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IMDbPro

Woody Harrelson

  • Actor
  • Producer
  • Director
IMDbProStarmeter
Top 5,00012
Woody Harrelson at an event for Seven Pounds (2008)
Woody Harrelson stars in the hilarious and heartwarming story of a former minor-league basketball coach who, after a series of missteps, is ordered by the court to manage a team of players with intellectual disabilities. He soon realizes that despite his doubts, together, this team can go further than they ever imagined.
Play trailer2:22
Champions (2023)
99+ Videos
99+ Photos
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, 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 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.
BornJuly 23, 1961
  • More at IMDbPro
    • Contact info
    • Agent info
    • Resume
BornJuly 23, 1961
IMDbProStarmeter
Top 5,00012
  • View contact info at IMDbPro
  • Nominated for 3 Oscars

Before They Were Famous: Actors' Early Roles

Before They Were Famous: Actors' Early Roles

See photos of celebrities like Jenna Ortega and Noah Centineo before they hit the big-time, and revisit some of their earliest onscreen roles.
See the full gallery
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Photos

Photos1008

Jennifer Lopez, Woody Harrelson, and Wesley Snipes
Woody Harrelson, Ashton Gunning, Tom Sinclair, James Day Keith, and Casey Metcalfe in Champions (2023)
Woody Harrelson in Natural Born Killers (1994)
Woody Harrelson and Kevin Hart in The Man from Toronto (2022)
Woody Harrelson in The Hunger Games (2012)
Woody Harrelson and Larry David in Curb Your Enthusiasm (2000)
Woody Harrelson in Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021)
Woody Harrelson in Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021)
Woody Harrelson and Sam Rockwell in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017)
Woody Harrelson and Frances McDormand in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017)
Kirstie Alley, Woody Harrelson, and Ted Danson in Cheers (1982)
Woody Harrelson in The Edge of Seventeen (2016)

Known for

Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson in True Detective (2014)
True Detective
8.9
TV Series
  • Detective Marty Hart
The People vs. Larry Flynt (1996)
The People vs. Larry Flynt
7.3
  • Larry Flynt
  • 1996
Woody Harrelson and Juliette Lewis in Natural Born Killers (1994)
Natural Born Killers
7.2
  • Mickey Knox
  • 1994
Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Abigail Breslin, and Emma Stone in Zombieland (2009)
Zombieland
7.6
  • Tallahassee
  • 2009

Credits

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IMDbPro

Actor

  • Champions
    • Post-production
  • White House Plumbers
    • Post-production
  • Suncoast
    • Post-production
  • Last Breath
    • Pre-production
  • Project Artemis
    • In Production
  • The Most Dangerous Man in America
    • Pre-production
  • Woody Harrelson and Kevin Hart in The Man from Toronto (2022)
    The Man from Toronto
  • Woody Harrelson, Sunnyi Melles, Vicki Berlin, Dolly De Leon, Charlbi Dean, and Harris Dickinson in Triangle of Sadness (2022)
    Triangle of Sadness
  • John Goodman, Woody Harrelson, Pete Davidson, and Tiffany Haddish in The Freak Brothers (2020)
    The Freak Brothers
  • Larry David in Curb Your Enthusiasm (2000)
    Curb Your Enthusiasm
  • Woody Harrelson, Tom Hardy, Naomie Harris, and Michelle Williams in Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021)
    Venom: Let There Be Carnage
  • Woody Harrelson, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, and Miku Patricia Martineau in Kate (2021)
    Kate
  • Costco Exposed: Undercover Investigation (2021)
    Costco Exposed: Undercover Investigation
    • (voice)
  • Saturday Night Live (1975)
    Saturday Night Live
    • (uncredited)
  • Woody Harrelson, Dennis Quaid, Aaron Eckhart, Mandy Moore, Etsushi Toyokawa, Patrick Wilson, Luke Evans, Nick Jonas, and Ed Skrein in Midway (2019)
    Midway
  • Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Abigail Breslin, and Emma Stone in Zombieland: Double Tap (2019)
    Zombieland: Double Tap
  • Woody Harrelson, Marisa Tomei, Ike Barinholtz, and Ellie Kemper in Live in Front of a Studio Audience: Norman Lear's 'All in the Family' and 'The Jeffersons' (2019)
    Live in Front of a Studio Audience: Norman Lear's 'All in the Family' and 'The Jeffersons'
  • Kevin Costner and Woody Harrelson in The Highwaymen (2019)
    The Highwaymen
  • Venom (2018)
    Venom
  • Woody Harrelson, Paul Bettany, Thandiwe Newton, Donald Glover, Alden Ehrenreich, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Emilia Clarke, Charlotte Louise, and Joonas Suotamo in Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)
    Solo: A Star Wars Story
  • Tommy Lee Jones, Woody Harrelson, Rob Reiner, and James Marsden in Shock and Awe (2017)
    Shock and Awe

