Performer
A performer whose catalogue work here is strong, with the fuller case still to be made.
Nutevio rank
#2330
of 909177 performers
Top 1%
Luke Wilson represents the rare performer whose career became more ambitious with every decade — 31 years in, and Luke is still choosing the harder script.
The essay
Our editors on the work, the patterns and the reason this body of work holds together.
Luke Wilson appears in 47 films in the Nutevio catalogue, and none of them would work the same way without Luke. All the Bright Places is the clearest case: a film rated 7.5 by our editors, where the performance carries weight the script only implies.
The recognisable elements are versatility, transformation, quiet performance. Watch two of these films back to back and the method separates from the material — the same instrument, tuned differently for western, drama, family. It is a style built on what is withheld as much as what is played.
Working with Kevin Costner, Mike Roth, Wanuri Kahiu and others, Luke Wilson helped set a standard other performers now audition against. Awards bodies have been slower than the work, which is usually the sign of a career built on choices rather than campaigns.
All the Bright Places (2020) as James · The Royal Tenenbaums (2001) as Richie Tenenbaum · 3:10 to Yuma (2007) as Zeke
Career snapshot
Ranked #2330 of 909177 performers tracked in the Nutevio library.
Films in Nutevio
47
1993–2024
Career length
31 yrs
Measured across our catalogue
Academy Awards
—
Unknown
Oscar nominations
—
Unknown
Highest Nutevio score
7.5
All the Bright Places
Average Nutevio score
6.4
Across catalogue work
Highest IMDb rating
7.6
All the Bright Places
Most frequent director
Wes Anderson
4 films together
Longest collaboration
4×
With Wes Anderson
Most common genre
Comedy
29 titles
Average runtime
1h 44m
Across catalogue work
Golden Globe wins
—
Unknown
Nutevio metric
Ten weighted categories, applied identically to everyone we cover.
Nutevio Performer Score
7.0
out of 10
A performer whose catalogue work here is strong, with the fuller case still to be made.
Nutevio metric
Cultural impact and legacy, measured separately from craft — how far the work travelled once it left the cinema.
Nutevio Influence Score
6.5
out of 10
A quieter influence — felt inside the films rather than across the industry.
How far the work travelled past the people who saw it first.
What survives once the release-week conversation has burned off.
Institutional acknowledgement, weighted but never decisive.
Years of chosen, relevant work rather than years merely employed.
Statuettes, read as evidence rather than verdict.
Roles named without needing the film named alongside them.
Directors who wrote parts because this performer existed.
The reading other performers now have to answer.
Actor DNA
A fingerprint derived from the roles themselves — register, range and the kind of film they carry.
The shape of a career
Every performance plotted in time. Hover a point to read the title behind it.
Peak years
Where the scores, the awards and the sheer volume of work agree with each other.
Best decade
1990s
6.8 average MV
The 1990s are where the work and the material meet. Rushmore, Scream 2, Bottle Rocket — the run our editors reach for first when the argument is about range rather than fame.
Highest average Nutevio score
1990s
6.8
Across 4 catalogue films in this decade, our scores never drop below the level a career is judged on.
Highest average IMDb rating
1990s
6.7
The public agrees most strongly about this stretch — useful context, and occasionally a decade behind our own reading.
Most awarded era
1990s
0 Academy Awards
Statuettes for the films themselves, which is the honest way to read an ensemble career. Rushmore, Scream 2, Bottle Rocket.
Most productive era
2000s
19 films
The busiest stretch of the catalogue — volume that reads as appetite rather than availability.
Range, mapped
Genres down the side, decades across the top. Warmer cells mean stronger titles.
| Genre | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | 2020s |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drama | 7.02 films | 6.83 films | 6.45 films | 6.610 films |
| Action | — | 6.25 films | 5.61 film | 6.34 films |
| Thriller | — | 6.32 films | — | 5.92 films |
| Comedy | 6.83 films | 6.316 films | 6.16 films | 6.14 films |
| Crime | 6.52 films | 6.31 film | — | 5.82 films |
| Romance | — | 6.14 films | 6.11 film | 6.83 films |
| Horror | 6.71 film | 6.41 film | — | — |
Chronology
Firsts and peaks
The turning points, in the order they happened.
First film in Nutevio
1993Bottle Rocket
Where our catalogue meets this career, as Anthony.
Highest rated performance · Career peak
7.5 on the Nutevio scale, the top of the catalogue for this performer. Weighing billing against the film's own quality, this is the point where everything aligned at once.
Most recent film
2024Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 2
The current state of the argument, as Matthew Van Weyden.
Our order
Every performance in the catalogue, ordered by Nutevio Score.
