Owen Wilson: Heroes don’t have time to think

Owen Wilson doesn’t believe most acts of heroism are done intentionally.

The 46-year-old, who has appeared in a string of classic comedies like Zoolander in the past, is putting on a very different cap by portraying a man who attempts to rescue his family during an uprising in new action movie No Escape.

And while filming the thriller, Owen came to many realisations about the true nature of heroism.

“Ordinary people are capable of really heroic things if they’re put into an intense, demanding situation,” he told Page Six.

Owen then went on to recall a speech at his school that was delivered by someone who won a Medal of Honor.

The star remembers the medallist humbly dismissing any notion of saving the day on purpose.

“[The Medal of Honor winner was] not setting out to do anything heroic,” Owen noted. “He didn’t really have time to think, and acted. Reading about these guys in France on the train subduing that terrorist — it sounded like the same .?.?. like they didn’t really have time to think about it. They just did it.”

Owen got a taste of what people in terrifying situations are up against while filming stunt scenes for No Escape.

The Inherent Vice actor feels lucky to have survived some of the stunts he shot on set.

“It was kind of scary doing some of the stuff with jumping from roof to roof,” Owen said. “We’re on a harness, but there’s still part of your brain that doesn’t want you to just run off the side of a building .?.?. You always wonder, well, ‘What if [the harness] is a little frayed or something?’”