The New Regime: Patrick Wilson

The New Leading Man: Would the cast of 'Ocean’s 47' please clear the room for Patrick Wilson? By George, Hollywood’s most underappreciated character actor has finally grown into a bona fide box office draw!

For a man whose long-term plan was to tread the New York theater circuit, Patrick Wilson has taken a seriously wrong turn. “It’s been awesome,” says the 35-year-old Tony Award nominee and star of Angels in America, Hard Candy and Little Children. “I really love making movies.” And with another four in the can, including the recently released thriller Lakeview Terrace and the upcoming superhero behemoth Watchmen, Wilson is meandering dangerously close to leading man territory. “I don’t even know what that means!” he says. “I’m glad my movies make money, but if it’s leading man or character man, it’s all good.”

Not only does Wilson have the matinee idol good looks of his hero Paul Newman, he also shares the late actor’s attitude. Newman always said he was just a character actor trapped in a leading man’s body, and Patrick can sympathize. “He knew what he looked like, but also understood that you don’t just want to get the girl and look pretty,” says Wilson. “Any real actor is going to want to do more than that.”

Photo: John Huba