Owen Wilson Is Playing A Bob Ross Look-Alike In Paint. Why He’s Not Actually Portraying The Popular Artist

Nostalgia for the '80s isn’t lost on Hollywood, that’s for sure. This past weekend a movie about the origins of Tetris impressed us and fall’s Weird Al movie starring Daniel Radcliffe was an underrated favorite among many. So what’s next, a Bob Ross biopic about his rise to fame as the star of PBS’ The Joy Of Painting? Nope. But, there is a movie called Paint out now, starring Owen Wilson as a Bob Ross lookalike (fro and all) who is clearly inspired by the landscape-composing legend. I know, you have questions…

The latest 2023 new movie release to come out this weekend is called Paint and it has already earned the reputation of being the “Bob Ross movie” due to so much of the film’s marketing and aesthetic pulling from the iconic man known for calling mistakes “happy accidents.” To clear up some of that confusion, let’s break down what Paint is and why it’s not what most may think.

Who Is Owen Wilson Playing In Paint?

No, Owen Wilson’s latest movie does not have him portraying Bob Ross. The actor is instead playing a fictional character called Carl Nargle, who is, of course, inspired by Ross. Paint doesn’t take place in the ‘80s, but rather sometime in the 2000s and centers on a Bob Ross-esque painter after he’s been hosting Vermont’s No. 1 painting show for almost 30 years. The movie explores what happens when a younger, better painter steals the adoring attention Carl has been validated with his entire career.

Paint was written and directed by Brit McAdams, who watched The Joy of Painting as a kid, and recalls Ross’ show having an “all encompassing” power over his audience. While speaking to MovieMaker, he shared that his idea spawned from asking the question about what the artist would “evolve into if he was never forced to change what he thought when he was 22?” McAdams also cited Canadian singer-songwriter Gordon Lightfoot as a major influence for Wilson’s character, as well.

Why Isn’t It About Bob Ross Instead?

With that in mind, McAdams doesn’t sound like he was inspired by telling the real story of Bob Ross, though it’s likely he couldn’t have even if he wanted to. Ross died in 1995, at the age of 52 due to complications from lymphoma, and in the aftermath of that there’s been some complications regarding his estate. It was explored in detail in the 2021 Netflix documentary, Bob Ross: Happy Accidents, Betrayal & Greed.

In a nutshell, per Bloomberg Law, the beloved host willed the rights to his son and half-brother, but due to the corporate structure of Bob Ross Inc., his intellectual property rights were instead secured by his business partners, the Kowalski family, against his wishes, following the lawsuit that occurred after his death. With his estate so tied up in drama in the past, I imagine most filmmakers and studios don’t want to be wrapped up in it.

What Do People Think Of Paint So Far?

So, does Paint work as kind of a Bob Ross character study that really has little to do with Ross himself? So far, the reviews are not good, with its Rotten Tomatoes critic score overall at a very rotten 26 percent, with the LA Times, for example, calling it “modestly amusing.”

You can certainly check out Paint yourself in theaters now, and make your own conclusions about Owen Wilson’s new movie. Following this release, he’ll show up next in this summer’s Haunted Mansion movie.