Luke Cunningham Wilson is an American actor known for his roles in films such as Idiocracy, My Super Ex-Girlfriend, The Ridiculous 6, Old School, Bottle Rocket, The Royal Tenenbaums, Blue Streak, Bongwater and Legally Blonde. He was a member of the cast of the HBO television series Enlightened. He is the younger brother of actors Andrew Wilson and Owen Wilson.
Early life
Wilson was born in Dallas, Texas, the youngest of three sons of Laura Wilson, a photographer and Robert Andrew Wilson, an advertising executive and previously an executive at KERA, a public television station. His family, originally from Massachusetts, 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 later discovered his love of acting while a student at Occidental College in Los Angeles.
Career
Wilson's acting career began with the lead role in the short filmBottle 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. After moving to Hollywood with his two brothers, he was cast opposite Calista Flockhart in Telling Liesin America and made a cameo appearance 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, about two brothers interested in the same woman for different reasons. He played the physician beau of a schoolteacher in Rushmore, also directed by Anderson and co-written by brother Owen. In 1999, Blue Streak was released featuring Wilson as detective Carlson. He later starred opposite Reese Witherspoon in the 2001 comedy Legally Blonde. After, it was followed by Old School and The Royal Tenenbaums. 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 Idiocracy, Mike Judge's first film since 1999's Office Space. He portrayed an ordinary serviceman chosen for a cryogenics project. He awakens after hundreds of years in an America which is significantly less intelligent. In early 2007, Wilson starred opposite Kate Beckinsale in the thriller Vacancy. In July 2007, he worked on Henry Poole is Here in La Mirada, California, which was released in 2008. He also starred in Blonde Ambition, which is considered as a brilliant & cult film for its writing and for the many references it has. He starred in the film Tenure in 2009. In 2010, he appeared in films Death at a Funeral and Middle Men. From 2011 to 2013 he starred in the HBO TV seriesEnlightened. Wilson and brother Owen have co-written a Wright Brothers biopic, in which they also plan to star. In January 2019, it was announced that Wilson had been cast as former sidekick-turned-mechanic-turned superhero Pat Dugan / S.T.R.I.P.E. in the upcoming DC Universe series Stargirl.
