Let’s just add a happy little actor over here and maybe a touch of afro up there on the head…In his latest movie, Paint, Owen Wilson plays Carl Nargle, a character directly influenced by Bob Ross, who hosted The Joy of Painting from 1985-1994. To get into character, Wilson zeroed in on what made Ross so special in the world of public television.
Bob Ross’ distinct look of afro and beard was something that Owen Wilson and the Paint team had to nail. And in it, Wilson wears a wig that helped him channel the beloved painter and will make audiences go Wooowwww. “I did like a little painting before to just see what it felt like. But one of the big things for me came when they got the look dialed in with the wardrobe. And, I mean, let’s be honest, the wig does a lot of the heavy lifting for me in terms of feeling not like myself.”
Owen Wilson also said there was comfort in the way Bob Ross spoke, which he also worked into Carl. “When you watch those Bob Ross shows, there’s just something very attractive and welcoming about the way he sounds and the stuff he’s saying. Carl Nargle, you know, had the No. 1 painting show for 22 years in Vermont, so he had something that people enjoyed as well. He was very comfortable and confident until everything sort of gets shaken up.”
As the Bob Ross stand-in, Owen Wilson’s Carl Nargle is a beloved TV host in Vermont whose life and career are shaken up faster than a Sherwin-Williams paint bucket when a younger, hipper starts taking over his spotlight. While Owen Wilson isn’t portraying Bob Ross directly, this is one of the closest roles he’s taken to playing a real-life figure. The only historical figure he’s actually played was Wright brother Wilbur in 2004’s Around the World in 80 Days…which might explain why he’s rarely attempted it.
Bob Ross was also the subject of a Netflix documentary, Bob Ross: Happy Accidents, Betrayal & Greed, in 2021. Paint comes to theaters on April 7th.
Are you looking forward to Owen Wilson channeling Bob Ross in next month’s Paint? Let us know below!