Wilson was born in Dallas, to photographer Laura Cunningham Wilson and Robert Andrew Wilson, an advertising executive and operator of a public television station. He has an older brother, Andrew, and a younger brother, Luke. His family, originally from Massachusetts, is Irish American and Catholic.

He has an older brother, Andrew, and a younger brother, Luke. The film grossed nearly US$100 million worldwide. Also in 2001, Wilson and Anderson collaborated on their third film, The Royal Tenenbaums, which was a financial and critical success.

He has an older brother, Andrew, and a younger brother, Luke. He then reunited with Chan to make Shanghai Knights (2003) and the film remake of the television series Starsky & Hutch (2004). The 2004 film was ultimately co-written by filmmaker Noah Baumbach. in 2006, Wilson provided the voice of Lightning McQueen in the Disney/Pixar film Cars, starred in You, Me and Dupree with Kate Hudson, and appeared with Stiller in Night at the Museum as Jedediah, the cowboy, an uncredited role. 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’s and Crow’s relationship.