Owen Wilson Reflects on Life After 50, Returns for ‘Meet the Parents 4’

Owen Wilson says he’s finally learning to slow down.

During an interview with CBS News, the 56-year-old actor reflects on decades spent navigating Hollywood’s highs and lows. “I do kind of feel, yeah, a little bit more sort of peace, and … taking time to smell the roses.”

Speaking from Liberty National Golf Club in New Jersey, Wilson noted that, contrary to what he believed in his youth, life after 50 has brought unexpected fulfillment.

“Those studies that say the happiest time in people’s lives are after 50—as a kid, I really had a hard time believing that,” he said. “But here, I do find myself feeling pretty happy and pretty content.”

The “Wedding Crashers” and “Zoolander” star now leads the Apple TV+ series “Stick,” portraying Pryce Cahill, a disgraced professional golfer seeking redemption. The character’s emotional reckoning, Wilson says, reflects some of his own personal battles.

“That idea of rock bottom reminds me of times in my life when I’ve had struggles, how much I needed other people—family, friends,” Wilson said. “I think that’s reflected in this show.”

John Hamburg, who directed the final two episodes of Stick, is also reuniting with Wilson on another major project. Wilson is set to reprise his fan-favorite role as Kevin Rawley in “Meet the Parents 4,” Universal’s latest installment in the beloved comedy franchise that began in 2000.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Wilson will return alongside original cast members Ben Stiller, Robert De Niro, and Teri Polo. Pop star and actress Ariana Grande will join the cast in a new role, playing the fiancée of Greg and Pam’s adult son—a relationship that reportedly reignites family tensions and becomes a central source of conflict in the film.

“Meet the Parents 4” will be written and directed by Hamburg and is slated for a wide theatrical release on Nov. 25, 2026, via Universal Pictures.

Although Wilson hasn’t appeared on the big screen since Disney’s 2023 “Haunted Mansion,” he has remained active on television, particularly in his role as Mobius M. Mobius in Marvel’s “Loki” series on Disney+.

With renewed perspective, Wilson embraces both the setbacks and the opportunities. “We can all sort of look back at bad things that happen, where you’re like, yeah, without that bad thing, then I don’t get to this good thing,” he said.

Wilson has been a mainstay in American entertainment for more than 25 years. He rose to prominence in the mid-1990s with “Bottle Rocket,” a film he co-wrote with longtime collaborator Wes Anderson. The two would go on to co-write and co-star in multiple projects, including “Rushmore” and “The Royal Tenenbaums”—the latter earning Wilson an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay in 2002.

He cemented his comedic legacy with starring roles in “Shanghai Noon,” “Starsky & Hutch,” “You, Me and Dupree, “and “Wedding Crashers,” while also proving his versatility in films like Woody Allen’s “Midnight in Paris,” in which he played a time-traveling novelist opposite Rachel McAdams.

He is represented by United Talent Agency (UTA) and Hirsch Wallerstein Hayum Matlof + Fishman LLP.