Owen Wilson

Owen Cunningham Wilson (born November 18, 1968) is an American actor and screenwriter from Dallas, Texas. His older brother, Andrew and younger brother, Luke, are also actors. He has had a long association with filmmaker Wes Anderson, having shared co-writing and acting credits for Bottle Rocket (1996) and The Royal Tenenbaums (2001), which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, and for his collaborations with fellow actor Ben Stiller. The two have appeared in ten films together.

Wilson is best known for his roles in Meet the Parents (2000), Shanghai Noon (2000), Zoolander (2001), Shanghai Knights (2003), Wedding Crashers (2005), Night at the Museum (2006), Cars (2006), Marley & Me (2008), Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (2009), Midnight in Paris (2011), Cars 2 (2011) and The Internship (2013).

Early life

Wilson was born in Dallas, Texas, to photographer Laura (née Cunningham) Wilson and Robert Andrew Wilson, an advertising executive and operator of a public television station. He has an older brother, Andrew, and a younger brother, Luke. Both brothers are also involved in filmmaking. His family, originally from Massachusetts, is of Irish descent. Wilson attended New Mexico Military Institute and the University of Texas at Austin, where he pursued a Bachelor of Arts in English.

Career

After his film debut, Bottle Rocket, Wilson co-wrote with Wes Anderson the script for Anderson's next two directorial efforts, Rushmore and The Royal Tenenbaums, for which they garnered an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay. Wilson then landed a role in The Cable Guy, directed by Ben Stiller, an early admirer of Bottle Rocket. After appearing in minor roles in action films like Anaconda, Armageddon and The Haunting, Wilson appeared in two dramatic roles: a supporting role in Permanent Midnight, which starred Stiller as a drug-addicted TV writer; and the lead role (as a serial killer) in The Minus Man, in which his future girlfriend, singer Sheryl Crow, was a co-star. He made a cameo appearance in the Girl Skateboards video Yeah Right! in 2003.

Wilson got his big break with the 2000 comedy action film Shanghai Noon, starring opposite Hong Kong action star Jackie Chan. The film grossed nearly US$100 million worldwide. His fame continued to rise after starring alongside Ben Stiller and Will Ferrell in the 2001 film Zoolander. Gene Hackman reportedly took notice of Wilson's performance in Shanghai Noon and recommended the actor to co-star in the 2001 action film Behind Enemy Lines. Also in 2001, Wilson and Anderson collaborated on their third film, The Royal Tenenbaums, a financial and critical success. The film earned the writing team an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay.

Wilson returned to the buddy-comedy genre in 2002 with the action comedy I Spy, co-starring Eddie Murphy. This big-screen remake of the television series flopped at the box office. He then reunited with Chan to make Shanghai Knights (2003), and co-starred in the film remake of the television series Starsky & Hutch (2004). Due to his busy schedule as an actor and an ongoing sinus condition, Wilson was unavailable to collaborate on the script for Wes Anderson's fourth feature, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. The 2004 film was ultimately co-written by filmmaker Noah Baumbach. However, Wilson did star in the film as Bill Murray's would-be son, Ned Plimpton; a role written specifically for Wilson. In 2004, he and his brother Luke played the Wright brothers in the 2004 film Around the World in 80 Days.

Wilson partnered with Vince Vaughn in the 2005 film Wedding Crashers, which grossed over $200 million in the US alone. Also in 2005, Owen collaborated with his brothers by appearing in The Wendell Baker Story, written by brother Luke, directed by Luke and brother Andrew. In the 2006 Disney/Pixar film Cars, Wilson voiced Lightning McQueen, starred in You, Me and Dupree with Kate Hudson, and appeared with Stiller in Night at the Museum as Jedediah, the cowboy, an uncredited role.

Wilson has appeared in eleven films with Ben Stiller: The Cable Guy (1996), Permanent Midnight (1998), Meet the Parents (2000), Zoolander (2001), The Royal Tenenbaums (2001), Starsky & Hutch (2004), Meet the Fockers (2004), Night at the Museum (2006), and the sequels Night at the Museum 2: Battle of the Smithsonian (2009), Little Fockers (2010), and Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb (2014).

