The movie that gave Woody Harrelson the best experience of his career: “I had so much trepidation the night before”
Woody Harrelson went from being a regular on the beloved sitcom Cheers in the late 1980s and early 1990s to becoming a Hollywood star in a short space of time. Just a few years after winning an Emmy for his performance in the show, he began appearing more frequently on the silver screen, which included a role in the movie White Men Can’t Jump.
From there, Harrelson could often be seen in movies across genres, from the erotic thriller Indecent Proposal and the Quentin Tarantino-penned Natural Born Killers, to the war film The Thin Red Line and the thrilling western No Country For Old Men. He earned significant praise for his performance in the controversial The People vs. Larry Flynt, establishing himself as one of the most acclaimed actors of his generation and a Hollywood mainstay.
The actor has appeared in a variety of films, never boxing himself into certain genres or resorting to playing specific types of characters. In the late 2000s and the 2010s, he appeared in everything from Zombieland to True Detective and The Hunger Games series, constantly pushing himself and allowing himself to be challenged. Whether he’s performing in a comedy or a drama, Harrelson is able to adapt, and he finds the process of acting incredibly rewarding.
In an interview with The New York Times, the actor revealed “the most enjoyable experience I ever had making a movie.” Despite having made many acclaimed movies over the years which have won him awards or gone down as classics, he actually cites a newer movie that didn’t receive half as much praise or financial success as many of his other projects as a personal favourite.
The film is Champions, directed by Bobby Farrelly, also known for helming Dumb and Dumber, There’s Something About Mary, and Shallow Hal with his brother Peter Farrelly. Released in 2023, it features Harrelson as a basketball coach with a bad temper who ends up being sentenced to three months of community service after drunk driving. He is asked to coach a group called ‘The Friends’, all of whom have intellectual disabilities.
Harrelson’s character goes through his fair share of highs and lows as he involves himself in the job and also begins a relationship with the sister of one of his teammates. Discussing the movie, the actor revealed, “Well, the scene when I first meet the Friends, Bobby Farrelly made it so that was actually my first time meeting them — it was onscreen! I had so much trepidation the night before.”
Yet, Harrelson had to trust Farrelly’s ideas. “When he told me, ‘Maybe we’ll go with the script, maybe we’ll go off it, maybe we just throw the script out,’ I was like, ‘Holy [expletive].’ As an actor, I’m maybe too rigid, but I’ve always thought you kind of need that script, even if you’re going to improvise.”
In the end, the actor had an amazing time, and he looks back fondly. “As with most fears, it was completely illusory. These guys are so cool, so funny, so honest. They’ll never tell you a lie. They’ll tell you a fib — ‘your shoe’s untied’ — but their kindness and warmth, within a couple of hours I was hook, line and sinker a part of them. I haven’t had much experience with people with disabilities, so I didn’t know what to expect and I’ve got to say, it was probably the most enjoyable experience I ever had making a movie.”
