Dallas-raised actor Luke Wilson turns 51 on Sept. 21. Wilson, who’s the youngest of Robert Andrew Wilson and Laura Wilson’s three sons, is known for his roles in Wes Anderson movies, Blue Streak, Old School, Anchorman, Legally Blonde and more . He’s now a resident of Santa Monica, Calif., but still gets back to his Preston Hollow roots whenever possible.
Here’s a look at what you might have missed during Wilson’s 50th trip around the sun.
He’s putting on a cowboy hat for a role
Wilson is joining the cast of Kevin Costner’s latest western production, Horizon, according to Deadline.
Does this mean Wilson will be growing a beard, riding a horse and wearing chaps? It’s not known yet. Horizon is about 15 years of pre- and post-Civil War expansion and settlement of the American West, which opens the door for beards, horses and chaps.
Costner will direct and star in the Warner Bros. and New Line movie, which also features Sienna Miller, Sam Worthington and Jamie Campbell Bower.
Deadline also reported that Wilson met with Costner, hit it off and was quickly offered a role.
Was turning 50 really that bad?
Turning 50 blindsided him a little bit, he told Vanity Fair in 2021.
“Thirty didn’t matter to me. Forty didn’t matter to me. I just steamrolled right through it, but 50,” he said. “I don’t know if it’s getting to me because I am sore when I wake up in the middle of the night, and I am forgetting the names of people I know.”
His older brothers, Owen and Andrew, are 53 and 58, respectively.
“It’s definitely one of those things has had me thinking, ‘Oh, OK. So this is where the phrase midlife crisis comes from.’” he said. “I’m definitely starting to feel panicky about some stuff.”
A photo from the movie “12 Mighty Orphans.” Left to Right: (Back): Preston Porter, Woodrow Luttrell, Sampley Barinaga, Jacob Lofland (Middle): Levi Dylan, Luke Wilson, Martin Sheen, Manuel Tapia, Austin Shook, Michael Gohlke (Front): Slade Monroe, Jake Austin Walker , Bailey Roberts, Tyler Silva Photo by Laura Wilson.
He played a leading man at 50
At 50, Wilson made a movie in which he was the leading man. 12 Mighty Orphans is based on a true story about a football coach and World War I hero named Rusty Russell, who took a bunch of kids from a Fort Worth orphanage and got them to the state championship game.
“I just thought it was great,” Wilson told The News’ Michael Granberry. “I’ve always liked that era, the Dust Bowl, and the ’20s and ’30s.”
Related:Luke Wilson comes home to Texas with ’12 Mighty Orphans’
It also paid to know people. Wilson came to be the leading man in 12 Mighty Orphans because he knew the director, Ty Roberts.
“I really liked the script, and I liked the idea of shooting in Fort Worth,” he told Granberry.
Cited for the role, Wilson is getting a 2023 Texas Medal of Arts award in the film/actor category. He’ll get the award on Feb. 22, 2023, at an awards show and gala dinner at the Long Center for Performing Arts in Austin.
Is ‘Idiocracy’ really going to happen? Wilson wonders
Wilson gets his share of questions about Idiocracy (2006). People wonder if it’s foretelling.
On Conan O’Brien’s podcast last month, Wilson shared his remembrances of the movie and director Mike Judge. He recalled a conversation with Judge about whether the movie was actually funny.
“He’d be like, ‘You don’t think it’s funny?’ Well, I think it’s funny, but I’m totally immature,” he said.
“And I would always say: ‘Well, I actually think Camacho would make a great president,” said of the Terry Crews character who transitioned from pro wrestler to a machine-gun-firing president. “He cared about the people. He’s emphatic. He wanted to take action.”
What else has Wilson been up to?
Wilson has also signed on to appear in Miranda’s Victim, a crime drama directed by Michelle Danner, which is currently filming.
Wilson also will be in The Best Man, directed by Shane Dax Taylor. Wilson will lend his voice to New-Gen, an upcoming animated series.
This year, Wilson starred in Look Both Ways, a Netflix comedy, and Gasoline Alley, an action thriller with Bruce Willis currently available on Amazon Prime.
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