I’ve met Owen Wilson just once, when I interviewed him in 2004 for The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, and while I found him to be affable and charming (as many actors are during interviews), he was also serious and thoughtful, not at all like the grinning slackers he often plays. There’s a tendency to think we know what actors’ personalities are like based on the roles they gravitate toward, which is probably why so many fans were shocked to learn of his apparent suicide attempt on Sunday.
It’s just as easy to try and look back at his films, as USA Today does here, and see if there’s a pattern of warning signs we could have missed. Certainly, The Royal Tenenbaums (which Wilson co-wrote) stands out: the character played by brother Luke Wilson attempts suicide, while Owen’s character nearly destroys himself with drugs. There’s also Wedding Crashers, where Wilson spends most of the third act in a depressed funk, letting his life collapse around him. And there are projects like The Minus Man and Behind Enemy Lines that hint at a darkness that’s largely absent from his comedy roles. But again, speculation based on these movies can be as misleading as that based on his sunnier films.
The truth is, outside of Wilson’s family and close friends, the rest of us don’t really know what’s been going on with him; all we have so far are rumors and guesses, though I imagine he’ll feel compelled to tell the full story sooner rather than later. Inevitably, talk has turned to how this incident is affecting his career (he’s already had to drop out of a movie, one directed by frequent collaborator Ben Stiller), as if that were more important than ensuring he clings to life. Still, there’s a reservoir of good will out there for Wilson, since he’s not one of the stars who’s used it all up on previous scandals, so I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s pulling for him to get whatever kind of help he needs, and to take as much time off as he needs, before I start worrying about whether the jobs and the audience will be there for him when he does go back to work. I think they will; after all, even if we don’t really know Owen Wilson, we all seem to think of him as our pal.
Comments (1-30) of 70 Add your comment
I agree. It churns my stomach when I read a story about this and the reporter asks, “But how will this affect his career?”
I like OW and wish him the best, but I can’t stand when people get upset when reporters ask questions about his films. He is a star and he drops out of a film for any reason, the film may not get made or it may be postponed and the crew members, writers, directors, assistants, everyone involved doesn’t have that job they thought they would have. Just because something awful happened to him (which if he did try to commit suicide, he did that to himself but I won’t go there) doesn’t mean the world stops. Asking about his projects is a fair question.
Yeah, I think people aren’t really selfish enough. They need to just stop worrying about his mental health and more worried about when they can see Wedding Crashers 2! I mean, look at me! My parents are cousins and I don’t go trying to kill myself! It’s his own fault, and Ben Stiller should end their friendship for pulling out of his movie!
I agree 100% on the “reservoir of good will”/Wilson’s lack of previous scandals comment. I have tons of good will for him and am sending lots of positive thoughts his way. I don’t normally feel sorry for celebrities, especially ones like Lindsey Lohan and Britney Spears. But, for some reason, I’m feeling really sad for Owen. Maybe it’s because he seemed so low key. I also hope that he gets the help he needs and his and his family’s focus should be on that, not his work or potential work or what this might do to his work. Work should come second some one’s mental health. If we all lived that way, we’d be a lot more sane.
I have to agree with Junior on this. I mean, sure Owen & Ben have worked together before & I’m sure he’d loved to have done this film together as well, but regardless of whether Wilson attempted to committ suicide last weekend (which, I’m NOT making light of, AT ALL), the fact of the matter is simply, he is incapable of being in Hawaii this week for the shoot, since he is in a hospital recovering. So yes, clearly, his actions last weekend, prevent him from doing his job this week.
I know this story isn’t going away anytime soon & I’m at least glad that the Wilson family admitted Owen attempted suicide rather than some ridiculous excuse, but lets address the rumored cause: Kate Hudson. Sure she seems liked by all, but she married that Black Crowes creep years ago then wound up divorced when a cuter leading Hollywood man came along & now over the past few months, it appears Kate dumped Owen for a similiar looking actor, without the smashed in nose, Dax Shepard. Its gotta be rough!
I honestly hope that he just goes back to work – after a complete recovery, however long that may take – and never addresses what happened. It’s not our constitutional right to know. it’s Owen and his family’s private affair. so what if he is a “major” actor, it is none of our business.
Shooting movies in Hawaii are expensive, since like any movie shot on location, you’re trying to keep your budget down & get the movie done as quick as possible.
Oh, and here is my one light hearted joke about this entire matter…MAYBE IT WASN’T KATE HUDSON! Maybe owen Wilson FINALLY got so sick of hearing Sean Kingston’s “Beautiful Girls” on the radio all the time!! (That attempt at levity was intended to add some humor to a serious situation. I’m not that big of a jerk!)
