Which of Owen Wilson’s acting roles has garnered him the greatest public recognition? Fans contact him about anything these days, he says PEOPLE, from “the Loki thing” (he plays Agent Mobius on the Marvel series) to the comedies Zoolander and Meet the Parents starring Ben Stiller.
“I did this thing with Spike Jonze, a skateboarding video,” he remembers now. “It was a collaboration.” “And that wasn’t even obviously a movie, but there are a lot of kids who skateboard as well as adults who come up about that,” the speaker said.
But Wilson, who is now 54 years old, is most appreciative of recognition for the picture that began his rise to prominence on the big screen: 1996’s Bottle Rocket. This was the first of many projects that Wilson and his college buddy Wes Anderson worked on together.
Wilson recounts, “I recently attended Willie Nelson’s 90th birthday celebration at the Hollywood Bowl, and I hear somebody go, ‘Ca-CAW,'” which is a reference to the bottle rocket. When I turned around, the other person was pointing at me. It’s wonderful to know that my movie, which bombed at the box office, still resonates with certain people three decades later to the point that they recognize me and say things like this.
Acting had never crossed Anderson’s mind as a potential line of work prior to the time when he wrote a college play with Wilson in mind, as he explains more. It was “faith or vision,” as Wilson puts it, that drove Anderson to cast him and his brother Luke Wilson onstage and subsequently film. Luke Wilson was also a part of this process. And if the director hadn’t seen that potential, he and Owen Wilson wouldn’t have gone on to direct eight critically acclaimed and commercially successful films together, nor would they have been nominated for an Academy Award for their screenwriting work on 2001’s The Royal Tenenbaums.
Ahead of his involvement in Disney’s upcoming Haunted Mansion remake, which will be released in cinemas on July 28, Wilson discusses some of his greatest recollections from the sets of previous movies in this article.
During their time as students, Anderson and Wilson started working together to write scripts. In 1994, they finished production on a short film named Bottle Rocket, and in 1996, they adapted the story into a feature-length picture. “It was him saying he wanted me and my brother Luke to play the characters,” Wilson recalls, “and, obviously, Anderson’s vision has only continued and strengthened” in the years afterwards. “It was him saying he wanted me and my brother Luke to play the characters.”
Wilson isn’t among the all-star cast of Anderson’s most recent entry, Asteroid City, but he tells PEOPLE that it’s a personal source of pride to see how successful the film is. Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums, and more instant classics followed.
“I was driving to a soccer game with my kids, and we see the billboard for Asteroid City,” the actor who is located in Los Angeles explains. “It’s sort of remarkable when I think, ‘Oh yes, that’s my [former] roommate!’ since his movies have such a distinct style. They are easily distinguishable as being his.
A grin spreads over his face as he continues, “I think the fact that there is such an audience and enthusiasm for that can make us feel good about the culture.”
Wilson adds that when he thinks of the action-packed buddy comedy he made with Jackie Chan, the image that comes to mind is of the two of them hanging out together during a night of shooting with Jackie’s stuntmen. “What comes to mind” There are nine other members of his stunt crew who have gone with him and assisted him in everything he’s done.
“They began playing this drinking game, which was extremely different from the ones we had played in college and the ones we had played growing up. Theirs seemed to have a great deal more vitality than ours. Wilson suggested to the film’s director, Tom Dey, on a whim, that they incorporate the drinking game in some capacity inside Shanghai Noon itself.
“So that ends up being in the bathtub scene between Jackie and I, we start playing a drinking game that we just lifted from what he was doing,” he continues. “We start drinking because it’s a drinking game that we just lifted from what he was doing.” “All I can really remember is sitting in these hot baths with soap because we wanted the bubbles… But what if you spent the whole day in soap? I don’t want to give off the impression that I’m trying to get hazard pay, if you see what I mean. On the other hand, I do recall it being one of the difficulties.
Was there genuine drinking that took place before the scenario was filmed? Wilson chuckles and replies, “There wasn’t.”
Wilson’s favorite part of the fan favorite Zoolander, which was written, directed, and starred in by Ben Stiller, will always be the same moment, according to what he has to say about it: “The dance-off!” The moment before the walk-off!”
In the scene in question, Stiller and Wilson portray rival models competing in a runway “walk-off” that is judged by David Bowie, who is playing himself in the comedy from 2001. This particular sequence is one of the most famous moments in the comedy’s satire of the fashion business. According to Wilson’s recollection, “My older brother Andrew is in the scene, and it was around the time of Fight Club.” Therefore, Ben insisted that he have his head shaved. Together with the well-known model, Tyson Beckford, he’s on my side.
Wilson recalls feeling “very self-conscious” with all of the dance-related activities since he is not a natural dancer. However, the last step is to make the commitment. In the end, I believe it to be one of the very fantastic sequences that the movie has to offer.
Wilson reflects on the making of the racy comedy from 2005, which also featured Rachel McAdams and Vince Vaughn, saying, “One of the first things that we filmed was at a church near where I used to live with Wes and Luke on Wilshire and Highland.”
“On set, they provided us with some bicycles, and Vince and I rode over to the concession stand to get some ice cream.” He continues by saying, “That was a fun experience.”
Wilson notes that Wedding Crashers is another movie that random people approach him to talk about. “Someone just showed me a picture from it, of Vince and I, where we’re obviously in full charm mode at a wedding,” the caption on the image said.
According to Wilson, “For Marley & Me, I remember how much fun I had working with director David Frankel.” “And Jen Aniston I just loved.”
During the filming of a sequence in Miami that did not include any conversation, Wilson’s own parents, portrait photographer Laura Wilson and public television executive Robert Wilson, played the roles of their son’s character’s parents. “What made it so humorous to me was that they didn’t understand that you weren’t going to hear us [during shooting the scene]; it was a long shot where you’re just going to be an image. They didn’t realize that you weren’t going to be able to hear us.
“So Jen is just being herself while we’re walking along, and because they do kind of want you to talk, she’s like, ‘So where are we having dinner tonight?'” And my mom thought…that she was actually asking her to have dinner that night, and so my mom answered, “Well, I think Owen’s already picked a place for us, but yes, that would be lovely if you joined us.”
Wilson, with a grin on his face, comments that this is evidence of the fact that “Jen is such a good actor.”
