Early life and education

Wilson was born in Dallas, Texas, to photographer Laura (née Cunningham) Wilson (born October 17, 1939) and Robert Andrew Wilson (born 1941), an advertising executive and operator of a public television station. His family, originally from Massachusetts, is of Irish descent. Wilson attended New Mexico Military Institute and the University of Texas at Austin, where he pursued a Bachelor of Arts in English.

His brother Luke Wilson (born September 21, 1971) is an actor known for his roles in films such as Idiocracy, 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 (2011-2013). His older brother Andrew Wilson (born August 22, 1964) is a film actor and director.

Career

1990s

After his film debut in Bottle Rocket (1996), Wilson co-wrote with Wes Anderson the script for Anderson's next two directorial efforts, Rushmore and The Royal Tenenbaums, for which they garnered an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay. Wilson then landed a role in The Cable Guy, directed by Ben Stiller, an early admirer of Bottle Rocket. After appearing in minor roles in action films like Anaconda and Armageddon and the horror film The Haunting, Wilson appeared in two dramatic roles: a supporting role in Permanent Midnight, which starred Stiller as a drug-addicted TV writer; and the lead role (as a serial killer) in The Minus Man, in which his future girlfriend, singer Sheryl Crow, was a co-star.

2000-2009

Wilson starred in the 2000 comedy action film Shanghai Noon, with Jackie Chan. The film grossed nearly US$100 million worldwide. His fame continued to rise after starring alongside Ben Stiller and Will Ferrell in the 2001 film Zoolander. Gene Hackman reportedly took notice of Wilson's performance in Shanghai Noon and recommended the actor to co-star in the 2001 action film Behind Enemy Lines. Also in 2001, Wilson and Anderson collaborated on their third film, The Royal Tenenbaums, a financial and critical success. The film earned the writing team an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay.

Wilson returned to the buddy-comedy genre in 2002 with the action comedy I Spy, co-starring Eddie Murphy. This big-screen remake of the television series did not perform well at the box office. He made a cameo appearance in the Girl Skateboards video Yeah Right! in 2003. He then reunited with Jackie Chan to make Shanghai Knights (2003), and co-starred in the film remake of the 1970s television series Starsky & Hutch (2004). Due to his busy schedule as an actor and an ongoing sinus condition, Wilson was unavailable to collaborate on the script for Wes Anderson's fourth feature, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. The 2004 film was ultimately co-written by filmmaker Noah Baumbach. However, Wilson did star in the film as Bill Murray's would-be son, Ned Plimpton; a role written specifically for Wilson. In 2004, he and his brother, Luke played the Wright brothers in the 2004 film Around the World in 80 Days.

Wilson partnered with Vince Vaughn in the 2005 comedy film Wedding Crashers, which grossed over US$200M in the U.S. alone. Also in 2005, Owen collaborated with his brothers by appearing in The Wendell Baker Story, written by brother Luke, directed by Luke and brother Andrew. In the 2006 Disney/Pixar film Cars, Wilson voiced Lightning McQueen, starred in You, Me and Dupree with Kate Hudson, and appeared with Stiller in Night at the Museum as cowboy Jedediah.

Wilson starred with Ben Stiller in eleven films, including The Cable Guy (1996), Permanent Midnight (1998), Meet the Parents (2000), Zoolander (2001), The Royal Tenenbaums (2001), Starsky & Hutch (2004), Meet the Fockers (2004), Night at the Museum (2006), and the sequels Night at the Museum 2: Battle of the Smithsonian (2009), Little Fockers (2010) and Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb (2014).

Wilson appeared in another Wes Anderson film, The Darjeeling Limited, which screened at the 45th annual New York Film Festival, the Venice Film Festival and opened September 30, 2007, co-starring Jason Schwartzman and Adrien Brody. Wilson next starred in the Judd Apatow comedy, Drillbit Taylor, released in March 2008. He appeared in a film adaptation of John Grogan's best-selling memoir, Marley & Me (2008), co-starring Jennifer Aniston.

