Owen Wilson prepped for his role as Carl Nargle, a Bob Ross-inspired painter, by taking an art lesson with his sons.
“We all kind of did a mountain backdrop with trees,” the actor exclusively told Page Six at the Los Angeles premiere of his latest film, “Paint,” on Thursday night. “It’s an exciting feeling to create something!”
The “Royal Tenenbaums” star — who shares sons Robert, 12, and Finn, 9, with exes Jade Duell and Caroline Lindqvist, respectively — added that who painted the landscape best is open to interpretation.
“I think the youngest, [Finn], was the most abstract,” the 54-year-old told us.
“The middle, [Robert], he had maybe the most faithful representation of what we were supposed to be painting.”
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Wilson, who is also the father of a 4-year-old daughter with Varunie Vongsvirates, says his painting was “somewhere in the middle” of his kids’ work.
Despite Wilson’s uncanny Bob Ross look in “Paint,” the film follows a fictional painter named Carl Nargle who hosts his own show on Vermont public television when he is pushed out by a younger artist.
“I love Bob Ross and I watched stuff before we started shooting, but I think it was sort of that quality that Bob Ross has that Carl Nargle also maybe would share,” Wilson said of getting into character, “and people tuning into his show because they’re getting something out of it.
“Of course, part of it is seeing a painting being done in 30 minutes,” he continued. “But part of it is also the feeling that Carl hopefully has where you feel welcomed and go to a special place with him.”
As for the Ross’ iconic permed hair, the “Zoolander” star said getting into Nargle’s look every day started as a long process, but by the end of the 20-day shoot in upstate New York, they were able to “bang it out in a half hour.”
“I think it looks wonderful,” he added.
The film, which was written and directed by Brit McAdams, also stars Stephen Root, Ciara Renée, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Michaela Watkins and Lucy Freyer.
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