We wrote the biography of actor Owen Wilson, who has been in the film and television industry for a long time, and has crowned his developing career with various awards.
His full name is Owen Cunningham Wilson, he was born on November 18, 1968 in Dallas, Texas. He was born to his Irish mother, Laura Cunningham Wilson, a photographer, and to an Irish father, Robert Andrew Wilson, an advertising executive and operator of a public television station. Wilson has two brothers, Andrew and Luke, who are both actors. Expelled from school for cheating on his geometry test, Wilson entered the New Mexico Military Institute. Later, he started studying with a bachelor's degree in English at the University of Texas at Austin, but could not graduate because he could not pass some courses. While in college, he met Wes Anderson, a director and collaborator, and the two became roommates.
In 1996, he appeared in Wes Anderson's crime comedy "Bottle Rocket" (1996) with his brother Luke and co-wrote the film with Anderson. Not being a commercial success, the film was able to garner praise from critics. Later, Wilson co-wrote the screenplay for Anderson's next two directorial debuts, the comedy "Rushmore"(1998) and the comedy-drama "The Royal Tenenbaums"(2001) with Anderson. Thanks to these films, the duo earned Oscar Award nominations for Best Original Screenplay.
That same year, Wilson co-starred with Jim Carrey and Matthew Broderick in the psychological thriller comedy "The Cable Guy" directed by Ben Stiller. The following year, he starred in the adventure horror movie "Anaconda" directed by Luis Llosa, with Jennifer Lopez, Ice Cube, and Jon Voight. In 1998, he appeared in a supporting role in the science fiction disaster film "Armageddon" directed by Michael Bay and in the supernatural horror film "The Haunting" directed by Jan de Bont.
In those years, Wilson took part in two more dramatic films. He first appeared in a supporting role in the independent drama film "Permanent Midnight," written and directed by David Veloz and starring Ben Stiller as a drug addicted TV writer. The following year, he co-starred as a serial killer alongside Janeane Garofalo in the Hampton Fancher-directed thriller "The Minus Man," based on a novel. The film was met with mixed reviews.
Wilson co-starred with Jackie Chan in the martial arts comedy action movie "Shanghai Noon" (2000), directed by Tom Dey. The film was a commercial success, grossing nearly $100 million worldwide. It also received positive reviews from critics. The following year, he starred with Ben Stiller and Will Ferrell in the comedy film "Zoolander" directed by Ben Stiller. Thus, Wilson's reputation continued to rise. In addition, the film was a success from both critics and the box office.
Noticing Wilson's performance in "Shanghai Noon", it was announced that Gene Hackman recommended that Wilson take the lead role in the 2001 action war movie "Behind Enemy Lines." Released in November 2001, the film received generally negative reviews from critics. However, it was a box office success with its production budget in return. Additionally, the movie kickstarted a direct-to-video film series. Also in 2001, Wilson and Anderson collaborated on their third feature, the comedy-drama "The Royal Tenenbaums." The film was both a financial and critical success. Additionally, the film earned the duo an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay.
The following year, Wilson returned to the buddy-comedy genre with "I Spy" (2002), the buddy spy action comedy film starring Eddie Murphy, a screen adaptation of the television series of the same name directed by Betty Thomas. Released in November 2002, the film received generally negative reviews and failed to meet the production budget at the box office. He later reunited with Jackie Chan in the sequel martial arts action comedy "Shanghai Knights" (2003). He later co-starred with Ben Stiller in the cop action comedy "Starsky & Hutch" (2004), a film adaptation of the 1970s television series directed by Todd Phillips. Released on March 5, 2004, the film garnered mixed reviews. But despite this, it was a commercial success, making $170 million worldwide against a $60 million budget.
Due to his busy work schedule as an actor and an ongoing sinus condition, Wilson was unable to collaborate with Steve Zissou on the script for "The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou," the fourth feature-length adventure comedy-drama film directed by Wes Anderson. The script was written with filmmaker Noah Baumbach, and the film was released on December 25, 2004. Unable to appear in his script, Wilson starred in the film as Bill Murray's son to be, Ned Plimpton, in a role specifically written for him. The film was a box office failure as well as receiving mixed reviews. The film, which gained a cult following within a decade of its release, is now viewed more favorably by both critics and fans. That same year, Wilson and his brother Luke played the Wright brothers in the action-adventure comedy "Around the World in 80 Days" (2004). The movie was a huge box office failure.
In 2005, Wilson co-starred with Vince Vaughn in the comedy film "Wedding Crashers." Released in July 2005, the film was both a commercial and critical success. It was the 6th highest-grossing film of that year. Also in 2005, Owen appeared with his siblings in "The Wendell Baker Story," a comedy film written by his brother Luke and directed by his brothers Luke and Andrew. The following year, he voiced the character Lightning McQueen in the Disney/Pixar animated sports comedy "Cars." That same year, he co-starred with Kate Hudson in the comedy film "You, Me and Dupree" directed by Anthony Russo and Joe Russo. The film, which received negative reviews, on the contrary, was successful at the box office. Later, he appeared with Ben Stiller as the cowboy Jedediah in the fantasy comedy "Night at the Museum".
Wilson has acted in many movies with Ben Stiller. Among them; its sequel comedy "Meet the Fockers"(2004), fantasy comedy "Night at the Museum 2: Battle of the Smithsonian"(2009), comedy "Little Fockers"(2010), "Night at the Museum: Secret of the Grave"(2014) and the action comedy movie "Zoolander 2"(2016).