I wish him a successful recovery.
If I were asked to compile a list of celebrities most likely to try to committ suicide (though I’m not sure why anyone would ask this), Owen Wilson wouldn’t have even cracked my top 500 and it wasn’t till I thought about it that’s it’s due to his screen persona and, to a lesser extent, the easy going charm he puts on to promote a project.
I was watching Wedding Crashers this past weekend right before this news broke and the scene where he’s comically suicidal (reading a book called “Don’t Jump”) now has become extremely morbid all of a sudden.
I also agree with Junior that, while the most important thing is for Wilson to solve whatever issues led him to apparently try to take his own life, people can’t just ignore how it affects his and other people’s (often multi-million dollar) livelihood.
I feel sorry for OW. I wish him well, and I hope he is able to recover soon. Having said that, I don’t understand how celebrities can screw up their life so bad when they have it so good. Sure, many people will argue that money, success, and fame do not guarantee happiness. Very true, but here is a newsflash: that’s already waaaaaaay ahead of the game than the average person. There are single mothers struggling to earn a living and taking care of their children, thousands of people living with terminal diseases, parents who despite working two jobs are unable to pay rent and bills. These are the people who have it bad and whose attempt at suicide would be somewhat understandable. An actor who gets paid millions of dollars per picture, not so much. I know I’m being extremely judgmental, but it makes me angry to know there are thousands of talented struggling actors, writers, and directors who would trade places with the Lindsey’s and Owen’s in a heartbeat but who never get the chance.
I think it is really sad what happened to OW. My first thought when I heard about his attempt was about the scene in RT when Richie tries to committ suicide. It made me wonder if it was Owen who wrote that scene and it kinda left me feeling a bit sick.
I wish him the best and look forward to seeing his new Wes Anderson film.
Jonathan, I had the exact same thought about Royal Tenenbaums. It was such a shocking scene in a movie that had been, up until that point, fairly light.
I agree with Gary’s comment about OW’s reservoir of goodwill. I also think that he just comes off in interviews and in movies as a good guy and a decent human being, so I have a lot of sympathy for him. Depression can hit anyone, regardless of financial situation or career success. I hope he gets the help that he needs and comes out OK. While I agree that it is the media’s job to put this event into a context, I’d hope they would be sensitive about it.
I also was shocked and sad to hear Owen Wilson tried to commit suicide because he always seemed like a pretty roll-with-it kind of guy in his films. I am glad that he or his camp is admitting what happened and I hope he gets the help he needs. This is a big reminder that all the money or the relationships in the world aren’t going to help someone who feels that lonely and isolated. I hope he can work this out and get back to acting, or sheep herding if that’s what he decides to do next.
To KingLouieXVIII: From the outside, it might appear that celebrities have it all, but they are celebrities, not superhumans!! One cannot judge the actions of another, especcially a person like Owen Wilson, when we don’t even know of the situation he is in. I have known some people in my (odrinary) life who commited suicide and it always come as a surprise, believe me!
I truly admire Owen Wilson, as an actor and as a person, and wish him well! Love.
I rarely post anything without humour, but this one really bothers me. I hope he gets the time and privacy needed to recover completely (and who gives a damn about having to skip a movie comittment after something like this?). Get well soon, OW.
King Louie, the fact of the matter is that celebrities are also just people, with problems just like the rest of us. Just because Owen Wilson is rich, handsome and famous doesn’t mean that he might not suffer from depression or other mental health issues. If he did have a breakdown or try to commit suicide, blaming him for messing up the Stiller movie when “there are thousands of talented struggling actors…who never get the chance” is a pretty cheap shot and devalues his suffering. A friend of mine is a realtor (and father of five) who just had a breakdown and is in the hospital, but nobody’s moaning that other realtors would like to own his business but don’t have that chance.
I was shocked by this. I hope he can get through this. His health and well being are more important than his career right now. I’m sure there are plenty of actors who will be willing to replace him in his upcoming projects. I think Ben Stiller ending his friendship over this would be wrong. I don’t believe in kicking somebody when they are down and he needs the people who are his true friends right now. Unfortunately it usually takes hitting rock bottom to find out who true friends are.
I wish him and his family well.
This is a very well-written article. I am an OW fan as well and sincerely hope he gets better. The last thing he needs to be worried about is his career; he needs to focus on himself for a while. I’m sure Ben Stiller understood this and has no hard feelings. It’s good that Owen has supportive family and friends.
