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Owen Wilson has played a cowboy, a male model and more - but he wasn't sure he could play a pro golfer | CBC Arts

Published 8 hours ago3 minute read

Arts·Q with Tom Power

In an interview with Q guest host Gill Deacon, the actor explains how his real self tends to seep into his characters, whether that’s a serial killer or a wedding crasher.

Headshot of Owen Wilson.

Owen Wilson attends the Los Angeles premiere of the new Apple TV+ series Stick at AMC Century City 15 on May 29, 2025. (Getty Images)

22:18Owen Wilson’s childhood was a real-life buddy comedy

When you see Owen Wilson on screen, you can't help but root for his character, whether that's a misfit, a cowboy, a robber or a male model.

Across his career, Wilson has become known for playing characters who ooze with heart and charm. In an interview with Q guest host Gill Deacon, he says that's something he can't seem to get away from.

"It's funny that the other week, my son was asking me, 'Dad, have you ever played a bad guy?' And I was thinking, and I said, 'Well, yeah, I played a serial killer one time … but he was kind of a nice serial killer.'"

In his latest role on the new sports comedy series Stick, Wilson plays Pryce Cahill, an ex-pro golfer with a devastating past who ends up coaching a troubled teen prodigy.

At first, Wilson wasn't sure he could play a pro golfer because he had more experience playing sports like soccer and football when he was growing up.

"The big thing was that I had always been intimidated by golf because my dad was a very good golfer," he says. "So that was kind of the initial hurdle for me. It's funny because I've worked on lots of things where I didn't know how to do whatever I was supposed to be acting in. There was a movie where I was a saxophone player. Well, you know I didn't play the saxophone and I didn't feel like that was a problem. But for some reason with golf, the idea of playing a golf pro … that seemed like I couldn't do it."

Slowly but surely, Wilson says he was able to make progress by practicing on the golf course his dad used to play on in Dallas.

He adds that his close relationship with his two brothers, Luke and Andrew Wilson, is an important family dynamic that also tends to seep into his work. In some ways, his experience growing up as one of three boys was great homework for his future roles in buddy comedies, like Starsky & Hutch and Wedding Crashers.

"I'm just very familiar, I feel like, from growing up with brothers on the ways that you can sort of dig at other people … and say the things that drive them crazy, but also know the ways that are going to make them feel good," Wilson says. "A lot of that stuff is funny and so I think that I've drawn on that a lot just because I'm so comfortable in that dynamic."

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Interview with Owen Wilson produced by Catherine Stockhausen.

Vivian Rashotte is a digital producer, writer and photographer for Q with Tom Power. She's also a visual artist. You can reach her at [email protected].

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