He also starred in The Darjeeling Limited with Adrien Brody and Jason Schwartzman, which was selected for a DVD and Blu-ray release by The Criterion Collection in October 2010. He provided the voice for the Whackbat Coach Skip in Wes Anderson's Fantastic Mr. Fox. He starred in the film The Big Year, an adaptation of Mark Obmascik's book The Big Year: A Tale of Man, Nature and Fowl Obsession. The film was released in October 2011 from 20th Century Fox, and co-starred Jack Black, JoBeth Williams, Steve Martin and Rashida Jones.

Wilson is a member of the comedic acting brotherhood colloquially known as the Frat Pack. Wilson made a guest appearance on the NBC comedy Community with fellow Frat Pack member Jack Black. He starred as a nostalgia-seized writer in the romantic comedy Midnight in Paris, written and directed by Woody Allen. The film was Allen's highest grossing thus far, and was also well received by critics.

2010-2016

In March 2012, Wilson starred in the John Erick Dowdle thriller The Coup, in which he is slated to play the role of the father of an American family that moves to Southeast Asia, only to find itself swept up in a wave of rebel violence that is overwhelming the city. Wilson later returned to the action genre for the first time since Behind Enemy Lines in 2001. He also voiced turkey Reggie in Reel FX's first animated film, Free Birds.

In 2014, Wilson starred in Wes Anderson's acclaimed ensemble comedy The Grand Budapest Hotel and in Paul Thomas Anderson's book adaptation of Inherent Vice. In 2015, he starred with Jennifer Aniston, in Peter Bogdanovich's film She's Funny That Way, and in action thriller film No Escape alongside Lake Bell and Pierce Brosnan. Wilson's films have grossed more than US$2.25 billion domestically (United States and Canada), with an average of US$75M per film.

Personal life

The 2002 release of the album C'mon C'mon by former girlfriend Sheryl Crow features the song "Safe and Sound", which is dedicated to Wilson in the liner notes and is said to be an autobiographical account of Wilson and Crow's relationship.

Wilson was treated for major depression in 2007 at St. John's Health Center and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. A few days after his hospitalization, Wilson withdrew from his role in Tropic Thunder, which was produced by and co-starred his friend and frequent collaborator Ben Stiller. He was replaced by Matthew McConaughey.

Wilson dated Kate Hudson in 2008 and 2009.

In January 2011, Wilson and his girlfriend Jade Duell had a son, Robert Ford Wilson. Wilson and Duell ended their relationship later that year.

