Luke Cunningham Wilson (born September 21, 1971) is an American actor. He is best known for his work with filmmaker Wes Anderson, appearing in Anderson's Bottle Rocket (1996), Rushmore (1998) and The Royal Tenenbaums (2001). Wilson is also known as part of the Frat Pack, with whom he has starred in comedic films Bongwater (1997), Old School (2003), Brad's Status (2017) and The Wendell Baker Story (2005), which he also co-directed.
His other prominent film roles have included Blue Streak (1999), My Dog Skip (2000), Legally Blonde (2001), My Super Ex-Girlfriend (2006), Idiocracy (2006), You Kill Me (2007), The Skeleton Twins (2014) and Meadowland (2015).
On television, Wilson 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).
Early life Wilson was born on September 21, 1971 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, 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.audio commentary on Criterion Collection's Bottle Rocket DVD 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. 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 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 surgeon beau of a schoolteacher in Rushmore (also released in 1998) also directed by Anderson and co-written by his brother Owen.
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 in the 2001 comedy Legally Blonde. It was followed by The Royal Tenenbaums (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, 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. In 2010, he appeared in films Death at a Funeral, which reunited him with his Blue Streak co-star Martin Lawrence, and Middle Men. From 2011 to 2013 he starred in the HBO 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 CW 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 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."
On July 7, 2026, Wilson and his girlfriend of several years, Kendall Yates, who is thirty years his junior, revealed that they had welcomed their first child together, a daughter.
Filmography
Film Year Title Role Notes 1994Bottle Rocket Anthony Adams Short 1996 Bottle Rocket 1997 Bongwater David Telling Lies in America Henry Best Men Jesse Reilly Scream 2 Himself / Stab 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 Richard "Richie" Tenenbaum 2002 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 Wendell Baker Also director, writer and producer 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 Guest appearance 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 2014The Skeleton Twins Lance Satellite Beach Warren Flowers Also Director and screenwriter 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 The Swing of Things Luke Direct-to-video 2021 12 Mighty Orphans Rusty Russell The Cleaner Jim Russell 2022 Gasoline Alley Detective Freddy VargasLook Both Ways Rick 2023 Miranda's Victim Lawrence Turoff The Best Man Cal FingernailsDuncan Merry Little Batman Batman / Bruce Wayne Voice 2024 You Gotta Believe Bobby Ratliff Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1Matthew Van Weyden Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 2 Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 3 Filming Plus/Minus Post-production
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 2021 Saturday Night Live Himself (cameo) Episode: "Owen Wilson/Kacey Musgraves" 2023 Fired on Mars Jeff Cooper (voice) Main role 2024 No Good Deed JD Campbell Main role 2025 Bat-Fam Batman / Bruce Wayne (voice) Main role 2026 Bad Thoughts Mark Episode: "Bad Decisions" 2026 The Hawk Golden Fisk 7 episodes
See also
Notable alumni of St. Mark's School of Texas
References
External links