The following year, he appeared in another Wes Anderson-directed comedy-drama film "The Darjeeling Limited," starring Jason Schwartzman and Adrien Brody. Screened at the 45th annual New York Film Festival and Venice Film Festival, the film opened on September 30, 2007. While it received generally positive reviews, it also achieved success at the box office. Wilson then had the lead role in "Drillbit Taylor," a comedy based on the story of Judd Apatow, which was released in March 2008. Despite all the mixed reviews, Wilson's performance was praised. That same year, he co-starred with Jennifer Aniston in the comedy-drama "Marley & Me" (2008), a film adaptation of John Grogan's bestselling memoir. Released on December 25, 2008, the film broke the biggest Christmas Day box office record ever.
In 2011, he co-starred with Jack Black and Steve Martin in the comedy film "The Big Year" directed by David Frankel and based on the book by Mark Obmascik. Released by 20th Century Fox in October 2011, the film received mixed reviews from critics and was a box office failure despite the starring lead roles. In the same year, he took the lead role as a nostalgic writer in the fantastic romantic comedy "Midnight in Paris" written and directed by Woody Allen. The film, which premiered at the 64th Cannes Film Festival, received great acclaim. He won a Golden Globe Award for his performance. The film was director Allen's highest-grossing film ever, and was also well received by critics.
Wilson is back to voice the character of McQueen in "Cars 2"(2011). In March 2012, Wilson was signed to star in the action thriller "The Coup" directed by John Erick Dowdle. Later, the title of the movie was changed to "No Escape" and he played the father of an American family with Lake Bell and Pierce Brosnan. Released in 2015, the film marked Wilson's first return to the action genre since 2001. The film, which was evaluated with mixed reviews, was successful at the box office. He also voiced the turkey Reggie in "Free Birds," Reel FX's first animated science fiction comedy movie.
In 2014, Wilson appeared in Wes Anderson's acclaimed ensemble comedy-drama "The Grand Budapest Hotel." He also appeared in the film adaptation of the book "Inherent Vice", a neo-noir mystery comedy film written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. The following year, he appeared with Jennifer Aniston in "She's Funny That Way," a crazy comedy movie directed by Peter Bogdanovich.
He later reprized his role as part of a large cast in the sequel, the action comedy movie "Zoolander 2" directed by Ben Stiller. Released on February 12, 2016, the film received mostly negative reviews from critics and grossed the equivalent of its production budget. In the same year, he appeared in the crime comedy "Masterminds" directed by Jared Hess, with Zach Galifianakis, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon, Leslie Jones and Jason Sudeikis. While it received mixed reviews from critics, it grossed the same for its production budget.
In 2017, Wilson reprized the voice of Lightning McQueen in the sequel "Cars 3". Despite being the lowest-grossing film in the series, it was successful at the box office. It received both positive reviews from critics and praise for its story and emotional depth. That same year, he played a suburban father in the drama film "Wonder" directed by Stephen Chnosky. Released on November 17, 2017, the film received positive reviews from critics. It also achieved a great success with the revenue it obtained in response to the production budget. Additionally, he appeared with Ed Helms in the comedy movie "Father Figures" directed by Lawrence Sher.
In 2021, Wilson co-starred with Salma Hayek in the comedy drama movie "Bliss" directed by Mike Cahill for Amazon Studios. Released on February 5, 2021, the film received mostly negative reviews. Later that year, he reunited with Wes Anderson for the anthology comedy-drama film "The French Dispatch", which premiered at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival. The film, shot with a large cast, was met with generally positive reviews.
In 2022, he appeared in "Marry Me," a romantic comedy-drama film directed by Kat Coiro for Universal Pictures and co-starring with Jennifer Lopez. The film, which received mixed reviews from critics, was successful at the box office. That same year, he appeared in the superhero comedy "Secret Headquarters" directed by Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman, with Walker Scobell, Jesse Williams, Keith L. Williams, Momona Tamada, Charles Melton and Michael Peña. The film was met with generally mixed reviews from critics.
Wilson currently stars as Mobius M.Mobius in the Marvel Cinematic Universe tv series "Loki" with Tom Hiddleston on Disney+. He has also signed on to star in the supernatural horror comedy "Haunted Mansion", a new movie adaptation of 'The Haunted Mansion'.
Personal life
Wilson, who attempted suicide in August 2007, was treated for depression at several different health centers. This incident resulted in unwelcome publicity for Wilson and has since declined to be interviewed. But 14 years later, in a 2021 article for Esquire magazine, he spoke about the suicide attempt and how he supported his brother Andrew during his recovery.
In January 2011, Wilson and his then-girlfriend, Jade Duell, gave birth to a son. The couple decided to end their relationship that year. Wilson had another son from Caroline Lindqvist in 2014. Four years later, he had a daughter as a third child from ex-girlfriend Varunie Vongsvirates in October. Wilson pays alimony on a monthly basis even though he has no relationship with his third child.
Wilson is a member of the comedy acting band fraternity popularly known as the "Frat Pack". In November 2017, Wilson became the face of a new advertising campaign for Sofology, the UK sofa retailer brand. After a long time, he returned to work with the Sofology brand for a second advertising campaign.