Woody Harrelson
☼ Born on 23 December 1961, in Midland, Texas, USA
Biography
Academy Award-nominated and Emmy Award-winning actor Woodrow Tracy Harrelson was born on July 23, 1961 in Midland, Texas, to Diane Lou (Oswald) and Charles Harrelson. He grew up in Lebanon, Ohio, where his mother was from. After receiving degrees in theater arts and English from Hanover College in southern Indiana, he had a brief stint in New York theater. He was soon cast as Woody on TV series Cheers (1982), which wound up being one of the most-popular TV shows ever and also earned Harrelson an Emmy for his performance in 1989.
While he dabbled in film during his time on Cheers (1982), that area of his career didn't fully take off until towards the end of the show's run. In 1991, Doc Hollywood (1991) gave him his first widely-seen movie role, and he followed that up with White Men Can't Jump (1992), Indecent Proposal (1993) and Natural Born Killers (1994). More recently, Harrelson was seen in No Country for Old Men (2007), Zombieland (2009), 2012 (2009), and Friends with Benefits (2011), along with the acclaimed HBO movie Game Change (2012).
In 2011, Harrelson snagged the coveted role of fan-favorite drunk Haymitch Abernathy in the big-screen adaptation of The Hunger Games (2012), which ended up being one of the highest-grossing movies ever at the domestic box office. Harrelson is set to reprise that role for the sequels, which are scheduled for release in November 2013, 2014 and 2015. Harrelson has received two Academy Award nominations, first for his role as controversial
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Hustler founder Larry Flynt in The People vs. Larry Flynt (1996) and then for a role in The Messenger (2009). He also received Golden Globe nominations for both of these parts. In 2016, he had a stand-out role as a wise teacher in the teen drama The Edge of Seventeen (2016).
Harrelson was briefly married to Nancy Simon in the 80s, and later married his former assistant, Laura Louie, with whom he has three daughters.
In the role of actor
Triangle of Sadness – TIFF 2022 (06/10/2022)
A luxury cruise goes horribly awry in Triangle of Sadness. Carl (Harris Dickinson) and Yaya (Charlbi Dean) are two models in a highly volatile relationship who embark on a luxury cruise. Crew leader Paula (Vicki Berlin) tries to ensure the passengers are happy, while The Captain (Woody Harrelson) spends most of the trip in a […]
The Man from Toronto (23/06/2022)
A loser of a man is mistaken for an infamous assassin in The Man from Toronto. Teddy Jackson (Kevin Hart) is an aspiring fitness instructor who decides to rent a cabin in Onancock, Virginia, to celebrate the birthday of his wife Lori (Jasmine Mathews). However, Teddy accidentally ends up at the wrong place and is […]
Venom: Let There Be Carnage (03/10/2021)
A new deadly symbiote arises in Venom: Let There Be Carnage. Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) has been learning to co-exist with the alien symbiote Venom, who lives within him. Eddie is tasked by Detective Mulligan (Stephen Graham) to interview death row inmate Cletus Kasady (Woody Harrelson), in an attempt to get clues to the graves of […]
Zombieland: Double Tap (17/10/2019)
We catch up to the ragtag group of survivors a decade later in Zombieland: Double Tap. Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg), Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson), Wichita (Emma Stone), and Little Rock (Abigail Breslin) have spent ten years surviving together in the zombie-infested United States. However, when Columbus proposes to Wichita, she runs off with Little Rock, who in […]
Solo: A Star Wars Story (26/05/2018)
The origins of Han Solo are told in Solo: A Star Wars Story. After escaping from a life of servitude on the planet Corellia, Han Solo (Alden Ehrenreich) finds himself a member of the Imperial Army. It is there that he meets the Wookie Chewbacca (Joonas Suotamo), as well as the scoundrel Tobias Beckett (Woody Harrelson), who […]
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (13/09/2017)
A woman seeks justice for the unsolved murder of her daughter in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. Seven months after the rape and murder of her daughter Angela, Mildred Hayes (Frances McDormand) rents three billboards on an isolated road criticizing the police department’s supposed lack of progress on the case, specifically calling out Chief Bill Willoughby (Woody […]
War for the Planet of the Apes (17/07/2017)
The sentient apes prepare for a last stand against the remaining humans in War for the Planet of the Apes. It has now been fifteen years since the apes lead by Caesar (Andy Serkis) gained intelligence and began a life for themselves in the Muir Woods outside of San Francisco. Thanks to the previous actions of […]
DocX (30/04/2016)
Returning to Hot Docs this year is DocX, which consists of a variety of interactive installations, and virtual reality and 360° video experiences. I ventured into the upper floor of Hot Docs House (610 Markham Street) and tried out a number of this year’s DocX experiences. Cardboard Crash (Canada) Presented by the NFB, this Virtual Reality experience […]
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (24/11/2013)
One year after jointly winning the 74th annual Hunger Games, Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) and Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) go on a Victor’s Tour of the districts of Panem, where Katniss has become a symbol for a slowly brewing rebellion against the Capital. While Katniss is disturbed by the increasingly violent behaviour of the “Peacekeepers,” […]
Seven Psychopaths (15/10/2012)
Seven Psychopaths in the follow-up by director Martin McDonagh, who was last seen with the dark comedy In Bruges in 2008. While the previous film had a story that became increasingly dark and dramatic, Seven Psychopaths is very much a comedy – albeit a very dark and violent one. The film has flourishes of the […]
Carnage (06/01/2012)
Roman Polanski‘s latest film, based on the play God of Carnage, is a very simple and hilarious film about how a simple conversation can quickly blow out of proportion. The whole film is one giant coversation between two couples. The son of Nancy and Alan (Kate Winslet and Christoph Waltz) hit the son of Penelope […]
2012 (15/11/2009)
Even though I think of the whole “2012 End of the World” scenario to be the latest in a series of apocalyptic conspiracy theories that pop up every decade or two (remember Y2K?), I do have to agree that Roland Emmerich can make a pretty gosh darn good disaster film. I found the film was […]
Zombieland (01/11/2009)
From the very start Zombieland had a very tongue-in-cheek feel to it. Unlike the last major zombie-based comedy Shaun of the Dead, this film was definitely not a serious zombie film with serious situations. The film is fully of “zombie survival rules” written by Jesse Eisenberg‘s character that pop up on screen randomly and help […]
Moon (03/07/2009)
I have to say that Moon is probably one of the best science fiction films I have seen in years. The entire film focuses on Sam Rockwell‘s character Sam Bell (and the on-board computer voiced by Kevin Spacey) and you can really feel the sense of isolation. Things shake up a bit when another individual […]
Semi-Pro (01/03/2008)
Over the years we’ve seen Will Ferrell play a soccer coach (Kicking and Screaming), Nascar Driver (Talladega Nights), and a figure-skater (Blades of Glory). Now, we get to see him as a basketball player. I will be first to say that this brand of Will Ferrell humour is starting to get old. While I did […]
No Country for Old Men (11/11/2007)
During their career, the Coen brothers went back and forth between dark dramas and comedies. During the 11 1/2 years since the release of Fargo, they really leaned onto the latter with only 2001’s The Man Who Wasn’t There being the only real non-comedy released during that time. As such, you can call No Country […]