Owen Wilson on How Brother Helped Him Bounce Back From Suicide Attempt
Written by SOURCE on August 19, 2021
Owen Wilson spoke openly about bouncing back from his 2007 suicide attempt in an extensive profile that was published on Wednesday in Esquire.
In the piece, titled “Owen Wilson Is Doing Great, Thanks,” the 52-year-old spoke about dealing with (and waiting out) depression, comparing it to Tom Hardy’s character in The Revenant.
“Sometimes life seems to be played by Tom Hardy in The Revenant, some nightmarish guy trying to kill you,” the Loki actor told the writer, “where even if you get the upper hand he’s still going to be there at the end whispering, ‘This ain’t gonna bring your boy back’ or your dad back or any good times from your past back. Or whatever. And when life’s being played by that guy, you just gotta hang on and wait for it to pass.’”
In August 2007, Wilson was found by his brother Luke after a suicide attempt. He was subsequently rushed to a hospital.
To Esquire he said that in the aftermath of that distressing ordeal his other/older brother Andrew was instrumental. “[Owen] doesn’t talk much about his own close encounter with death,” writer Ryan D’Agostino notes, “but he does tell me that Andrew stayed in his house with him after that, rising with him each morning and writing up little schedules for each day so that life seemed at first manageable and then, at some point, a long time later, actually good.”
Wilson himself added that the concept of death “landed with me when I was about 11.” He called back to a talk he had with his dad about the subject at that time. “I remember exactly where in the house—saying, ‘I worry about dying,’ and seeing my dad turn away and catch himself,” he said. “And I was surprised to see that reaction. But who knows, maybe that was part of why I said it.”
The cover story is not nearly all gloomy topics stemming from the lowest point of Wilson’s life. As one may have gathered from the title, the Wedding Crashers/Cars/Zoolander/French Dispatch (take your pick) actor talked about how he’s currently riding a wave of feeling appreciative.
“I’ve been in sort of a lucky place of feeling pretty appreciative of things,” he said. “I know everything’s kind of up and down, but when you get on one of these waves, you’ve gotta ride it as long as you can. I’ve just felt—yeah. Feeling pretty grateful. Well, grateful’s one of those words that get used all the time. Appreciative. Of, you know, stuff.”
He also spoke about his career, getting an ominous text after accidentally revealing Loki spoilers, fatherhood, and more. You can read the full interview here.
