in May 2014
Early stage and TV work In 1995, Wilson made his acting debut as an
understudy in the role of Chris Scott in the national touring production of
Miss Saigon. The following year, he portrayed Billy Bigelow in the national tour of
Carousel. In 1999, he starred as Jamie Conway in the
off-Broadway production of
Bright Lights, Big City, and Wilson later made his
Broadway theatre debut in
The Full Monty (2000), portraying Jerry Lukowski. For his performance in the role, he was nominated for the
Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical and the
Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical. Circa 2000, Wilson completed work on the film ''My Sister's Wedding
, which has never been released. He sang "On the Street Where You Live" from My Fair Lady'' for
Julie Andrews' awards ceremony when she received the
Kennedy Center Honors in 2001. In 2002, his performance as Curly McLain in the Broadway production of
Oklahoma! received critical acclaim, with Wilson being nominated for the
Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical and the
Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical for the second time each. He won critical acclaim for his performance as
the closeted
Mormon Republican Joe Pitt in
Mike Nichols' 2003
HBO drama miniseries
Angels in America, receiving nominations for both the
Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film and the
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie.
Early film work In 2004, Wilson made his first film appearance in
The Alamo, playing
William B. Travis. That same year, he co-starred in the musical film
The Phantom of the Opera as
Viscount Raoul de Chagny. In 2006, Wilson starred as Brad Adamson in
Todd Field's
Little Children. Also in 2006, he appeared in the
Golden Globe Award-nominated
Running with Scissors as Michael Shephard, which was directed by
Ryan Murphy and produced by
Brad Pitt. In 2007, he starred as Brian Callahan in the independent film
Purple Violets, which was written and directed by
Edward Burns. In 2008, he starred in
Neil LaBute's
Lakeview Terrace. Wilson played
Dan Dreiberg / Nite Owl II in
Zack Snyder's 2009 film adaptation of the graphic novel
Watchmen, gaining 25 pounds for the role after filming
flashback scenes as the slimmer Nite Owl II. This film reunited Wilson with his
Little Children co-star,
Jackie Earle Haley. On October 19, 2010, in
Yankee Stadium, he sang "
God Bless America" during the seventh-inning stretch of Game 4 of the American League Championship Series between the
Texas Rangers and the
New York Yankees. On November 20, 2010, in Yankee Stadium, he sang the
United States National Anthem before the first football game in the new stadium, played between
Army and
Notre Dame.
International breakthrough Wilson played the primary antagonist Lynch in 2010's
The A-Team, and co-starred with
Rose Byrne in
James Wan's horror film
Insidious. He returned for the latter film's sequel,
Insidious: Chapter 2, which was released in 2013. In 2013, Wilson portrayed the paranormal investigator
Ed Warren, alongside
Vera Farmiga starring as his wife Lorraine, in the horror film
The Conjuring. The film was critically acclaimed, becoming one of the highest grossing horror films of all time. Wilson reprised the role in the film's sequel,
The Conjuring 2, released on June 10, 2016. In January 2014, Wilson was announced to portray the lead role,
Lou Solverson, in the second season of
FX's anthology series
Fargo. He was nominated for the 2015
Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film for his performance. In March 2014, Wilson was cast in an unspecified role in the
Marvel Cinematic Universe film
Ant-Man, but later left the film due to scheduling conflicts brought upon by multiple delays with the film's production. That same year, he was cast as Arthur O'Dwyer in the Western film
Bone Tomahawk, opposite
Kurt Russell and
Matthew Fox.
Ongoing success and directorial debut In 2016, he co-starred in
John Lee Hancock's biopic
The Founder, as Rollie Smith, based on the life of
McDonald's fast food restaurants' founder
Ray Kroc. In August 2016,
Barbra Streisand released the album
Encore: Movie Partners Sing Broadway, on which she and Wilson duet the song "Loving You" from the
Stephen Sondheim musical
Passion. In 2018, Wilson co-starred in
Jaume Collet-Serra's action thriller
The Commuter, reuniting with
The Conjuring co-star Farmiga, and portraying a trusted friend of
Liam Neeson's character. Also that year, he portrayed
Orm Marius / Ocean Master in the
DC Extended Universe film
Aquaman, directed by long-time collaborator James Wan. Wilson reprised his role in the 2023 sequel film
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. On November 8, 2019,
Roland Emmerich's
World War II film Midway, was released, starring Wilson along with
Ed Skrein,
Mandy Moore,
Luke Evans,
Aaron Eckhart,
Nick Jonas,
Dennis Quaid and
Woody Harrelson. In June 2020, Wilson signed on to Emmerich's
Moonfall, which was released in 2022. Announced in October 2020, Wilson made his directorial debut with
Insidious: The Red Door, released July 7, 2023, in the US, serving as a direct sequel to
Insidious: Chapter 2 with both Wilson and
Ty Simpkins reprising their roles.
Scott Teems wrote the script based on a story by
Leigh Whannell. Whannell, James Wan,
Jason Blum, and
Oren Peli will produce the film. He also contributed vocals to the end credits song "Stay" on the film's soundtrack, collaborating with Swedish metal band
Ghost, who he is a fan of. In March 2026, Wilson was cast as Jerry, the father of
Abby, in the
third season of the
HBO series
The Last of Us. ==Charity work==