In January 2014, Caroline Lindqvist delivered Wilson's second son, Finn Lyndqvist Wilson.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1996	Bottle Rocket	Dignan	Also writer
1996	The Cable Guy	Robin's Date
1997	Anaconda	Gary Dixon
1997	As Good as It Gets	N/A	Associate producer
1998	Armageddon	Oscar Choice
1998	Permanent Midnight	Nicky
1998	Rushmore	N/A	Also writer
1999	The Haunting	Luke Sanderson
1999	Breakfast of Champions	Monte Rapid
1999	The Minus Man	Vann Siegert
2000	Shanghai Noon	Roy O'Bannon	Nominated - Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Best Action Team Nominated - Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor: Musical or Comedy
2000	Meet the Parents	Kevin Rawley	Nominated - Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Best Supporting Actor - Comedy
2001	Zoolander	Hansel McDonald	Nominated - MTV Movie Award for Best On-Screen Duo
2001	The Royal Tenenbaums	Eli Cash	Nominated - Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay Nominated - BAFTA Award for Best Original Screenplay Nominated - Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Screenplay Nominated - New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Screenplay Nominated - Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Original Screenplay Nominated - Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Cast Nominated - Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Original Screenplay Nominated - Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor: Musical or Comedy Nominated - Toronto Film Critics Association Award for Best Screenplay Nominated - Writers Guild of America Award for Best Original Screenplay
2001	Behind Enemy Lines	Lt. Chris Burnett
2002	I Spy	Alex Scott	Nominated - Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Screen Combo
2003	Shanghai Knights	Roy O'Bannon	Nominated - MTV Movie Award for Best On-Screen Duo
2003	Yeah Right!	Himself	Cameo
2004	The Big Bounce	Jack Ryan
2004	Starsky & Hutch	Ken Hutchinson	MTV Movie Award for Best Kiss Nominated - MTV Movie Award for Best On-Screen Duo Nominated - People's Choice Award for Favorite On-Screen Chemistry Nominated - Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie: Comedy Actor Nominated - Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie: Chemistry
2004	Around the World in 80 Days	Wilbur Wright
2004	The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou	Ned Plimpton	Nominated - Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Cast Nominated - Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Cast
2004	Meet the Fockers	Kevin Rawley
2005	The Wendell Baker Story	Neil King
2005	Wedding Crashers	John Beckwith	MTV Movie Award for Best On-Screen Duo People's Choice Award for Favorite On-Screen Match-Up Nominated - MTV Movie Award for Best Comedic Performance Nominated - Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie: Liplock
2006	Cars	Lightning McQueen	Voice
2006	Mater and the Ghostlight	Lightning McQueen	Short; voice
2006	You, Me and Dupree	Randolph Dupree	Also producer
2006	Night at the Museum	Jedediah	Uncredited
2007	The Darjeeling Limited	Francis Whitman
2008	Drillbit Taylor	Drillbit Taylor
2008	Marley & Me	John Grogan	Nominated - Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie: Liplock
2008	Over Her Dead Body	Guy on Phone	Uncredited
2009	Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian	Jedediah
2009	Fantastic Mr. Fox	Coach Skip	Voice
2010	Marmaduke	Marmaduke	Voice
2010	How Do You Know	Matty Reynolds
2010	Little Fockers	Kevin Rawley
2011	Hall Pass	Rick
2011	Midnight in Paris	Gil	Nominated - Comedy Award for Comedy Actor Nominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy Nominated - Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Nominated - Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Cast
2011	Cars 2	Lightning McQueen	Voice Nominated - People's Choice Award for Favorite Animated Movie Voice
2011	The Big Year	Kenny Bostick
2013	The Internship	Nick Campbell
2013	Free Birds	Reggie	Voice
2014	Are You Here	Steve Dallas
2014	The Grand Budapest Hotel	M. Chuck
2014	The Hero of Color City	Ricky The Dragon	Voice
2014	Inherent Vice	Coy Harlingen
2014	Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb	Jedediah
2015	She's Funny That Way	Arnold Albertson
2015	No Escape	Jack Dwyer
2016	Zoolander No. 2	Hansel
2016	Masterminds	Steve Chambes
2016	Bastards		Filming
2017	Cars 3	Lightning McQueen	Voice

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1999	Heat Vision and Jack	Heat Vision	Short; voice
2001	King of the Hill	Rhett Van Der Graaf (voice)	Episode: "Luanne Virgin 2.0"
2010	Community	Other Study Group's Leader	Uncredited Episode: "Investigative Journalism"
2013	Drunk History	John Harvey Kellogg	Episode: "Detroit"
2014	Cars Toons: Tales From Radiator Springs	Lightning McQueen	Voice; Episode: "The Radiator Springs 500 ½"

Video games

Year	Title	Voice role
2006	Cars	Lightning McQueen
2012	Kinect Rush: A Disney-Pixar Adventure	Lightning McQueen
2014	Cars: Fast as Lightning	Lightning McQueen

Music videos

Year	Song	Artist
2006	God's Gonna Cut You Down	Johnny Cash
2013	Christmas in L.A.	The Killers

[ Source: Wikipedia ]