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Luke Wilson is not a man who gets riled up easily, but if there's one thing that bugs him, it's movie stars who talk about how grounded they are. ''That's just a real red flag,'' he says with a dry laugh. ''It's like, 'I like to work on classic cars and ride Arabian horses — it keeps me grounded. The other 22 hours of the day I'm a total f---ing a--hole.'''

Perched atop a makeup stool in a Los Angeles photo studio, Wilson won't make any such claims about himself. Then again, he doesn't have to: He's got decency and all-Americanness written all over his face. With his slight Texas drawl, boyish, nonthreatening good looks, and laconic comic style, Wilson, 34, has built a steady career as the genial boyfriend, the befuddled Everyman around whom comic insanity erupts—in movies as varied as Legally Blonde, Charlie's Angels, Rushmore, and Old School. Now Wilson's starring in My Super Ex-Girlfriend as a man who discovers that the woman he's dating (Uma Thurman) possesses superpowers, including the ability to make him super-miserable when he tries to break up with her. Sure, it's another boyfriend part, but it's as high-profile as they come and gives the actor his best shot yet at joining the top tier of funnymen that includes buds Vince Vaughn and Will Ferrell, and his older brother Owen. (His summer comedy, You, Me and Dupree, hits theaters a week before Luke's.) ''In certain movies, Luke didn't get to do much,'' says My Super Ex's director, Ivan Reitman (Ghostbusters). ''But he has the comedy chops of the best of them. Whatever you imagine Owen has, Luke has the same stuff. He just doesn't have a broken nose.''

Wilson admits that the pressure of costarring in a major summer romantic comedy makes him ''a little uptight'': ''I didn't go to a couple of test screenings because I was nervous,'' he says. ''Finally Ivan called me and said to stop acting like...I won't say what he called me.''

If he needs some reassurance, he only has to scan his résumé: Wilson, who grew up in Dallas, owes his entire career to a bomb. The 1996 heist comedy Bottle Rocket, in which he costarred with his brother under the direction of Owen's college friend Wes Anderson, fizzled on its release. (But since then, it has become a much-loved cult classic.) After that tenuous start, Wilson began landing supporting roles, including the 1998 romantic comedy Home Fries, with Drew Barrymore, whom he dated. ''For a while, I guess that's what I was kind of known for,'' he says.

Meanwhile, Owen's career exploded with Shanghai Noon and Meet the Parents, and interviewers began digging around for hints of sibling rivalry. ''I would get the vibe that people wanted us to be competitive,'' Wilson says. ''I'd say, 'No, actually, we really are close and wish each other the best.' You could see that they weren't getting the sound bite they wanted.'' In fact, it's only been three years since the brothers last shared a house. ''People say, 'God, you guys must have had great parties!' And there was, like, not one party,'' he recalls of their early years in Hollywood. ''No girls. There was just a lot of sitting around, trying to figure out where to eat lunch, who was going to pay.''


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