So much of celebrity scandal nowadays reeks of “look at me!”, a desperate attempt for attention (I’m looking in your direction, Lindsay Lohan). With Owen Wilson being much more low key and scandal-free, I think people understand that this is an honest-to-God, very personal thing he’s going through. I know he’s got my sympathy and hope that we will all just leave him alone until when and if he ever wants to come back into the spotlight.
Obvs, the “junior (con’t)” is not me. I love when you post any viewpoint other than the opinion of the blog poster, you get ridiculed (if that’s what “my parents are cousins” was, I’m really not sure). I WISH OWEN WILSON THE BEST! My point was he’s not the only person in the world. Other people’s jobs can also be affected. Hopefully, the media will report on that (if it happens and it may not) in a respectful manner.
My sympathy goes out to Owen Wilson and his family. I hope he gets better and see no need for him to “go public” about what happened or how he feels about it.
The idea that Ben Stiller would end their friendship over Owen dropping out of a CAMEO in his movie (which is what it is) is ludicrous. The idea that Kate Hudson is somehow to blame . . . also ludicrous. And the idea that Owen “should” be totally happy because he’s had a successful career–well, that’s not logical. I think having career and material success can sometimes magnify personal problems, i.e., “I have everything, so why am I still not happy?”
Of course, I don’t know if that’s what happened with Owen, and I don’t want to know. I just hope he recovers.
First off I would like to say that the statement his publicist gave on Monday deserves a round of applause. Not many celebrity publicists would say that. On the other hand as a former journalist when you make that statement (especially after the Lindsay Lohan fiasco) you are holding out a great big sign that says “I’m hiding something”. Then the following day reports were flagging around that Wilson tried to commit suicide.
Now as a daughter of a woman who has attempted to commit suicide a few times, I can tell you that suicide is a big red flag for a numerous amount of problems. These problems not only affect the person involved, they affect their family members as well. Let’s just say that I never expected to be a 21 year old substitute mother to my 13 year old brother. I am glad that my mom is well, but I digress. Whatever Owen Wilson is going through, hopefully with therapy he will deal with his issues. Perhaps he should retire from acting and go back to writing.
“I love when you post any viewpoint other than the opinion of the blog poster, you get ridiculed”
Right, it’s always suppression of individuality. Never because of something mispoken or incorrect on the part of the commenter.
it is funny, as Gary says in his post, how we in the audience can feel like we have a relationship with Owen just from seeing his films. i guess that’s just a credit to his abilities as an actor and writer. i certainly wish him all the best and look forward to seeing him back on his feet again.
the wilson family deserves a lot of credit through all of this. instead of doing the popular thing and going straight to the nearest media outlet to ask for “help” for their “loved one” (hello amy winehouse’s parents), they have done what any decent family would do – circled the wagons and told the rest of us to mind our own business.
I wish Owen Wilson the best and hopes he gets the time he needs to fully recover. He seems to have a great support system and thousands of fans who want nothing but the best for him. I hope the outpouring of good will allows him to see this.
I wish the man well and that he has a speedy recovery.
But riddle me this. What reason could a blonde haired, blue eyed millionaire actor/ ladies man have to kill himself? Dude got to date Sheryl Crow and Kate Hudson. He hangs out with Vince Vaughn, knows Jackie Chan and gets to make movies with Ben Stiller. And it’s not like his movie career was showing any signs of trouble. Seems to me like he was living the life.
Sure, there was the breakup with Kate Hudson, but come on. Dude never got dumped in 38 years? Suicide over an ex girlfriend seems so “high school” to me.
I’m sorry, but didn’t this cat have any friends to speak to? He couldn’t afford a good shrink with his salary?
Really, I do wish Mr. Wilson a speedy recovery, but darn it if lots about this incident don’t bug me.
Maybe it is the feeling that Wilson has a “next door neighbor and good pal to have at the BBQ” quality about him we could all relate to.
No amount of money or fame can buy you happiness. And at the end of the day, no matter what your position in this world is, we’re all just ordinary people. This kind of thing, unfortunately, can happen to anyone. So I wish Owen Wilson all the best and hope for a speedy and healthy recovery.
Thinking about him and hope he gets better. We forget these people have whole lives and other sides to their personality that we don’t know. I’m glad he is still alive.
This seems like it’s entirely his own business and the business of his loved ones and not ours.
With that said, I do wish him well. I hope that if a female celebrity finds herself in the same situation everyone here will be as sympathetic and understanding.