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OWEN WILSON on 'YOU, ME AND DUPREE'
Contributed by Michael J. Lee, Executive Editor
for Radio Free Entertainment
June 23, 2006
In the comedy You, Me and Dupree, newlywed Carl (Matt Dillon) invites his unemployed friend Dupree (Owen Wilson) to stay with him and his wife Molly (Kate Hudson) until he can get back on his feet. But despite his amicable nature, Dupree quickly wears out his welcome, putting a strain on the couple's new marriage. Faced with an estranged wife, an aggravating houseguest, trouble at work, and a father-in-law (Michael Douglas) with a grudge against him, Carl snaps, compelling Dupree to get his act together so that he can help his lifelong pal.
In this interview, Owen Wilson talks about the making of the movie--from basing his earnest character on a dog to being one of the "judges" in the Kate Hudson swimsuit parade.
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The Interview
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MEDIA: We heard that you're frequently on your Blackberry. What kind of work do you do on it?
OWEN: You know, I get criticized for being on my Blackberry, especially from my girlfriends, like, "You're more interested in that than having a good conversation!" But I will say in my defense that I feel like I do sometimes write down good ideas or funny stuff--ideas for scenes and stuff. But, sometimes I'm just on there just BSing.
Did you base your character of Dupree on anyone in particular?
Well, part of Dupree definitely was kind of a little bit like this Dalmatian that we had when we were kids, that my parents got us, named Nutmeg. And this dog was just insane and, like, tore up everything. And my parents wanted to send it to "go live on a farm"--that's what they were telling us--where it would have more space. And we were crying "Nooooo!" And finally my parents began to sort of fall in love with the dog. And Dupree has a little bit of that quality.
So you modeled your role after a dog...
That was the inspiration--some of our family dogs growing up.
How was the chemistry on the set?
It seems like every movie I'm in, if you're in it with another person, they're always talking about the chemistry. And it just seems to be based on if the movie does well. So "you and Vince [Vaughn] have great chemistry!" but "you and Eddie Murphy, your chemistry wasn't so good!" But all I know is that when Eddie and I were working, we had a great time together, and we were really laughing a lot. And for whatever reason, the movie just didn't quite play or connect. But I think it's probably just enjoying the people that you're around and being able to kind of play off them. And I know with Kate...I think the reason why Matt and I liked her, and why the crew loved her, is Kate is very easy to get laughing, and she's always kind of smiling, so you feel like, "Wow, I'm really on fire today!" And then you realize that she's like that with like the prop master and the caterer, and she kind of makes everybody feel like they're great. And, it doesn't hurt that she's super pretty.
David Spade recently did a joke about Ashley Simpson getting asked for your autograph. Ever get that kind of mix-up?
[laughs] No, that has never happened to me, but people will [confuse me with my brother] Luke sometimes. I don't think we really look alike. Or maybe just being from Texas, they'll sometimes confuse me with another Texas person. But I would say that would be the main thing I would hear is people calling me Luke.
Would you say that you and Luke are competitive with each other in terms of the movie business?
We'll stand out on the beach and throw rocks at a post for four hours and get in screaming matches, but I think we've never been competitive about this stuff, because I think it's the feeling that like, "Well gee, if Luke does really well, I know I can always get him to be in a movie with me." So it's kind of hoping that a rising tide lifts all boats.
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Kate Hudson noted that "there's a lot of...naked in this movie," and most of it is from you...
Yeah, there is. I was thinking [about] that scene where I kind of run out of the house and I'm practically naked, I'm just kind of covered by those pillows....Yeah, this might be one that I should give [my mother] a little heads up on, that she might want to go see Cars for the second time.
Are those kind of scenes embarrassing for you?
Yeah, there's a lot of embarrassment. [laughs] Believe me, there was other shots they had in there that I was like, "No, we're not putting that in." People would say like, "Was it hard not cracking up doing a scene where I have the sock and there was an adult-themed movie playing?" And I was like, "No, it was really embarrassing." So it worked for the character, because you've got all the crew standing around and teamsters and stuff, and there you are kind of simulating something that is probably not meant to be simulated in front of fifty people.
How many different swimsuits did you guys make Kate try on for the scene on the boat?
Probably about 73. And they were all good. Yeah, that was a fun day!
What's your take on Dupree's constant optimism about life and love?
Well, that's what I think is kind of nice about Dupree, is that he kind of maybe wears out his welcome, and he doesn't have a job, and he rides around on a bike, but he's not like a cynical, kind of jaded slacker. He's got this sort of (you know, like we were talking earlier) Labrador kind of enthusiasm.
Ever had to struggle to "win the girl back" like Dupree does at one point in the movie?
Oh, yeah. I've definitely had to try to kind of win a girl back, and all of a sudden, you're like sending flowers and you're pretending that there's nothing you'd rather do on a Sunday than go antique shopping. You know, drive to Pasadena and hit the flea market. [laughs] And usually that relationship doesn't last because there's only so long that you can fake that.
Write any poems, Dupree style?
I've probably pawned off some poems as my own that I got from like a song lyric, yeah.
Given the chance, would you like to take a shot at a character who plays it straight, rather than the guy who brings the broad comedy?
Yeah. Well, I definitely could identify with a lot of Carl's feelings and the lines that he says. And when I originally kind of started working on the script with the writer, I did think of myself as maybe playing Carl. And there was a possibility, at one point, that I was going to play Carl. And I think I could have definitely related to some of the stuff that he goes through. But I think everybody [has] either experienced a Dupree or been a Dupree. And in my case, I've had both.
Could you see yourself playing someone less funny, more sinister?
Yeah. I think it would be fun to play. I saw Robin Williams in this movie Insomnia, and he's like a killer. And I was like, "What is Mork doing? This isn't right!" I would like to do that also, but I wonder if people would have a problem with it. I think that I could probably pull something off like that if given the chance...I would definitely like to do a movie where the burden wasn't to get big laughs in kind of like set pieces. I think it would be nice to do a movie that had funny stuff, but it was more sort of from the characters. Like I loved that movie Sideways. And that has really funny stuff, but it has a lot of emotional stuff. And I think that [writer/director Wes Anderson] and I tried to do that in some of the scripts that we worked on. But I can't imagine ever doing a straight, serious movie that didn't have anything funny in it, because I don't think life is ever really like that. Even in Raging Bull, the scenes between De Niro and Joe Pesci...Some of those are hilarious.
Wait a sec...You've played a serial killer before, yes?
[laughs] Yeah, I did play a serial killer [in] The Minus Man...That's actually the only part that I've ever gotten from auditioning. So I don't know, maybe I was able to tap into my inner psycho, I guess, and land that part.
Thanks for your time.
See ya!
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