Luke Wilson Biography
Summary
"Luke Cunningham Wilson" (born September 21, 1971) is an American film actor.
Biography
Early life
Wilson was born in Dallas, Texas, the son of Laura Wilson (née Cunningham), a photographer, and Robert Andrew Wilson, an advertising executive and operator of a public television station. His family is Irish American and Catholic. Luke has two older brothers, fellow actors Owen and Andrew (the eldest).
Wilson attended St. Mark's School of Texas, where he was very competitive in the 400 meter and 800 meter runs for the school's track team. At Occidental College, he was initially more interested in the school's athletics department than he was in drama or theater. He excelled at track and field at Occidental, and later at Texas Christian University, once he transferred.
Career
Wilson's film acting career began with the lead role in the film "Bottle Rocket" in 1994, which was co-written by Wilson's older brother Owen and director Wes Anderson. "Bottle Rocket" was later made into a feature-length film in 1996.
After moving to Hollywood with his two brothers, he was cast opposite Calista Flockhart with romantic designs in "Telling Lies in America" and made a cameo appearance in the film-within-the-film of "Scream 2" (both 1997). Wilson filmed back-to-back romantic films opposite Drew Barrymore, "Best Men", about a group of friends who pull off a heist on their way to a wedding, and "Home Fries" (both 1998), about two brothers interested in the same woman for very different reasons. (Off-screen, the actor won the girl; he and Barrymore became a couple, but parted ways in 1998.) Wilson remained in demand, playing the doctor beau of a schoolteacher in "Rushmore" (also 1998), directed by Anderson and co-written by brother Owen. A starring role opposite Reese Witherspoon in the 2000 comedy Legally Blonde elevated him to a major name in Hollywood and was followed up by hits like Old School and The Royal Tenenbaums. As a result of these and other roles, he became known as a part of the Frat Pack, a set of actors including his brother Owen Wilson, Ben Stiller, Jack Black, Will Ferrell, Vince Vaughn, and Steve Carell who often work in each other's movies.
Luke Wilson also made a notable role in the television show That 70s Show, as Michael Kelso's charming and athletic brother Casey Kelso. He appeared on and off the show from 2002 through 2005.
Currently he is working on Henry Poole is Here in La Mirada, CA as of July 25, 2007.
Television
"The X-Files" episode 'Bad Blood' (1998) (guest appearance)
"That 70s Show" (2002-2005) (on/off appearance)
"Saturday Night Live" (November 20, 2004; musical guest U2)
"Late Night with Conan O'Brien" (August 22, 2007; guest appearance)
"Entourage" (first season; guest appearance)
Credit
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article about Luke Wilson.
