Owen Wilson misses writing his own films now he works exclusively as an actor.
The star began his career by writing and starring in Bottle Rocket, a crime comedy directed and co-written by Wes Anderson.
Despite penning scripts for Wes’ hit films Rushmore and The Royal Tenenbaums, he has not received a screenwriting credit since the latter feature came out in 2001 – instead choosing to focus on his acting.
Asked in an interview with website Den of Geek if he missed writing, the Wedding Crashers actor said: “I do. Well, it’s more when people ask me that question, I say I do, but if I really missed it, I’d do it. But it’s a little bit more – compare it to that feeling of school, having a term paper that you keep putting off starting, then if you get in the flow it feels great – but I have been talking with a friend about some ideas and stuff.”
To help satisfy his desire to write, the star tries to contribute ideas to films he’s starring in, rather than simply turning up on set for his scenes.
“Maybe because I did begin as a writer, I’ve always found that directors are open to hearing new ideas, whether or not they use them, I’ve always felt encouraged to bring them,” he mused. “In fact, the couple of times that I haven’t felt that way has been a challenging work experience.”
Owen’s latest movie Wonder has been a critical and commercial success, and he and co-star Julia Roberts have won praise for their performances as parents of a boy born with a facial deformity.
And the actor says Julia helped him work on his character behind the scenes.
“It’s funny, Julia was talking about the shoes that she felt her character would wear, and I was like, ‘God, it never even occurred to me to think about the shoes. I’ve got to start doing more of that preparation,’” he recalled. “But then I was thinking, y’know, to be kind to myself, I do preparation in other ways.”
