Movies

Why is Luke Wilson still single?

Onscreen and off, this actor plays the perfect boyfriend.

Luke Wilson is clearly husband material. As a suitor, the affable actor is the requisite combination of tall, dark and handsome. He comes from good stock: Mom is a noted photographer back in his hometown of Dallas, Dad is an advertising executive, and he's close to his two older brothers, Andrew and Owen, both fellow actors. He's been described by friends as funny, smart and the ever-important nice.

At 31, Wilson's finally a homeowner, having recently moved out of longtime roommate Owen's place and into a small bungalow in Santa Monica, Calif. His career is thriving: He has no fewer than four movies due out this year, including this weekend's bawdy ensemble comedy "Old School".

Oh, and he has some pretty impressive references in the romance department: Within the past five or so years, he engaged in the high-profile wooing of both Drew Barrymore and Gwyneth Paltrow. More impressively, he's managed to stay friends with them post-breakup. True, he never quite finished college (he attended three), but overall, he is quite the package.

So why's he still single?

When the question's asked, his answer is simple: He hasn't met "the one."

"All my friends are starting to get married. A couple have had children. When my dad was my age, he had three sons," Wilson says with a Texas-tinged drawl. "I certainly want to have a family. And I did go through a phase where I got a little nervous, like, 'God, I gotta get this done -- I gotta get married.' But it's just one of those things. It all comes down to fate. You can't force something like that."

Wilson has love on his mind. At the moment, he's in Los Angeles filming this summer's "Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde", in which he reprises his role as Reese Witherspoon's fiancé. Between scenes, he chats about his starring role in "Old School", in which he plays the strait-laced Mitch Martin, alongside two -- shall we say, less mature? -- friends played by Will Ferrell and Vince Vaughn. The three, although long out of college, decide to start a fraternity to cheer up Wilson's character, who has just broken up with his less-than-monogamous girlfriend. Along the way, they assemble the motliest pledge class of all time -- it includes some standard-issue college kids as well as a middle-aged businessman and an octogenarian named Blue -- and throw the kind of parties that would impress John Belushi and the brothers of Delta House.

"I can relate to Mitch," Wilson says. "He's got the wild streak in him, but he's the kind of guy that suppresses it. People are always like, 'Oh, you're such a laid-back guy.' And I'll think, 'I wish I was.' Maybe it's because I talk slow," he says with a laugh.

Wilson's low-key persona drew "Old School" co-writer and director Todd Phillips ("Road Trip") to choose him for the role. "Luke's a great-looking guy, and he's cool and all that, but he's really kind of understated in the way that he acts and presents himself -- in a good way. He doesn't really grab attention," Phillips says. "So it's fun to see him have to be forced into the limelight in the movie."

Onscreen, as Mitch patiently deals with his friends' foibles, it's clear that the role is a good fit for Wilson, who made his acting debut in 1996 with Wes Anderson's comedy "Bottle Rocket", which was co-written by brother Owen. He then slowly built a career as "the boyfriend," starring with high-profile leading ladies like Witherspoon, Barrymore ("Home Fries") and Cameron Diaz ("Charlie's Angels"). Later this year, in addition to Blonde 2, he'll re-couple with Diaz in "Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle" and star with Kate Hudson in Rob Reiner's romantic comedy "Loosely Based on a True Love Story".

And so it goes for the guy who's quietly turning into the Hugh Grant of the American date movie. With any luck, this also will be the year fate brings "the one" to our S.W.M. Because even though he's not exactly in a hurry, he's beginning to feel his age.

"Getting married is definitely something I want to do, but I won't start getting really worried until I'm 35," he says, sense of humor fully intact. "I would hope it happens before that. I don't want to have to throw the football underhanded to my kid because I'm so old."