The hardest role of Woody Harrelson’s career: “The most challenging thing I’ve ever done”
Acting comes with many challenges, like constantly being in the spotlight or having to embody extremely complex characters, and Woody Harrelson is no stranger to these difficulties. The Oscar-nominated actor has played everyone from pornographers (The People vs. Larry Flynt) to mass murderers (Natural Born Killers), but it was a project he helmed himself that turned out to be the role that pushed him to his limits.
The star rose to prominence following his role on the sitcom Cheers, playing bartender Woody. While he starred in almost 200 episodes of the show, Harrelson soon pivoted to film in the late 1980s, eventually finding his first prominent movie role with White Men Can’t Jump in 1992. Within a few years, Harrelson was one of the industry’s most popular figures, appearing in everything from Wag the Dog and The Thin Red Line to The Hi-Lo Country and Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me.
However, after years of appearing in front of the camera, and with several Broadway and West End shows under his belt, Harrelson decided to attempt something that had not been done before. He decided to write, direct and star in a movie that would blend cinema, theatre, and livestream, which, unsurprisingly, became a rather demanding project that tested his patience.
The result was Lost in London, his directorial debut, which premiered in 2017 to mixed reviews. It’s a rather meta film, with Harrelson playing himself in a story inspired by real events which, in all honesty, sound completely fabricated. However, Harrelson asserted that he really did break an ashtray in a taxi during a night out in London in the early 2000s, resulting in the police chasing him through the streets of Soho and locking him up in a cell for a night.
The movie also stars a range of stars you wouldn’t expect to see playing themselves in the same film, like Willie Nelson, Daniel Radcliffe, Owen Wilson, and Bono. It’s not a great piece of cinema by any means, but you have to commend Harrelson for actually attempting to achieve something groundbreaking.
Lost in London was broadcast live in cinemas as the film took place, with just one camera filming the events as Harrelson’s crazy night transpired. “I was always a big fan of theatre, and then film, and I thought it was a good way to merge the two…This was definitely the most challenging thing I’ve ever done. It was like theatre but there were a lot of elements I didn’t have control of,” the actor explained (via Cherwell).
The idea was a huge risk for Harrelson – a first time director – to take on. However, he seemed confident enough in his plan to actually bring it to life, and while it might not have been an enduring piece of cinema, it was certainly a bold move that demonstrated Harrelson’s creativity and interest in unconventional and rather unique projects. The actor hasn’t directed anything since, but what he has in mind for his next film as a director is anyone’s guess.
