Wilson Bethel Biography

Stephen Wilson Bethel was born on February 24, 1984, in Hillsborough, New Hampshire. His father, Stephen Bethel, is an artist, and his mother, Joyce Maynard, is a novelist. He has a total of eight siblings, and among them are stepsiblings, half-siblings, and adopted siblings. He has two biological siblings, a brother named Charlie Bethel and a sister named Audrey Bethel. Bethel’s maternal grandmother, Fredelle Maynard, was a Canadian-born journalist, born to Jewish immigrants from Russia.

Long before he ventured into acting, his mother, Joyce Maynard, wrote the national column ‘Domestic Affairs’ that encompassed the lives of her husband and children. It is believed that he was known to general audiences before he got famous for his roles. His mother is also known for writing novels such as ‘To Die For’ and ‘The Usual Rules.’

He officially stepped into acting in the year 2004, with a small role in the TV series ‘The O.C.’ (2004). He later stated that he had been fired from that show. Following this, he did small roles in series such as ‘The Jag’ and ‘NCIS’ in 2005. He took a break from acting from 2005 to 2008 to pursue other interests.

From 2009 to 2011, he appeared as a series regular in the ‘CBS’ soap opera ‘The Young and the Restless.’ His height (1.83 m) and good looks landed him a role in ‘1968 Tunnel Rats,’ a film based on the Vietnam War, which featured him as an ‘Army Special Ops’ soldier named ‘Corporal Green.’

He was cast as a series regular in the war miniseries ‘Generation Kill’ (2008), which featured him as a young marine named ‘Corporal Stafford,’ alongside Alexander Skarsgård. Around sometime in 2010, he auditioned for the role of ‘Captain America’ for the ‘Marvel Cinematic Universe’ (MCU) film ‘Captain America: The First Avenger.’ The audition required him to perform the full screen-test thrice, wearing the character’s costume. However, the role went to Chris Evans. He later stated that though it was the hardest time in his career, he was happy with Chris Evans’s justification of the character. In 2011, he was cast in the breakthrough role of ‘Wade Kinsella’ in ‘The CW’s ‘Hart of Dixie.’ His character was showcased as the neighbor and love interest of the main character, ‘Zoe Hart,’ and was immediately a fan favorite.

Since 2011, he has done a few small roles in series such as ‘Reception’ (2012), ‘Whose Line Is It Anyway?’ (2012), and ‘Treme’ (2013). He also appeared in ‘L.A. Rangers’ (2014) and ‘Bates Motel’ (2015). He also appeared as ‘Class A’ racing champion Ray Weishaar in the ‘Discovery Channel’ miniseries ‘Harley and the Davidsons’ (2016).

In an interesting turn of events, he finally got the opportunity to work with the ‘MCU’ in 2018. He played an ‘FBI’ agent/army veteran-turned-villain, ‘Ben Poindexter/Bullseye,’ in the ‘Netflix’ series ‘Daredevil.’ He stole the limelight with his acting prowess and showcased himself as the perfect villain for ‘MCU,’ receiving praises and acclaim from famous actors such as Charlie Cox and Vincent D'Onofrio.

He was the associate producer and writer of the short film ‘Rachel Bilson: Call Me Doctor’ (2012). He was also involved in the creation of the web series ‘Stupid Hype’ (2013), in which he also starred. He received the award for the ‘Best Actor’ at the ‘Aguilar de Campoo Short Film Festival’ (2014) for his role in ‘Inside the Box’ (2013).

He has also shared screen space with Joaquin Phoenix and Josh Brolin in ‘Inherent Vice’ (2014).

Lately, he has been cast as ‘Mark,’ a series regular, in the ‘CBS' legal drama pilot 'Courthouse.'

Some of his memorable roles are those of ‘Wade Kinsella’ in ‘Hart of Dixie,’ ‘Corporal Green’ in ‘Generation Kill,’ and ‘Agent Ben Poindexter’ in the ‘Netflix’ series ‘Daredevil.’

He is Jewish on his mother’s side. He has been rumored to have dated fellow actor Hassie Harrison, who appeared in the series ‘The Astronaut Wives Club.’ In his free time on the sets, he enjoys playing the guitar, which he learned in elementary school. He also loves hiking and going to the beach.

Apart from devoting his time to acting, he owns a restaurant chain around Washington named 'Fat Bethel Burger' and a football team named 'Hillsbourough Angels.' He has his own brand of vodka, ‘Pure Wonderbethel.’ He also has his own perfume, ‘With Love from Wilson,’ and his own fashion line, ‘Wilson Bethel Seduction.’

His favorite shows are ‘Breaking Bad’ (2008) and ‘Game of Thrones’ (2011).

He was ranked fourteenth and second on the ‘BuddyTV’ list of 'TV's Sexiest Men' for the years 2011 and 2012, respectively.

He still performs weekly as a DJ in Los Angeles and chases down new music, records, and mixtapes. He and his brother have a collection of over 25,000 vinyl records.

He once stated in an interview that he would have become an English teacher had he not been an actor.