Every title
Filter by genre or decade, and compare any two titles side by side.
47 of 47 films
as Richie Tenenbaum
Directed by Wes Anderson
as Rusty Russell
Directed by Unknown
as Mitch Martin
Directed by Todd Phillips
as Anthony Adams
Directed by Wes Anderson
From the library
Every movie and TV credit stored for this name in the Nutevio catalogue — filter by media, role or sort by rating.
Loading credits…
The defining work
#1
Richie Tenenbaum
The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)
Performance score7.6
The performance the rest of the career is read through. Richie Tenenbaum gives Luke Wilson a structure to work against, and the film hands over its centre of gravity without hesitation.
View movie#2
Rusty Russell
12 Mighty Orphans (2021)
Performance score7.4
12 Mighty Orphans asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Rusty Russell is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movie#3
Mitch Martin
Old School (2003)
Performance score7.4
Old School asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Mitch Martin is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movie#4
Anthony Adams
Bottle Rocket (1996)
Performance score7.4
Bottle Rocket asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Anthony Adams is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movieStart here
A guided path through the work, ordered so each film explains the next.
Best entry point
as Richie Tenenbaum
Start here. The Royal Tenenbaums is the clearest statement of what Luke Wilson does — accessible, 110 minutes, and rated 7.5 by our editors. No context required.
Our editors order this path by accessibility first and chronology second. You meet Luke at the most legible performance, then move forward in time so each film reads as a response to the one before it rather than a repetition of it.
Bottle Rocket (1996)
Same director as The Royal Tenenbaums, different problem to solve. Watching them in order shows how much of the effect was the collaboration.
Old School (2003)
Keeps the comedy register of Bottle Rocket but asks for a colder reading of it.
12 Mighty Orphans (2021)
A deliberate change of key after Old School — same instrument, unfamiliar tuning, and the reason range gets mentioned.
You Gotta Believe (2024)
Same director as 12 Mighty Orphans, different problem to solve. Watching them in order shows how much of the effect was the collaboration.
Company kept
The directors and performers this career keeps returning to.
Wes Anderson
Director
4 films together
Notably The Royal Tenenbaums
McG
Director
2 films together
Notably Charlie's Angels
Adam McKay
Director
2 films together
Notably Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy
Frank Coraci
Director
2 films together
Notably Around the World in 80 Days
Kevin Costner
Director
2 films together
Notably Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1
Wes Craven
Director
1 film together
Notably Scream 2
Robert Luketic
Director
1 film together
Notably Legally Blonde
Todd Phillips
Director
1 film together
Notably Old School
Bobby Farrelly
Director
1 film together
Notably Stuck on You
Thomas Bezucha
Director
1 film together
Notably The Family Stone
Ivan Reitman
Director
1 film together
Notably My Super Ex-Girlfriend
Jeff Tremaine
Director
1 film together
Notably Jackass Number Two
John Dahl
Director
1 film together
Notably You Kill Me
James Mangold
Director
1 film together
Notably 3:10 to Yuma
Josh Gordon
Director
1 film together
Notably Blades of Glory
Nimród Antal
Director
1 film together
Notably Vacancy
Neil LaBute
Director
1 film together
Notably Death at a Funeral
Peter Landesman
Director
1 film together
Notably Concussion
Ash Brannon
Director
1 film together
Notably Rock Dog
Mike White
Director
1 film together
Notably Brad's Status
Greg Kinnear
Director
1 film together
Notably Phil
Josef Rusnak
Director
1 film together
Notably Berlin, I Love You
John Crowley
Director
1 film together
Notably The Goldfinch
Atom Egoyan
Director
1 film together
Notably Guest of Honour
Kirk Wise
Director
1 film together
Notably Bobbleheads: The Movie
Matt Shapira
Director
1 film together
Notably The Swing of Things
Brett Haley
Director
1 film together
Notably All the Bright Places
Wanuri Kahiu
Director
1 film together
Notably Look Both Ways
Mike Roth
Director
1 film together
Notably Merry Little Batman
Behind the camera
Who casts this performer, how often, and what the pairing produces.