Producer

  • Champions
    • Post-production
  • White House Plumbers
    • Post-production
  • The Most Dangerous Man in America
    • Pre-production
  • Gabriel Byrne, Idris Elba, Tom Hollander, and Jude Coward Nicoll in The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse (2022)
    The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse
  • John Goodman, Woody Harrelson, Pete Davidson, and Tiffany Haddish in The Freak Brothers (2020)
    The Freak Brothers
  • Kevin Costner and Woody Harrelson in The Highwaymen (2019)
    The Highwaymen
  • Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson in True Detective (2014)
    True Detective
  • Woody Harrelson in Lost in London (2017)
    Lost in London

Director

  • Woody Harrelson in Lost in London (2017)
    Lost in London
  • In-development projects at IMDbPro

Videos210

Everything We Know About 'Venom: Let There Be Carnage'
Clip 3:16
Everything We Know About 'Venom: Let There Be Carnage'
Will a Venom & Spider-Man Crossover Cause Maximum Carnage?
Clip 3:37
Will a Venom & Spider-Man Crossover Cause Maximum Carnage?
Meet Carnage: Venom's Next Foe?
Clip 2:29
Meet Carnage: Venom's Next Foe?
Woody Harrelson: Movie & TV Moments
Clip 1:21
Woody Harrelson: Movie & TV Moments
Solo Promo Trailer
Clip 0:16
Solo Promo Trailer
'The Duel': Warning
Clip 0:49
'The Duel': Warning
IMDb Asks Lenny Kravitz and Woody Harrelson About Their First Movie
Clip 0:56
IMDb Asks Lenny Kravitz and Woody Harrelson About Their First Movie
2012: Deleted Scene - "Jackson Underwater"
Clip 1:07
2012: Deleted Scene - "Jackson Underwater"
Zombieland: "The Rules"
Clip 0:57
Zombieland: "The Rules"
Zombieland: "Prospecting"
Clip 0:47
Zombieland: "Prospecting"
Webisode: Living
Clip 2:45
Webisode: Living
Webisode: Teasing
Clip 1:41
Webisode: Teasing

Personal details

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  • Official sites
    • CAA Speakers
    • Facebook
    • July 23, 1961
    • Midland, Texas, USA
    • Laura LouieDecember 28, 2008 - present (3 children)
    • Brett Harrelson(Sibling)
  • Other works
    Stage play: The Rainmaker on Broadway
  • Publicity listings
    • 1 Portrayal
    • 11 Interviews
    • 12 Articles
    • 7 Pictorials
    • 8 Magazine Cover Photos

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    Was arrested in Columbus (Ohio) in June 1983, charged with disorderly conduct - he was dancing in the street, halting traffic; he later jumped out of a moving police van, laughing maniacally, and finally punched one of the two arresting officers to the ground.
  • Quotes
    When I let up from the weed, and the drinking too, I cried every day. And I liked that. I like crying. And now I not only wanna cry and show my crying to other people, I wanna just split myself down the middle and open my guts and just throw everything out!
    • Southern accent
    • Grass
      (1999)
      .00

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