Tall and dark-haired with a strong jaw and thoughtful countenance, Luke Wilson had more evident leading man appeal than his blond older brother Owen, but his choice of roles in smaller, quirkier films often put him in his actor/screenwriter/producer sibling's shadow. Born and raised in Dallas, Texas, Wilson was more interested in sports than acting despite a creatively stimulating childhood, and only came upon a career on screen thanks to "Bottle Rocket". A 1992 13-minute short about two mild-mannered Texans who turn to an unlikely life of crime, "Bottle Rocket" starred both Wilsons and even featured eldest brother Andrew in a supporting role. Co-written by Owen Wilsonand director Wes Anderson, the film was screened at festivals and championed by screenwriter and Wilson family friend L.M. 'Kit' Carson, who introduced producers James L. Brooks and Polly Platt to the project. Four years later, the expanded feature version of "Bottle Rocket" was released to some critical praise, launching the careers of Anderson as well as the Wilson brothers. As the protagonist Anthony, Luke Wilson won over his audience with a charming, heartfelt performance as a young man adrift who finds love.

Wilson went on to play a co-worker with romantic designs on Calista Flockhart in "Telling Lies in America" (1997). That same year he completed a memorable cameo appearance in "Stab", the film-within-a-film of "Scream 2", impersonating Skeet Ulrich's character from the original "Scream" to great comedic effect. Wilson next filmed 1998's "Best Men" and "Home Fries", two back-to-back romantic capers opposite Drew Barrymore(who became his real-life love in the midst of filming the latter). Both films were the kind of odd independents for which Wilson would become known. "Best Men" chronicled a heist that is performed on the way to a wedding while "Home Fries" told the story of a man (Wilson) who falls for his late stepfather's pregnant girlfriend (Barrymore) who he is meant to kill.

Wilson made his TV debut with a memorable turn as a sheriff in a town populated by vampires in a 1998 episode of Fox's "The X-Files". That same year he was featured as a pot-dealing artist in the independent "Bongwater" and played the surgeon who battles both Bill Murray and Jason Schwartzmanfor the affections of Olivia Williams in Wes Anderson's "Rushmore" (co-scripted by Owen Wilson. Though this role was significantly smaller than his starring turn in "Bottle Rocket", Wilson added quite a bit to the film, reportedly even contributing to the script the priceless three-line exchange in which O.R. scrubs serve as a riotous pun. In 1999, Wilson played a newly single man who spends custodial visits with his pooch while trying to meet women at the "Dog Park" and teamed up with Martin Lawrence in the action comedy "Blue Streak", one of his few forays into more commercially viable fare.

By 2000, the actor had begun to make a name for himself, no longer only mentioned in reference to his brother or his former girlfriend. A co-starring turn in the charming but little-seen comedy "Committed" cast him as the husband Heather Grahamis determined to win back. His supporting role in "Charlie's Angels" certainly reached a wider audience, but it was Wilson's turn in that year's "My Dog Skip" that most impressed. Wilson lent great empathy and depth to his portrayal, breathing life into the football hero-cum-World War II deserter who befriends a young boy and his dog in this honestly affecting period drama. After heading up the cast of the independent psychodrama "Bad Seed" (2000) as wrongly accused fugitive Preston Tylk, the actor was somewhat underused in both the misfire thriller "Soul Survivors" (as a priest) and the winning comedy "Legally Blonde" (both 2001). Later that year, he reteamed with Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson starring as a thoughtful tennis prodigy in turmoil in the creative pair's "The Royal Tenenbaums", a weird but warm look at a family of failed geniuses.

While brother Owen broke open the box office in 2003 with his "Shanghai Noon" follow-up, "Shanghai Knights," Luke Wilson took a leading role alongside Will Ferrelland Vince Vaughn as one of a trio of men desperate to recapture the irrepressible fun of their college years by starting their own off-campus frat house. He also managed to land reprisal roles in two blockbuster sequels, "Charlie's Angels 2" and "Legally Blonde 2," a sure sign that temperature is rising around Hollywood's quirkiest set of brothers.