In 2008, Wilkinson portrayed American polymath Benjamin Franklin in the HBO mini-series "John Adams". In the HBO film, "Recount", Wilkinson portrayed American political adviser and lawyer, James A. Baker, in Baker's capacity as Chief Counsel to George W. Bush during the 2000 U.S. Presidential Election, receiving an Emmy Award for the former and a nomination for the latter. He also received a Golden Globe Award and Screen Actors' Guild Award nomination for his role in "John Adams". He also portrayed Friedrich Fromm, Commander in Chief of the German Reserve Army, alongside Tom Cruise in the 2008 World War II thriller "Valkyrie".