The “amazing” director Woody Harrelson has always wanted to work with
Not every actor goes out of their way to ensure they collaborate with as many heavyweight auteurs as possible, with Woody Harrelson having been equally fond of teaming up with untested talents and first-timers as he is known quantities.
It’s an approach that’s worked wonders for his career, with the former Cheers funnyman evolving into one of the most well-rounded character actors in the industry, one that’s just as capable in drama and comedy as they are action and sci-fi. If there’s a script he thinks is worth shooting, then he’ll shoot it regardless of who ends up standing on the other side of the camera.
Of course, he’s ticked off quite a few directorial superstars, having shared a set with Stephen Frears, Richard Linklater, Oliver Stone, Terrence Malick, the Coen brothers, Miloš Forman, Adrian Lyne, Ron Howard, and Roland Emmerich, to name a few, but some of his best work has come with lesser-known filmmakers.
Oren Moverman’s The Messenger and Rampart are two of his personal favourite features, of which he’s lucky enough to have been a part, so he’s not a thespian driven by reputation alone. There’s one name that still needs to be ticked off his bucket list, though, and he’s fast running out of time to make it happen.
It would be fair to say Harrelson got off on the wrong foot with Quentin Tarantino, which all stemmed from Natural Born Killers. The Reservoir Dogs writer and director wasn’t best pleased with the changes made to his original screenplay when Stone brought it to the screen, and the bad blood simmered even though they’d never met.
Harrelson even admitted to harbouring an active dislike of Tarantino until they finally came face-to-face and mended fences, and now he’s the star’s white whale. When asked by Flavour if there was anyone he was dying to work for to the point his filmography wouldn’t be complete until he added their name to the list, there was only one answer.
“Well, I would like to work with Quentin Tarantino,” he said. “He’s pretty amazing.” It’s a sentiment no doubt shared by countless actors across Tinseltown, but having put a finite point on his own professional life, there’s only one chance left for Harrelson to make his dream a reality.
After deciding The Movie Critic wasn’t worth the exalted status of being his tenth and final feature, Tarantino has gone back to the drawing board. His swansong remains a total mystery at this point, but unless he decides that Harrelson is someone who needs adding to his repertory, it’s completely up in the air as to whether or not the three-time Academy Award nominee will get his wish.
Tarantino tends to write with certain names in mind for certain parts, and if Harrelson isn’t one of them, then his time may never come.
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