Owen Wilson: 5 Awesome Performances And 5 That Sucked

1. Eli Cash - The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)

Owen Wilson gave much more than a striking performance to The Royal Tenenbaums, even assisting with the film's screenplay which was in turn nominated for an Academy Award. Another movie directed by Wes Anderson, The Royal Tenenbaums zones in on the eponymous family and features an all-star cast. Gene Hackman stars as the disgruntled father, with Anjelica Huston as his wife, Luke Wilson, Gwyneth Paltrow and Ben Stiller as children Ritchie, Margot and Chas, and of course Wilson himself as family friend Eli Cash. Cash is a neighbour of the Tenenbaums; a writer who scribbles Western novels for a living and dons a cowboy hat to go outdoors. Whilst he oozes a kind of cool exterior, Cash is seriously messed up in more ways than one - and Wilson does a fine job of conveying a man who appears serene on the outside but is squirming on the inside. In previous interviews, director Wes Anderson has commented that the character of Cash is a sort of insane mash-up of Cormac McCarthy and Jay McInerney: two authors who have also previously dabbled in movie screenplays. He's an intriguing and unique character alright, and Wilson presents him with certain likability despite his flaws - with the role of Eli Cash arguably his best performance to date. But for all his superb script contributions, witty remarks, comic timing, and undeniable charisma, Wilson has given his fair share of tragic performances too, and coming up next are five of acting roles that - putting it kindly - weren't exactly Oscar-worthy...
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Gaz Lloyd hasn't written a bio just yet, but if they had... it would appear here.