January 9, 2019.
- Larry King (September 26, 2014). "Luke Wilson on "Larry King Now" - Full Episode in the U.S. on Ora.TV". Archived from the original on December 21, 2021 – via YouTube.
- Escalante, Ana (January 28, 2022). "Drew Barrymore Reveals She Had an Open Relationship With Luke Wilson". Glamour. Archived from the original on February 5, 2022. Retrieved June 8, 2022.
- Swan, Allison (January 30, 2019). "Luke Wilson Admits He'd Still Love To Be A Dad At 47: 'I Need To Get To Work' On That". Hollywood Life. Retrieved June 24, 2021.
- Melissa, Billie (November 14, 2023). "Luke Wilson Is Bruce Wayne in Merry Little Batman". Men's Journal | Streaming. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
- Grobar, Matt (December 15, 2023). "Netflix's 'No Good Deed' Adds Linda Cardellini, Luke Wilson, Teyonah Parris, Abbi Jacobson & Poppy Liu". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 23, 2024.