Owen Wilson is arguably one of the most well-known names in the comedy genre. While his roles as of late have diverged into other genres, Wilson will always be remembered for his comedic films. In fact, most of his best performances stem from his comedic roles in films and franchises like Zoolander, Wedding Crashers, and Meet the Parents. He is a frequent collaborator of filmmaker Wes Anderson and has formed strong working relationships with comedic actors like Vince Vaughn and Ben Stiller.
Updated May 11, 2023: This article has been updated to include more Owen Wilson movies and to reflect recent developments in his career.
2023 is set to be a busy year for Wilson. His film Paint has already been released in theaters, and he is one of the stars of the upcoming Disney film Haunted Mansion set for release on July 28, 2023. Wilson will also reprise his role as Mobius in season 2 of Loki, which will air sometime in 2023 after being teased in the end-credits of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Wilson has also teased a possible Wedding Crashers sequel. With all that in mind, here are Owen Wilson's best comedy movies, ranked.
15 The Internship
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The Internship reunites Wilson and Vince Vaughn as the pair take on internship roles at Google. The two were originally sales associates who found their careers obsolete thanks to the impending digital age. To prove they are not obsolete, they talk themselves into a coveted internship position with Google, where they are surrounded by young, tech-savvy individuals who are all competing for a shot at employment once their internship has been completed. Fish-out-of-water stories always have the potential to be hilarious, and mixing that with Wilson's comedic style makes for a movie with plenty of laughs.
14 Night at the Museum
Night at the Museum is one of many collaborations between Owen Wilson and Ben Stiller. In this film, Stiller's character Larry takes on the role of a night security guard for the Museum of Natural History. Much to his surprise, he finds that the museum and its exhibits come to life at night.
Wilson plays Jedediah, a wild west miniature who is constantly trying to battle Octavius (Steve Coogan), who is a Roman general. All three actors play off each other so well, with Wilson giving his miniature character a larger-than-life personality. Wilson reprised his role in the two sequels, 2009's Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian and 2014's Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb.
13 Fantastic Mr. Fox
Owen Wilson voices Coach Skip, a minor character in the stop-motion animated film by Wes Anderson, Fantastic Mr. Fox. In the story, Mr. Fox, voiced by George Clooney, must adjust to a new lifestyle when he and his wife have a child. They eventually take in another kid, and Wilson's character is the whack-bat coach for the two of them. Although his role in Fantastic Mr. Fox may not be a large one, it is hard to deny that Wilson's signature voice adds a lot to the humor of the scenes he is in.
12 The French Dispatch
The French Dispatch is a 2021 film set in a fictional 20th Century French city. In this city, a magazine entitled The French Dispatch has just lost its editor, who recently died. In his will, he requests that the publication of the magazine be suspended. From this opening scene, the movie goes off into four segments that represent four magazine pieces. In the film, Wilson plays Herbsaint Sazerac, a character that is found in the Cycling Reporter segment. The bizarre concept is a playground for actors like Wilson to have plenty of fun.
11 Shanghai Noon
Wilson stars alongside Jackie Chan in Shanghai Noon, a 2000 martial arts western comedy. Shanghai Noon is a great mix of martial arts movies, westerns, and buddy cop comedies. Wilson plays a western outlaw named Roy O'Bannon, who teams up with Chan's character, a Chinese Imperial Guard name Chon Wang. Shanghai Noon was a box office hit and earned positive reviews from critics. While its 2003 sequel Shanghai Knights, was a disappointment, fans are still hoping one day to get a third film with Chan and Wilson reprising their roles.
10 The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
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In the comedic film The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, Wilson plays Ned Plimpton, a pilot who claims to be Steve Zissou's (Bill Murray) unknown son. Steve is a famous oceanographer who puts together a team to seek revenge on a tiger shark, who, in turn, killed his friend while the pair were making a documentary. Ned joins the revenge team along with a journalist and Steve's estranged wife. Another film with a strange concept, it goes without saying that casting Murray and Wilson together sells this comedy.
9 Cars
Wilson stars as Lightning McQueen in the 2006 Disney Pixar film, Cars. Lightning McQueen is a rookie racecar who finds himself stranded in the small town of Radiator Springs while on his way to the biggest race of his life. While he is stuck in the town until he repairs the road damage he caused, he learns that sometimes life is best when you slow down and leave the fast lane.
Wilson went on to reprise his role in the subsequent films and animated shorts, firmly cementing him as the one and only voice of the iconic Lightning McQueen. He also reprised his role in the 2022 Disney+ series, Cars on the Road. The Cars franchise doesn't seem to be going away anytime soon, and it's hard to deny that Wilson's performance played a big part in making Cars one of Pixar's most iconic movies and McQueen one of the best Pixar characters of all time.
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7 The Darjeeling Limited
Owen Wilson steps into one of the lead roles in Wes Anderson's 2007 film, The Darjeeling Limited. The movie sees Wilson play Francis, the older brother to Peter (Adrien Brody) and Jack (Jason Schwartzman), who organizes a family trip for them across India to reconnect as brothers. Wilson's character is the overbearing brother who tends to speak for the family, much to his younger siblings' annoyance.
The Darjeeling Limited, like Wes Anderson's other films, is a more dry comedy as opposed to some of Wilson's more mainstream attempts like Starsky and Hutch or Drillbit Taylor. The Darjeeling Limited is still a hilarious film that Wilson can show a bit more of his dramatic side in.
6 Meet the Parents
Meet the Parents is yet another film in which Stiller and Wilson team up to share their comedic backgrounds together. In this film, Wilson plays the ex-boyfriend and favorite of the father whom Stiller's character, Greg, needs to impress so that he can propose. Naturally, the father is not an easy one to impress, and the entire visit is every date's worst nightmare. Robert De Niro stars as Jack Byrnes, aka the father, topping off a top-notch cast.
5 The Royal Tenenbaums
The Royal Tenenbaums centers around the dysfunctional Tenenbaum family. Wilson plays Eli Cash, the Tenenbaum's neighbor, who has always wanted to be part of the family. Eli is also Richie's best friend, and in the film, Richie is played by Wilson's real-life brother, Luke Wilson. As if acting was not enough for the star, Wilson also helped to write the script for the movie, which earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay. Wilson's role as Eli Cash is both incredibly funny but also features hints of sadness.
4 Zoolander
Zoolander is arguably the best collaboration between Wilson and Ben Stiller. In this almost-ridiculous film, the pair play self-obsessed models. Derek Zoolander (Stiller) is at the end of his career thanks to hot newcomer models like Hansel, who had just stolen what would have been Derek's fourth VH1 Male Model of the Year Award.
While suffering from his loss, a fashion czar named Mugatu (Will Ferrell) offers him an opportunity to reinvent himself. Unfortunately, this ends up being a trap, one in which Derek finds himself brainwashed to kill the Prime Minister of Malaysia. Stiller and Wilson both seemed to have a lot of fun with their roles, and their comedic energy is infectious.
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2 Wedding Crashers
In perhaps one of his most famous comedic roles, Wilson plays a wedding crasher named John in the aptly titled Wedding Crashers. Alongside his fellow womanizer, Jeremy, played by Vince Vaughn, the pair frequently crashes weddings in order to hook up with the women there. After one of the weddings, the team finds themselves at odds with one another after John breaks one of the wedding crasher rules and falls for Claire (Rachel McAdams). The premise is a little cliché, especially for a comedy in the early 2000s, but the charm of Wilson and his cast mates makes Wedding Crashers plenty enjoyable and was a box office hit when it opened in 2005.