by Sara R. Bradley

Created on: July 24, 2008

Owen Wilson- Comedic Actor Extraordinaire

When you watched the movie Armageddon in 1998, the blonde man who played the oil driller named Oscar Choi looked a little familiar. The same man that played Oscar happens to be the great comedic actor Owen Wilson. It seems as though after Armageddon hit the theaters, we started seeing a lot more of this brilliant blonde man.

Born on November 18, 1968, Owen Wilson was born and raised in Texas. He has two brothers, Andrew and Luke. After spending part of his education in a public high school in Texas and then a military academy in New Mexico, Wilson went on to The University of Texas at Austin where he majored in English.

In 1996, Wilson wrote a screenplay with his friend Wes Anderson. The two were able to get $5 million to make a feature film based on the screenplay. Bottle Rocket grossed $1 million. Following Bottle Rocket, Wilson moved to Hollywood with his brothers and Wes Anderson. The rest, as they say, is history.

Wilson had several roles in movies that were not very well received. Two of those unpopular movies were Anaconda in 1997, and then The Haunting in 1999. Needless to say, neither movie was a big box office smash. After Armageddon, Wilson began receiving movies roles that were more attention grabbing. Shanghai Noon, in 2000, was definitely the extra step up for Wilson.

Although Owen Wilson is an excellent actor with great comedic timing, his first passion is writing. He never intended to become an actor. He has co-written three previous films with Wes Anderson. Wilson said at one point, "Acting is more fun than writing. Writing is harder, more like writing a term paper." Sounds to me like Mr. Wilson enjoys the challenge of writing.

Wilson is known in Hollywood for his tendency to improvise. He tends to improvise quite often during filming. This is a fabulous trait to have and it obviously works to his advantage. He is just so darn good at it!

In August of 2007, Wilson attempted suicide at his home in Santa Monica. At the time of the attempt, Wilson was being treated for depression. Luckily, he received the help that he needed and it appears that he is well on his way to healing. After his hospitalization and treatment for depression, Wilson has made several appearances. One appearance was at the 2008 Oscars.

To catch Owen Wilson on the big screen again, stay tuned for his new movie Marley and Me. Marley and Me is expected to be released December 25th of this year. Night at the Museum 2: Escape from the Smithsonian is expected for release in 2009 and Cars 2, in which Wilson is the voice of Lightening McQueen, is expected for release in 2012.

References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Owen_Wi lson
http://imdb.com/name/nm0005562/bio

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