Wilson appeared in another Wes Anderson film, The Darjeeling Limited, which screened at the 45th annual New York Film Festival, the Venice Film Festival and opened September 30, 2007, co-starring Jason Schwartzman and Adrien Brody. Wilson next starred in the Judd Apatow comedy, Drillbit Taylor, released in March 2008. He appeared in a film adaptation of John Grogan's best-selling memoir, Marley & Me (2008), co-starring Jennifer Aniston.

The Darjeeling Limited, starring Wilson, Adrien Brody, and Jason Schwartzman was selected for a DVD and Blu-ray release by The Criterion Collection in October 2010. He provided the voice for the Whackbat Coach Skip in Wes Anderson's Fantastic Mr. Fox. He starred in the film The Big Year, an adaptation of Mark Obmascik's book The Big Year: A Tale of Man, Nature and Fowl Obsession. The film was released in October 2011 from 20th Century Fox and co-starred Jack Black, JoBeth Williams, Steve Martin, and Rashida Jones.

Wilson is a member of the comedic acting brotherhood colloquially known as the Frat Pack. His films have grossed more than $2.25 billion domestically (United States and Canada), with an average of $75 million per film. Wilson made a guest appearance on the NBC comedy Community with fellow Frat Pack member Jack Black. He starred as a nostalgia-seized writer in the romantic comedy Midnight in Paris, written and directed by Woody Allen. The film was Allen's highest grossing thus far, and was also well received by critics.

In March 2012, Wilson landed the leading role in the John Erick Dowdle Thriller The Coup. In the film he is slated to play the role of the father in an American family that moves to Southeast Asia, only to find itself swept up in a wave of rebel violence that is overwhelming the city. With this role, Wilson returned to the action genre for the first time since 2001's Behind Enemy Lines.

2014 saw Wilson reteam with Wes Anderson in the acclaimed ensemble comedy The Grand Budapest Hotel. The same year, Wilson was also part of the acting ensemble of Paul Thomas Anderson's book adaptation Inherent Vice.

Personal life

The 2002 release of the album C'mon C'mon by former girlfriend Sheryl Crow features the song "Safe and Sound", which is dedicated to Wilson in the liner notes and is said to be an autobiographical account of Wilson and Crow's relationship.

On August 26, 2007, Wilson was taken to St. John's Health Center for what was rumored to be a suicide attempt. He was then transferred to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. His lawyer confirmed that he had been undergoing treatment for depression.

A few days after his hospitalization, Wilson withdrew from his role in Tropic Thunder, which was produced by and co-starring his friend and frequent collaborator Ben Stiller. He was replaced by Matthew McConaughey. After his hospital stay, Wilson participated in limited publicity and promotion for his films.

In 2008, it was reported that Wilson and girlfriend, Kate Hudson, were planning to marry. However, they did not marry, but instead repeatedly broke up and got together again during 2008 and 2009 before finally breaking it off for good.

On January 10, 2011, Wilson's representative announced that Wilson and his girlfriend Jade Duell were expecting a baby. Four days later, on January 14, it was confirmed that Duell had given birth in Hawaii to a baby boy, Robert Ford Wilson. Wilson and Duell had ended their relationship by June 2011.

In October 2013, Wilson's representative confirmed that he was expecting a child with personal trainer Caroline Lindqvist, though they were not in a relationship and Lindqvist was in the process of divorcing her husband. Lindqvist gave birth to son, Finn Lindqvist Wilson on January 30, 2014.

Wilson is a fan of several Dallas-area professional sports teams, and has been spotted at Dallas Cowboys, Dallas Mavericks and Texas Rangers games.

Filmography

Film and television

Video games

Music videos

References

External links

• Owen Wilson at People.com
• Owen Wilson at the Internet Movie Database