On the 26th of August 2007, around 12:08 p.m, Owen Wilson was sent to the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
after sadly attempting to take his own life. "He almost did not make it." was the comment made on
the severe state he was found in. The actor who built his entire career on making people laugh
uncontrollably had spent his life battling demons. No one could've seen this coming
from the happy-go-lucky actor. It seems there was a much darker story behind all his comedic
lines and humorous "wow's." What could've possibly pushed the actor over the edge?
From feeling like an absolute failure to losing one of the most important people in his life,
Wilson has experienced more than just your average "bump in the road".
The only notable hump that the public has come to know about the actor is his trademark: the broken
nose. Wilson injured the famously crooked snout on two occasions. The first time it was caused by a
fight he had in high school, and he got it fixed afterward. But after he broke it the second time,
during some football fun with friends, the star decided it was a look he could definitely rock.
"You know, probably my nose wouldn't have been that great even if it hadn't been broken."
One thing that can be taken from this nose story is that Wilson is no stranger to rumbles
and tussles. He probably adopted that from his time in military school. You know – that
threat most American fathers make in movies to their rebellious son if he doesn't get in line?
Yeah, that was actually Owen's life, which his brother Luke says "defined Owen in a way."
His infamous schnozzle and attitude, that needed fixing,
were not the only broken part of Wilson. The rest was not visible to the eye.
These problems seemed to fade away for a while after he found someone to focus all
his attention on. The actor had fallen in love with his co-star, Kate Hudson,
from the hit comedy movie You, Me and Dupree. For a little while Wilson felt wanted and cared for
...but not for long. The couple went their separate ways after
Kate reportedly could not handle the actors erratic, drug-infused behavior.
And just like that, the star was alone, feeling rejected and left to face his demons on his own.
It's been speculated that Wilson had tried to numb pain through substance abuse in the past,
which landed him in rehab. But the one thing he may have struggled to numb,
was how quickly the woman he thought was the love of his life had moved on, just weeks after
their break up. Seeing photos of Kate and her new beau was enough to break the actor down.
After getting into a nasty brawl with a close friend,
the troubled actor was found in a bathroom, overdosed on pills,
and bleeding from his wrists. He was immediately rushed to the hospital.
Owens' family reportedly banned Kate from visiting him in hospital because
they didn't think she was, quote, "good" for him.
Meanwhile, rockstar, Courtney Love, blamed her ex-boyfriend for Wilson's
involvement with substance abuse - which allegedly
contributed to his downward spiral into his tragic self-harm incident.
"I went through this with Steve." Love shared, "I was just out of rehab,
and he was right there with the drugs. I tried to warn Owen. I tried to warn his friends."
Although friends were aware that Owen suffered from depression,
they were not aware it was chronic to this extent. They knew of his battle
with substance abuse and his attempt to take control of it - with one friend commenting,
"He has demons; on some level, he's managed them for years."
Polly Pratt, the producer of his debut feature, was shocked to hear that Owen
had gone as far as trying to take his own life. However, she was aware of his bouts of sadness.
"Oh, he has a dark side, definitely." she just
didn't think it was to the degree of putting his own life in danger.
Pratt must've come in contact with this side of Wilson after the release of the
actor's first film, Bottle Rocket – which was, unfortunately, a box office bomb.
The terrible reception it received caused the rising star, at the time,
to feel like a failure and a disappointment, which seems to be one of his biggest fears.
Perhaps it has something to do with the trauma he experienced as a child.
Failing his parents by not being an obedient boy and being sent away to military school,
that he may have taken as some sort of punishment. Because when he couldn't take the humiliation of
his first film flop, the devastated star heavily contemplated enlisting into the marines. As though
the idea of being isolated from the things you love helps you feel like less of an underachiever.
"If a movie goes south, it might not capsize me the way it used to.
But I still have a terrible fear of failure. I'm a huge worrier," the star shared.
