This is my Fast and Furious

Owen Wilson, the king of comedy, voices and ‘Cars 3’ has won million hearts with his performances. From on-screen roles to off-screen voice overs; he does everything with immense passion and that is what makes him stand apart.

The voice behind the favourite car of the kids the ‘Lightning McQueen’ is father of two kids and a man who is constantly learning life. Here’s a quick piece that you might want to read to get closer to the real-life Owen!

Excerpts:

Internet stormed up with your ‘wow’. Fan mashup videos of your voice have flooded the internet. Do you think that people recognise you with your voice?
Wow, I guess sometimes. Recently, I was going into a CVS pharmacy store and a lady told me that I sounded like her favourite actor, Owen Wilson. She was looking at me while talking and I asked her “Any resemblance to this?” May be, she must have just seen ‘Cars’.

Both Finn and Ford, your sons have a strong personality. How do they react to the fact that you are the ‘Lightning McQueen’; aren’t they always excited?
Seriously, I think they should be more excited, this is my ‘Fast and Furious’, like let’s get some energy. But I think the part of the problem is that I don’t think that my kids even believe me. They let me talk and pretend that they are listening to me but deep down they are like it’s just dad’s thing. He likes to pretend that he is the Lightning McQueen.

Q3: How are you with your children? Are you a strict parent or a cool father just like McQueen?

I am strict about manners. I am not unreasonably strict. I guess, I am just old fashioned. I do lay the ground rules. I told my kids that no matter what Uncle Woody or Uncle Willy do, there’ll be no smoking pot in my house.

You have come a long way along with Lightning McQueen. How was your experience with ‘Cars 3’? What’s new with McQueen? In the first movie McQueen is like the arrogant rookie driver and in ‘Cars 3’ it's kind of has come to full circle. He's still winning but there's a new generation of racers that are coming at him and these guys are really good so he's kind of facing that. He's thinking what he's going to do to stay relevant. He's gone from someone who is self-absorbed to someone who is making sacrifices for other people.

You do a lot of movies that make people laugh and cry; like your movie with Julia Roberts – ‘Wonder’. What’s your motto behind picking up a role?
‘Wonder’ is an inspirational movie that has a message and even with ‘Cars 3’, there was a new message to offer. You know like Athletes face issues and lose their pace; McQueen suffered the same way. ‘Cars 3’ offered a new lesson. ‘Wonder’ had a beautiful message i.e. to accept yourself and look beyond your flaws. I think that is what inspires me; telling a story and inspiring people.

What lessons have you learnt from your journey with Lightning McQueen?
In ‘Cars 3’, McQueen has to defeat his fear and a new competitor who is much faster than him. Now that lesson of becoming smarter and striving to overcome hurdles. I think this is the message that everyone would take home.

Who has been the mentor of your life or the Cruz Ramirez of your life?
My dad was my mentor. He helped me a lot and inspired me. My father once gave me this one advice which I can’t forget – ‘You got to joke to keep from crying’.

Professionally, James L Brooks was a big help and a mentor to me and Wes Anderson when we first got to Los Angeles. One always meets such inspiring people who would sit with you and help you look beyond obvious.
-‘Cars 3’ will air on July 15 at 1 pm and 9 pm on Star Movies.