Persona-wise, Owen Wilson “isn’t just Mr. Space Case, but one who really has ‘the spirit’ — his characters always seem genuinely imbued and imaginative and familiar with college philosophy basics, and there is no one else on the planet who does this sort of thing with Wilson’s particularity.

“[And] there is no other actor on the Hollywood landscape whose dialogue (large portions of which Wilson always seems to write or improvise himself) is focused so earnestly and consistently on matters of attitude and heart. Pretentious as it may sound, Wilson is an actor with a consistently alive and pulsing inner-ness. Is there any other actor who even flirts with this realm?”

The preceding is from a July 2006 piece on Wilson (called “A True Original“) that I just re-read this morning, and which seems a little more resonant today than it was during the You, Me and Dupree build-up, especially with across-the-board Darjeeling Limited screenings about to commence.