20th Century Fox
Owen Wilson told an awesome Robin Williams story on Conan O'Brien's podcast
There was simply no one like Robin Williams, and there may never be again. His Night at the Museum co-star Owen Wilson recently shared a story that served as a reminder of that fact.
During a recent interview on Conan O’Brien’s podcast to promote his terrible-looking new movie Rolling Loud, Owen Wilson recalled the press junket for Night at the Museum, the 2006 hit in which Williams played Theodore Roosevelt and Wilson played the miniature cowboy Jedediah.
Owen Wilson said on Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend that Robin Williams never repeated himself during a Night at the Museum press junket
According to Wilson, it was the easiest junket he’s ever done thanks to Williams’ unique comedic talent.
“All the press stuff I did with Robin… that was the easiest press junket I’ve ever done because you didn’t have to say anything,” Wilson said. “They’d ask me a question and Robin would be right there… boom, he would go… off and running.”
“They’ll have like 80 people that they cycle through… you’re sitting there and you kind of give these canned answers. You kind of start to have, okay, they’re going to ask that and I kind of give this joke or this story.”
Unlike most actors who find themselves repeating the same set of answers, anecdotes and jokes over and over again — unless the junket interviewer is, of course, actually good at their job and asks an interesting question — Williams was a well of originality for the entire day.
“Robin, of course, never repeated himself the whole day. And at the end of the day, those guys started clapping… they’re not easily impressed by anything. And to have those guys entertained and clapping.”
Owen Wilson says Robin Williams never repeated himself once during a Night at the Museum press junket with around 80 interviewers, leaving the crew applauding
“All the press stuff I did with Robin… that was the easiest press junket I’ve ever done because you didn’t have to say anything. They’d ask me a question and Robin would be right there… boom, he would go… off and running”
“They’ll have like 80 people that they cycle through… you’re sitting there and you kind of give these canned answers. You kind of start to have, okay, they’re going to ask that and I kind of give this joke or this story
“Robin, of course, never repeated himself the whole day. And at the end of the day, those guys started clapping… they’re not easily impressed by anything. And to have those guys entertained and clapping”
— Yonan (@yonann) October 5, 2026
The first Night at the Museum, directed by Shawn Levy, came out in December 2006 and grossed about $574.5 million worldwide. In addition to the two sequels, released in 2009 and 2014, the franchise has grossed a combined $1.35 billion at the global box office.
Williams passed away at the age of 63 years old in August 2014, making the third Night at the Museum one of his final roles. Over the summer, his children revived his dormant Instagram account in an attempt to counter the AI slop content of their father that’s proliferated the internet in recent years.