Patrick Wilson

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.

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. The following year, he starred alongside Elliot Page in the psychological thriller film Hard Candy, portraying a pedophile named Jeff Kohlver.

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.

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 famous 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.

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.