Although depression is not physically visible, Wilson seems to have recovered
from his near-fatal tragedy. We hope the actor is taking care of his mental health. Still,
emotional breakdowns were not the end of Wilson's struggles.
In 2015, he opened up about the disease his old man had been battling with,
Alzheimer's. Although the condition started mildly, it slowly worsened right up to his death.
Wilson looked up to his dad, who was a giant figure to him and his brothers,
Luke and Andrew. Not only in life but in their acting careers too.
The comedy actor says he owes his success to his late father, "the charter member of the
'Three Nine Seven Zero Club,' which stood for; three sons, nine high schools, seven colleges,
zero degrees." However, even without having studied drama, Owen says his education was
mostly influenced by his parent's sense of humor and their "creative friends."
And although he was initially embarrassed about his debut film, in which he starred alongside
his brothers, there was one person who couldn't be more proud of his sons. The late Mr. Wilson
kept his very first tickets for Bottle Rocket in his wallet. Now that sounds like a very
proud dad. And it must've been painful for the star to lose such an amazing support structure.
With such a great bond between him and his old man, you would think that the actor would be
a great father figure. And to some extent, he has proven to be one. But this grace is
only extended to his sons. He shared a cute video on the Ellen show of his youngest son
jumping into the pool - saying that his Jackie Chan-inspired tricks might land
the little fella in the stunt man business. And you can always catch him spending time with the
two boys. But what about his baby girl? Did anyone even know the actor had a daughter?
Before baby Lyla was welcomed into the world, the actor was not receptive to her potential
existence. The story was not secret from the public after the actor revealed Lyla's mother
had served him with a paternity claim. The actor voluntarily went ahead with
the test that proved that he was indeed the father. However, after finding out
that he is responsible for the little one's existence, he was not so cooperative anymore.
A source shared that Wilson, quote "refuses to meet his daughter…
He even checked the no visitation box in court in June... He does not want
to visit [and does not] want any custody of her."
But WHY? That is the question we are all still asking ourselves.
What could the innocent baby have possibly done to deserve this treatment from her dad?
Does it have anything to do with her being a girl? Because he seems to have had no problems
whatsoever being a doting dad to his boys – even his second son, who was birthed by a woman he was
not involved with at the time. OR… did something terrible happen between him and the mother?
The irony is that the pair had even walked the red carpet together,
before the news of pregnancy, for the actor's film Father Figures.
Wilson's dissatisfaction with taking care of another child came after his girlfriend at the
time told him she was pregnant with baby Lyla. The star expressed that he did not want her to
go through with the pregnancy. When they were at odds about the new life they had created, the
unwilling father went M.I.A, allegedly changing his number and not giving her a heads up about it.
He has not made contact with any of them since.
But just look at this picture of him as a baby, and now look at this shot of baby Lyla.
Doesn't she look like a miniature Owen Wilson? They are even making the same face.
Now, that is definitely a sign that the actor should put whatever differences he
has with the mother aside and meet his little bundle of joy!
His daughter is not the only one who has been deprived of the actor's presence.
Amidst all the baby mama drama, we seem to be seeing less of the actor's face on the big screen.
With his personal life falling apart, the actor has started paying less attention to his work,
possibly making directors reluctant to work with him.
His college roommate, Wes Anderson - yes, as in THE WES ANDERSON, world-class director
of gems like The Grand Budapest Hotel and the much anticipated The French Dispatch,
was desperate to cast someone for his first movie and his roomie, Owen,
was the perfect fit. But years after they've both become successful,
Wilson's long list of hit movies has fueled the actor's ego a little too much.
Anderson began noticing a difference in his friend during a rehearsal where Wilson had clearly not
learned his lines. After Wes suggested that Owen should've just memorized the lines, he got
"Wes, this is my seventh movie. This is the way I do it." as a response.
Well, we hope the actor finds some solace in his personal life and remembers that
the love and support he receives is from the heart, and he shouldn't let it go to his head.
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