--- name: "Trey Wilson" canonical: "https://film.one/person/trey-wilson" fi1m_id: "trey-wilson" imdb_id: "nm0934254" tmdb_id: 4039 wikidata_id: "Q2529777" roles: ["Actor"] born: "21 January 1948" died: "16 January 1989" reviewed_on_fi1m: 5 average_fi1m_score: 76 average_as: "actor" average_over: 5 updated: "2026-10-04T20:19:56.005881+00:00" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Trey Wilson ## Identity Trey Wilson - **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/trey-wilson - **Type:** Person - **Fi1m ID:** trey-wilson - **IMDb ID:** nm0934254 - **TMDB ID:** 4039 - **Wikidata ID:** Q2529777 - **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trey_Wilson, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2529777, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0934254/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/4039 Actor. Born 21 January 1948 in Houston, Texas, USA. Died 16 January 1989. ## Details - **Work:** Actor - **Born:** 21 January 1948, Houston, Texas, USA - **Died:** 16 January 1989 - **Active:** 1984–1990 - **Average Fi1m score:** 76, as actor, over 5 titles - **Fi1m score by decade:** 1980s 77 (4), 1990s 72 (1) - **Fi1m against the critics:** 77 to 67 across 3 titles - **Score spread:** 2 at 80+, 3 at 60–79, 0 under 60 - **Lead roles:** 0 of 3 acting credits billed first or second - **Genres:** Comedy 3, Crime 3, Drama 2, Mystery 1, Romance 1, Sport 1 - **Screen time:** 7 hours of reviewed films - **Box office:** $319m across 4 films with figures - **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trey_Wilson, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2529777, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0934254/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/4039 ## Streaming the US now - **Pluto TV:** [*Bull Durham*](https://film.one/film/bull-durham.md) (83) For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country. ## Fi1m on Trey Wilson > Trey Wilson's brisk, blustering delivery made him a valuable presence in ensemble comedies. In *Raising Arizona*, we admire how firmly he plays the harried furniture magnate, giving the farce someone who sounds accustomed to getting his way. Trey Wilson sounds as though he expects the matter to have been settled before he has finished speaking. In *Raising Arizona* (1987), his Nathan Arizona, Sr. is a furniture magnate, played with the brisk insistence of a man used to being in charge. The fast delivery gives the bluster its comic precision. We laughed at his exasperation because Wilson makes the affront to his authority feel so serious. It is a forceful contribution to Joel Coen's already noisy farce. His early film work included Colonel Nivens in *A Soldier's Story* (1984), before *Raising Arizona* and *Bull Durham* (1988) brought the breakthrough. Those parts suited his recurring speciality: men accustomed to authority and short of patience when it fails them. As Joe 'Skip' Riggins, the Durham Bulls' manager in Ron Shelton's film, he has a job that gives his exasperation a practical basis. The furniture magnate and the baseball manager both suit an actor whose voice can make a complaint sound like an instruction. The warmth of *Raising Arizona* belongs chiefly to Nicolas Cage and Holly Hunter, whose couple remains worth caring about despite the increasingly busy plotting. Wilson gives that warmth some useful opposition, with a figure whose manner is much less inviting. Bluster can become wearing, especially in a farce that already has trouble keeping its plotting level with its chases. What works here is the speed and comic timing, rather than simply the force of the performance. Coen makes good use of Wilson without needing to make him softer or more agreeable. In *Twins* (1988), the shady businessman Beetroot McKinley provided another supporting comic part. Wilson's film work was chiefly