Luke Cunningham Wilson (born September 21, 1971) is an American actor. Wilson's prominent film roles have included '' Bottle Rocket'' (1996), '' Blue Streak'' (1999), '' My Dog Skip'' (2000), '' Legally Blonde'' (2001), ''

The Royal Tenenbaums ''The Royal Tenenbaums'' is a 2001 American tragicomedy film directed by Wes Anderson and co-written with Owen Wilson. It stars Danny Glover, Gene Hackman, Anjelica Huston, Bill Murray, Gwyneth Paltrow, Ben Stiller, Luke Wilson, and Owen Wilson. ...

'' (2001), '' Old School'' (2003), '' My Super Ex-Girlfriend'' (2006), '' 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). Wilson is the younger brother of actors Andrew Wilson and Owen Wilson.

Early life

Wilson was born in Dallas, the youngest of three sons of Robert Andrew Wilson, an advertising and television executive, and Laura Cunningham, a photographer. His family, originally from

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

, is of Irish Catholic descent. 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. He became interested in acting while attending Occidental College in Los Angeles.

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 Wesley Wales Anderson (born May 1, 1969) is an American filmmaker. Wes Anderson filmography, His films are known for themes of grief, loss of innocence, and dysfunctional families. Due to his films' eccentricity, distinctive visual and narrative ...

. It was remade as a feature-length film in 1996. After moving to Hollywood with his two brothers, he was cast opposite Calista Flockhart in '' Telling Lies in America'' and made a

cameo appearance A cameo appearance, also called a cameo role and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief guest appearance of a well-known person or character in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking on ...

in the film-within-the-film of '' Scream 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, and '' Home Fries'' which is about two brothers interested in the same woman for different reasons. 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. Luke Wilson

In 1999, he portrayed Detective Carlson in '' Blue Streak''. He later appeared opposite Frankie Muniz in the 2000 comedy-drama '' My Dog Skip'', Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore and Lucy Liu in the 2000 action comedy '' Charlie's Angels'', and

Reese Witherspoon Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon (born March 22, 1976) is an American actress and producer. She is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Reese Witherspoon, various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Aw ...

in the 2001 comedy '' Legally Blonde''. It was followed by ''

'' (2001), '' Old School'' (2003), '' Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle'' (2003), '' Legally Blonde 2: Red, White and Blonde'' (2003), and '' Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy'' (2004). Wilson also had a role on '' That '70s Show'', as Michael Kelso's older brother Casey Kelso appearing sporadically from 2002 through 2005. In 2006, Wilson starred in '' My Super Ex-Girlfriend'', opposite

Uma Thurman Uma Karuna Thurman (born April 29, 1970) is an American actress. She has performed in a variety of films, from romantic comedies and dramas to science fiction and action films. Following her appearances on the December 1985 and May 1986 cover ...

, and '' 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. In 2007, Wilson starred in the thriller '' Vacancy'', opposite Kate Beckinsale, and '' Blonde Ambition''. In the same year, he appeared in '' You Kill Me'', '' 3:10 to Yuma'', '' Blades of Glory'', and worked on '' Henry Poole is Here'' in La Mirada, California which was released in 2008. In 2009, he starred in ''

Tenure Tenure is a type of academic appointment that protects its holder from being fired or laid off except for cause, or under extraordinary circumstances such as financial exigency or program discontinuation. Academic tenure originated in the United ...

''. In 2010, he appeared in films '' Death at a Funeral'' and '' Middle Men.'' From 2011 to 2013 he starred in the

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

TV series '' Enlightened.'' He followed this up with roles in '' The Skeleton Twins'' (2014), '' Meadowland'' (2015), '' Brad's Status'' (2017), and '' Zombieland: Double Tap'' (2019). Since 2020, Wilson stars in the

DC Universe The DC Universe (DCU) is the shared universe in which most stories in American comic book titles published by DC Comics take place. In context, the term "DC Universe" usually refers to the main DC Continuity (fiction), continuity. It contains v ...

The CW The CW Network, LLC (commonly referred to as The CW or simply CW) is an American commercial broadcast television network which is controlled by Nexstar Media Group through a 75% ownership interest. The network's name is derived from the firs ...

series '' Stargirl'' as sidekick-turned-mechanic-turned superhero Pat Dugan / S.T.R.I.P.E. 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 The Wright brothers, Orville Wright (August 19, 1871 – January 30, 1948) and Wilbur Wright (April 16, 1867 – May 30, 1912), were American aviation List of aviation pioneers, pioneers generally credited with inventing, building, and flyin ...

biopic with his brother Owen, in which they also plan to star.

Personal life

Wilson was formerly in a relationship with ''Home Fries'' co-star Drew Barrymore. 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."

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Luke 1971 births Living people 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors American male film actors American male television actors American male voice actors American people of Irish descent Frat Pack Male actors from Dallas Occidental College alumni St. Mark's School (Texas) alumni Texas Christian University alumni