Owen Wilson Tells Us His Best (Worst) Dad Joke

Everyone knows that Owen Wilson isn’t really a secret dad superhero in the mold of Iron Man, but what the new movie Secret Headquarters presupposes is that ...maybe he is? On Friday, August 12, 2022, Paramount+ will drop the new family film crowd-pleaser, Secret Headquarters, in which Wilson plays Jack Kincaid, who, unbeknownst to his son Charlie (Walker Scobell) is actually a superhero who is part of the “Guardians.”

Secret Headquarters isn’t the greatest superhero movie of all time, but it is a perfect superhero movie for slightly older kids (7+) to watch with their parents, perhaps even as their first live-action superhero cinematic experience. Although Jack’s armor will really remind you of Tony Stark, the bulk of Secret Headquarters derives its stakes and tone more from something like The Incredibles. In other words, the outrageous vehicles of the Guardians have tech closer that’s the plausibility of Paw Patrol than James Bond.

“It’s always a little bit of the challenge is trying to find a movie that, that you know, that the parents are gonna like and the kids are gonna like too,” Wilson tells Fatherly. “I feel like this one kind of does a good job. I first read the script it was just making me laugh so much.”

The laughter from the page also extended to the set. Although Wilson is a father of three in real life, in Secret Headquarters, Jack’s son Charlie is played by Walker Scobell, who, prior to Secret Headquarters, just starred in the time-travel Netflix romp with Ryan Reynolds; The Adam Project.

“We were always joking around on the set,” Scobell says. “If we needed to make ourselves laugh, we’d say ‘two dragons,’ from Starsky and Hutch. Or we’d do the chant from Wolf of Wall Street.”

Scobell agrees that Secret Headquarters is a good combination for both parents and kids to enjoy side-by-side, but notes that some of the jokes are 100 percent for the dads, and others, for the kids.

Owen Wilson’s Best Dad Joke

This all led to a very important question for Owen Wilson, a man who can make even the worst joke hilarious, simply by his brilliant delivery. Does Owen Wilson have a go-to dad joke?

“Yeah, I mean, dad jokes are supposed to actually be bad, right?” Wilson says. “Well, I mean, I guess I do have one: What did the big tomato say to the little tomato?”

Wilson pauses, and then delivers the punchline as only he can: “You better ketchup.”

Where to stream Secret Headquarters

The new superhero movie, in which Owen Wilson is a secret superhero dad, Secret Headquarters, debuts on Paramount+ on Friday, August 12, 2022.