Patrick Wilson Biography

Biography

Birth Name
Patrick Wilson
Date of birth (location)
3 July 1973
Norfolk, Virginia, USA

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A rangy blond stage lead with a pleasant rock tenor, Patrick Wilson began his career headlining the national tour of "Carousel" in 1996 under Nicholas Hytner's fluid staging. He went on to star as a young reporter in love in the Goodspeed Opera House production of "Lucky in the Rain" in 1997. Later that same year, Wilson created the role of the pianist Erwin 'Chopin' Bootz in the world premiere of Barry Manilow's musical "Harmony" at the La Jolla Playhouse. He tackled his first major non-musical role in the six-hour stage adaptation of John Irving's novel "The Cider House Rules" (1998) before landing what was touted as his breakthrough part, the lead in "Bright Light, Big City". Although the 1999 musical was highly anticipated, the production fell short of expectations, but Wilson earned respectable notices for his performance as the aspiring novelist hero.

He made his Broadway debut in the short-lived revue "The Gershwin's Fascinating Rhythm", again escaping unscathed by the critics. Following a turn as Romeo (opposite Irene Molloy's Juliet) in Terrence Mann's musical version of "Romeo and Juliet", Wilson landed his breakthrough role as one of the leads in the Americanized musical version of "The Full Monty". When the show opened at San Diego's Old Globe Theatre, it received good notices and became a crowd pleaser, paving the way for its transfer to Broadway where it was one of the most highly anticipated productions of the fall 2000 season. Wilson netted a Tony nomination for his turn, thus raising his profile. The following year, he starred as Curly in Trevor Nunn's highly-anticipated staging of the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic "Oklahoma!"

Wilson made the jump to the small screen, playing Joe Pitt, a Mormon ashamed of his bisexuality, in the multi-award winning HBO miniseries, “Angels in America” (2003), directed by Mike Nichols. Wilson was nominated for a Golden Globe and an Emmy for his fine work in the supporting role. After appearing as the young, brash Colonel William Travis, in the doomed “Alamo” (2004), he was cast in Joel Schumacher’s widely panned “Phantom of the Opera (2004), playing Raoul, the former childhood sweetheart of Christine (Emmy Rossum), who returns after many years to rekindle their love.