Born:
November 18, 1968
in
Dallas, Texas
Best Known For:
His on-screen partnership with Ben Stiller.
Early-life:
Born Owen Cunningham Wilson on November 18, 1968, in Dallas, Texas, the son of an advertising executive and a photographer. His older brother Andrew and younger brother Luke are also actors. Owen admits to being a troublemaker as a teen - he broke his nose twice at school, and was expelled. He then spent two years in a military school in New Mexico, before studying English at the University of Texas. He had no plans to be an actor until he met Wes Anderson in a playwriting class. They co-wrote the short film Bottle Rocket, which Anderson directed and Wilson and his brother Luke starred in.
Career:
Bottle Rocket was so well-received, the writers were asked to turn it into a full-length feature. Although it wasn't a hit, it launched Wilson's acting career - his frequent collaborator Ben Stiller offered him a small role in The Cable Guy after seeing the movie. He went on to star in films including Armageddon, The Haunting, Shanghai Noon, Meet the Parents and Zoolander, although he gained more critical acclaim for co-writing Anderson's films Rushmore and The Royal Tenenbaums, for which he was Oscar-nominated. Since then, he's taken starring roles in Starsky and Hutch, Wedding Crashers, Drillbit Taylor, Marley and Me, Midnight in Paris and Hall Pass, as well as reuniting with Anderson for The Grand Budapest Hotel, Fantastic Mr Fox, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou and The Darjeeling Limited.
Quote:
"The image - being from Texas, the slacker, surfer thing - you don't think of that and see a worrier, an angst-ridden person, I know that."
Trivia:
He is a fan of Dallas-area professional sports teams, including the Dallas Cowboys and Texas Rangers.