The reports shocked the world, and made international headlines, leading to Wilson, recovering in a Hollywood hospital, to plead for privacy as his family members were hounded as they made hospital visits.
Since then, the actor has kept his time in the limelight strictly promotional. Despite his loveable on-screen persona and charming good looks, Wilson has reportedly been through dark times.
Wilson is not forthcoming and is known to walk out of interviews at the mere mention of "difficult times", even if it's extraneously linked to the plot of his adorable dog movie Marley & Me.
Recently, the mother of his child called his on-screen life "ironic", when she talked with a reporter. She claimed he has refused to meet his youngest child but has continued to take father-figure roles in popular films.
It all leads to an unsettling public image for a leading Hollywood man.
In 2007, when Wilson was 38 years old, he made a widely reported attempt on his own life.
Wilson had been involved in the Ben Stiller movie Tropic Thunder and was addled by drug addiction when a 911 call was made from his Santa Monica home, on November 28.
The movie had been six weeks into production, according to multiple reports from the time, and Wilson made a mutual agreement with Stiller to pull out of the film.
Before the self-harm incident, Wilson had reportedly been severely addicted to heroin and cocaine for months, according to sensational claims published by Us Weekly.
His addiction was reportedly so severe he was using drugs daily. Wilson, at the time a famous Hollywood actor, had been dating actress Kate Hudson. But according to Us Weekly, the relationship had fallen apart the previous May, on Memorial Day holiday, because of Wilson's drug issues.
Woody Harrelson was reportedly involved in staging one intervention, which took place at OwenWilson's home in Maui in Hawaii. Photo / Getty Images
The actor's friends had become so concerned about his drug use that they attempted to stage an intervention. Woody Harrelson was reportedly involved in staging one intervention, which took place at Wilson's home in Maui in Hawaii.
A representative for Wilson at the time strongly denied the allegations that he had used drugs.
Multiple friends of the actor criticised Wilson's friendship with Steve Coogan, who had his own battle with drugs.
Coogan later wrote in his memoir that it took a long time for him to come to terms with his addiction because he was a "functioning addict" whose life never did fall apart.
"I put a number of people through rehab at my own expense while still abusing drugs myself," Coogan wrote.
"I spent tens of thousands of pounds on everyone else's addiction, but it took me a long time to face up to my own."
Coogan and Wilson have never directly addressed claims the comedian's addiction may have been involved in the actor's addiction.
DISTRESS CALL
The Santa Monica Police Department logged a distress call on a Sunday in mid-August in 2007 as an "attempted suicide," according to a Cedars Sinai hospital employee.
After he had split with Kate Hudson, Wilson reportedly completely disappeared "off the face of the earth".
Owen Wilson, at the time a famous Hollywood actor, had been dating actress Kate Hudson. Photo / Getty Images
"I thought, briefly, he might be back on heroin, but we all really felt he'd kicked that ages ago," an unnamed friend had told Us Weekly.
According to the NY Post, after they broke up, Hudson moved on with actor Dax Shephard, who had been the host of hidden camera reality TV show Punk'd at the time.
Photos surfaced of Shephard and Hudson embracing and kissing while out and about in Los Angeles. The Us Weekly report claimed at the time that the media coverage of Hudson's new relationship was devastating to Wilson.
Shephard is outspoken about his sobriety, a journey he began in 2004 after years of struggling with addiction.
'ALLOW ME TO RECEIVE CARE AND HEAL'
After the reported attempt on his own life, Wilson issued a statement to TMZ, asking to be left alone.
"I respectfully ask that the media allow me to receive care and heal in private during this difficult time," the statement simply read.
The emergency call had been made from Wilson's home in Santa Monica, California, at about noon on August 28. He had reportedly been found by one of his brothers.
Wilson was rushed to St. John's Hospital in Santa Monica, before being transferred to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles — a Hollywood hospital well equipped with treating high profile celebrities, and keeping the paparazzi and reporters at bay.
SHUNNING THE LIMELIGHT
Since the incident, Wilson has shunned media engagements, and taken interviews only to promote films.
Wilson used to be referred to by gossip site Defamer as "The Butterscotch Stallion", because of his blonde hair and love interests.
Multiple friends of the actor criticised Owen Wilson's friendship with Steve Coogan, who had his own battle with drugs. Photo / Getty Images
But media attention began to focus on his dark side — like a disastrous 2009 interview with USA Today to promote Marley and Me, where Wilson stormed out of the room after the reporter asked if dogs "help you get through the difficult times".
As if that wasn't bad enough, the interview was again derailed when the reporter asked Jennifer Aniston if she'd been wary of "doing a dog movie". The question prompted Wilson to walk out of the room for the second time, while Aniston remained, answering the most inane questions.
Wilson reportedly pays $25,000 per month in child support for the daughter he has never met.
Last year, it was revealed that Wilson was the father of a baby girl named Lyla after his ex-girlfriend Varunie Vongsvirates agreed to a paternity test.
The pair reportedly dated on and off for five years but split before the birth of their child.
Documents obtained by Radar Online dating back to June 2018, say that the former couple's lawyers agreed to monthly payments of $25,000 to take care of Lyla, as well as a one-off $70,000 to cover the costs of a labour coach, a night nurse and Vongsvirates' legal fees.
However, Lyla has also been added to Wilson's Screen Actors Guild medical insurance
The documents also state that neither party should "make disparaging and/or derogatory remarks about the other party, or their significant others, if any, in the presence of the minor child."
Speaking to Mail Online, Vongsvirates has claimed Wilson has an "ironic" attitude towards his daughter, Lyla, who he refuses to meet.
"Owen has never met Lyla," she told a reporter earlier this month. "He helps financially but it's never been about that," she said.
"Lyla needs a father. It's ironic how (Owen) keeps getting these father roles, he's playing a father in his new movie, and he's never met his own daughter."
Previously, Wilson has talked of enjoying being a loving and involved parent to his sons.
