If comic superstar Owen Wilson ever decides that he’s finished with acting, he has a pretty decent second job lined up. The immensely talented comedian has co-written three screenplays for director Wes Anderson, and even earned an Oscar nomination for helping pen “The Royal Tenenbaums”. These dual gifts make Wilson a rare breed in Hollywood – a naturally gifted, unpretentious performer with skills in front of and behind the camera. With some of the most unique and intelligent comedies of the last ten years to his credit, Wilson and his cohorts have become an integral part of contemporary cinema.
Born November 18, 1968 in Dallas, Texas, Wilson is the middle child of three sons, all of whom are actors. Owen was a rebellious teenager, and in tenth grade was expelled from St. Mark’s School of Texas for stealing from a teacher. He eventually attended the University of Texas at Austin where he met aspiring director Wes Anderson, his future writing partner. Their first film together, the hilarious 1996 heist comedy “Bottle Rocket”, was originally a short that premiered at the 1994 Sundance Film Festival. “As Good As It Gets” director James L. Brooks loved it and offered Anderson $5 million to morph it into a feature. Starring Owen and his brother Luke Wilson, the film opened in 1996 to dismal box office returns, though with Anderson’s later success it has become extremely popular on video.
Regardless, Wilson was on the rise and quickly earned supporting roles in “The Cable Guy”, “Armageddon”, “The Haunting”, and “Permanent Midnight”, among others. Around this time he also co-wrote Anderson’s brilliant “Rushmore”, which was inspired by his experiences at the St. Mark’s School. One of Wilson’s most memorable roles came in 2001 with “Zoolander”, in which he played a vapid hippie model named Hansel opposite Ben Stiller. Due to Wilson’s frequent collaborations with Stiller, he has become associated with the ‘Frat Pack’ comedians, who also include Will Ferrell, Vince Vaughn, and Jack Black.
With the help of Jackie Chan, Wilson is also credited with the revival of the buddy comedy genre. 2000’s “Shanghai Noon”, a popular east-meets-west action-comedy, was arguably the root of Wilson’s stardom, and he followed with a string of similar films. These include the dismal “I Spy” with Eddie Murphy, “Shanghai Knights”, “Starsky & Hutch”, and the smash hit “Wedding Crashers”. Nonetheless, Wilson’s greatest performances to date are in two of Anderson’s films, “The Royal Tenenbaums” and “The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou”. Wilson’s unique comedic style is most notable in the former, in which he plays the bizarre drug-addicted cowboy-poet Eli Cash.
In addition to providing the voice of Lightning McQueen in “Cars”, Wilson is also starring in the summer comedy “You, Me, and Dupree” with Matt Dillon and Kate Hudson. Later this year he will appear in the ensemble cast of “Night at the Museum” and is reuniting with Vince Vaughn for 2007’s “Outsourced”.