Owen Cunningham Wilson is an American actor known for his subtle humor and quirky roles. He has a long association with filmmaker Wes Anderson, with whom he shared writing and acting credits for Bottle Rocket, Rushmore, and The Royal Tenenbaums, the latter of which earned him Academy Award and BAFTA Award nominations for Best Screenplay. But did you know that Wilson frequently said the word “wow” in all of his films?
Owen Wilson has used the word “wow” in 27 different films. Wilson, who has appeared in 52 films, statistically says “wow” in 51.9 percent of them. Wilson uses the word “wow” 81 times in these 27 films.
Who is Owen Wilson?
Owen Cunningham Wilson was born in Dallas on November 18, 1968. He was the middle child of three sons to the photographer Laura Cunningham Wilson and advertising executive and public television station operator Robert Andrew Wilson. Andrew and Luke, his brothers, are also actors.
He went to New Mexico Military Institute, among other places. He later attended the University of Texas at Austin, where he majored in English but did not graduate. He met and shared a room with the director and frequent collaborator Wes Anderson while in college.
Wilson attempted suicide in August 2007 and was treated for depression at Los Angeles’ St. John’s Health Center and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Wilson resigned from his role in Tropic Thunder, which was produced by and co-starred his friend and longtime colleague Ben Stiller, a few days after his hospitalization, and was replaced by Matthew McConaughey. Wilson has been wary about doing interviews since the incident since it resulted in a lot of adverse attention for him.
Wilson and his then-girlfriend Jade Duell welcomed their first child in January 2011. Later that year, Wilson and Duell called it quits. Caroline Lindqvist gave birth to Wilson’s second son in January 2014. In October 2018, he and ex-girlfriend Varunie Vongsvirates welcomed their third child, a daughter. (Source: Britannica)
Why Did He Start Saying “Wow” So Often?
Since saying wow in his feature film debut in 1996’s Bottlerocket, Wilson has gone on to say the word in 27 different films. Wilson, who has appeared in 52 films, statistically says wow in 51.9 percent of them. This frequency highlights why Wilson is so closely associated with the word, but it becomes even clearer when the staggering number of times he’s said wow is taken into account. He uses the word wow 81 times in these 27 films. Midnight in Paris holds the record for the most wows in a single Wilson film, with him saying it seven times.
Wilson’s use of wow has become ubiquitous, but it is not his only catchphrase. He can also be heard frequently saying you’re crazier than a road lizard, which is unmistakably more original for Wilson, but only true fans of his may have picked up on the repeated use of this phrase as well. Between wow and his other catchphrases, viewers will need to keep an ear out for when he says them again in Loki Disney+ or any of his other upcoming projects. (Source: Screen Rant)