Wes Anderson
Director
4 films together · 7.0 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 4 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
The Royal TenenbaumsKevin Costner
Director
2 films together · 6.7 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 2 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1Adam McKay
Director
2 films together · 6.5 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 2 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
Anchorman: The Legend of Ron BurgundyFrank Coraci
Director
2 films together · 5.9 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 2 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
Around the World in 80 DaysMcG
Director
2 films together · 5.9 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 2 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
Charlie's AngelsBrett Haley
Director
1 film together · 7.5 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
All the Bright PlacesJames Mangold
Director
1 film together · 7.3 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
3:10 to YumaPeter Landesman
Director
1 film together · 7.1 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
ConcussionJohn Crowley
Director
1 film together · 7.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The GoldfinchRobert Luketic
Director
1 film together · 6.9 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Legally BlondeWanuri Kahiu
Director
1 film together · 6.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Look Both WaysTodd Phillips
Director
1 film together · 6.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Old SchoolWes Craven
Director
1 film together · 6.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Scream 2Jeff Tremaine
Director
1 film together · 6.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Jackass Number TwoMike Roth
Director
1 film together · 6.5 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Merry Little BatmanMike White
Director
1 film together · 6.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Brad's StatusAsh Brannon
Director
1 film together · 6.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Rock DogNimród Antal
Director
1 film together · 6.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
VacancyThomas Bezucha
Director
1 film together · 6.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The Family StoneJosh Gordon
Director
1 film together · 6.3 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Blades of GloryJohn Dahl
Director
1 film together · 6.3 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
You Kill MeNeil LaBute
Director
1 film together · 6.1 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Death at a FuneralAtom Egoyan
Director
1 film together · 6.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Guest of HonourGreg Kinnear
Director
1 film together · 5.8 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
PhilKirk Wise
Director
1 film together · 5.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Bobbleheads: The MovieBobby Farrelly
Director
1 film together · 5.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Stuck on YouJosef Rusnak
Director
1 film together · 5.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Berlin, I Love YouMatt Shapira
Director
1 film together · 5.5 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The Swing of ThingsIvan Reitman
Director
1 film together · 5.5 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
My Super Ex-GirlfriendSix degrees
Follow the thread outward — director, film, co-star, and the film after that.
Categories of our own
Six editorial categories we apply to every performer we cover.
Most rewatchable
The Royal Tenenbaums
as Richie Tenenbaum
The one that survives a fourth viewing. Nothing in the performance depends on surprise, which is why it keeps paying out.
Most emotional performance
All the Bright Places
as James
Grief played at conversational volume. The film never asks the audience to cry; the performance simply makes it difficult not to.
Most influential performance
The Royal Tenenbaums
as Richie Tenenbaum
You can hear this reading in other actors' auditions a decade later — the surest measure of influence there is.
Best ensemble performance
Wake Up, Ron Burgundy: The Lost Movie
as Frank Vitchard
Work that makes everyone else in the frame better without ever pulling the camera towards itself.
Career defining performance
The Royal Tenenbaums
as Richie Tenenbaum
If the career had to be argued in a single scene, our editors would pick one from this film and rest the case.
In their films' words
“You can build a whole film around a performer who knows when not to speak. Luke Wilson has known it for a long time.”
Head to head
Put two careers on the same scale and see where the argument actually sits.
Ours alone
Recognitions handed out by this desk, on criteria no awards body uses.
Career Achievement
Awarded
31 years of relevant work — not merely a long career, but a long career of choices.
Modern Classic Performer
Awarded
Defining performances delivered inside the last twenty-five years, in films already being taught rather than merely remembered.
Comedy Legend
Awarded
29 catalogue titles in comedy, each one a reference point for the films that followed.
Our desk
Best ending, best opening, best twist and the rest — categories we apply to everyone we cover.
Best ending
The Royal Tenenbaums
as Richie Tenenbaum
The last five minutes reorganise everything before them, and hold up when you already know what's coming.
Best opening
Scream 2
as 'Stab' Billy
A first sequence that states the rules of the film without explaining a single one of them.
Most emotional
Miranda's Victim
as Lawrence Turoff
The film where the technique steps aside and lets the feeling arrive undefended.
Best twist
The Cleaner
as Jim Russell
A reversal earned by information the film gave you and trusted you to misread.
Best visual achievement
3:10 to Yuma
as Zeke
Images that would survive with the sound switched off.
Best action sequence
The Ridiculous 6
as Danny
Geography, stakes and consequence held in the same frame — spectacle you can follow.
Best dialogue
Rock Dog
as Bodi (voice)
Lines written to be spoken, staged so the pauses do half the work.
Most underrated film
Bobbleheads: The Movie
as Earl (voice)
The public vote sits below ours on this one, and the direction is the reason for the gap.
If you like this performer
Michael Caine
Built a career in the same territory: adventure and drama
Edward Norton
Works with the same directors — shared collaborators
Harvey Keitel
Works with the same directors — shared collaborators
Tom Wilkinson
Works with the same directors — shared collaborators
Matt Damon
Built a career in the same territory: adventure and drama
Léa Seydoux
Works with the same directors — shared collaborators
Have your say
Community
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Reference
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