in character roles, and there is little reason to wish away that particular usefulness in favour of hypothetical leading parts. His voice and exasperation give us plenty to enjoy in the work he actually did. Start with *Raising Arizona*, and listen to how seriously he takes a man the film invites us to laugh at. ## Biography Trey Wilson was an American character actor. Born Donald Yearnsley Wilson III in Houston, Texas, he studied English and theatre at the University of Houston. He began his career on stage, appearing in Broadway productions including *Tintypes*, *The First*, *Foxfire*, *Peter Pan* and *The Front Page*. Wilson's film roles included Colonel Nivens in *A Soldier's Story* (1984), Lt. Murdoch in *F/X* (1986), Nathan Arizona, Sr. in *Raising Arizona* (1987), Skip in *Bull Durham* (1988), Beetroot McKinley in *Twins* (1988) and Sam Phillips in *Great Balls of Fire!* (1989). He also appeared in television series such as *Dallas*, *The Equalizer*, *Law & Order* and *Law & Order: Special Victims Unit*. Wilson died of a cerebral haemorrhage in New York City on 16 January 1989, aged 40. Several films released after his death, including *Miss Firecracker* (1989) and *The Silence of the Lambs* (1991), were dedicated to him. *Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com, nytimes.com.* ## On Fi1m (5) - *Law & Order* (1990), Fi1m 72, as Defense Attorney Eddie Cosmatos — [page](https://film.one/tv/law-and-order.md) - *Bull Durham* (1988), Fi1m 83, as Skip — [page](https://film.one/film/bull-durham.md) - *Twins* (1988), Fi1m 64, as Beetroot McKinley — [page](https://film.one/film/twins.md) - *Raising Arizona* (1987), Fi1m 84, as Nathan Arizona, Sr. — [page](https://film.one/film/raising-arizona.md) - *A Soldier's Story* (1984), Fi1m 76, as Colonel Nivens — [page](https://film.one/film/a-soldiers-story.md) ## Complete filmography (26) Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page. - *Law & Order: Special Victims Unit* (1999), series, as Bruce - *Law & Order* (1990), series, as Defense Attorney Eddie Cosmatos — Fi1m 72, [page](https://film.one/tv/law-and-order.md) - *Welcome Home* (1989), as Colonel Barnes - *Great Balls of Fire!* (1989), as Sam Phillips - *Miss Firecracker* (1989), as Benjamin Drapper - *Twins* (1988), as Beetroot McKinley — Fi1m 64, [page](https://film.one/film/twins.md) - *Married to the Mob* (1988), as Regional Director Franklin - *Bull Durham* (1988), as Skip — Fi1m 83, [page](https://film.one/film/bull-durham.md) - *The House on Carroll Street* (1988), as Lieutenant Sloan - *End of the Line* (1987), as Sheriff Maxie Howell - *Raising Arizona* (1987), as Nathan Arizona, Sr. — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/film/raising-arizona.md) - *F/X* (1986), as Lt. Murdoch - *Marie: A True Story* (1985), as FBI Agent - *Spenser: For Hire* (1985), series, Actor - *The Equalizer* (1985), series, as Peter Marstand - *The Protector* (1985), as Truck Driver - *Scandal Sheet* (1985), as Paul Brown - *A Soldier's Story* (1984), as Colonel Nivens — Fi1m 76, [page](https://film.one/film/a-soldiers-story.md) - *A Few Days at Weasel Creek* (1981), as Lester - *Tintypes* (1981), Actor - *Big Blonde* (1980), as The Playboy - *Three-Way Weekend* (1979), as Howard Creep · Producer, Original Music Composer - *Vampire Hookers* (1978), as Terry Wayne - *Dallas* (1978), series, as Johnnie - *What Really Happened to the Class of '65?* (1977), series, Actor - *Drive-In* (1976), as Gifford ## Gallery - ![Trey Wilson](https://film.one/media/person/118988/gallery-921b47278b74.jpg) Trey Wilson — Image via TMDB - ![Trey Wilson](https://film.one/media/person/118988/gallery-d1abc01bc5c9.jpg) Trey Wilson — Image via TMDB - ![Trey Wilson](https://film.one/media/person/118988/gallery-51166bd64f00.jpg) Trey Wilson — Image via TMDB --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/trey-wilson