Woody Harrelson’s tense first encounter with Quentin Tarantino: “I had made up my mind that I didn’t like the guy”
Even though his on and off-screen persona is regularly that of an easy-going and affable fellow, Woody Harrelson had decided long before they’d even met that he found Quentin Tarantino to be a detestable human being.
Of course, the bad blood between them was born entirely from Natural Born Killers, which put them at loggerheads despite the fact they’d never even met. It was a hugely controversial movie at the time before evolving into a certified cult classic, but Tarantino was regularly accused of sabotage.
From the second he sold off his screenplay, it was no longer his film to be involved with or pass comment on, but he did it anyway. Oliver Stone was indignant about the writer publicly decrying the extensive rewrites that had drastically altered his original work, and people were more inclined to listen than ever when Natural Born Killers hit cinemas just three months after Pulp Fiction had become the talk of the cinematic town following its rapturously-received premiere at the 1994 Cannes Film Festival.
Harrelson has admitted his surprise at the way Natural Born Killers became such a lightning rod for negative publicity, but his problem with Tarantino ran much deeper. By denigrating something he’d worked so hard on in a performance that was completely against type at the time, he was fuming.
“We did have a thing,” Harrelson confirmed to Fade In. “He knew it and I knew it. I was pretty vocal about, ‘Fuck him’. And, you know, he let it be known. And it was funny because I remember one time he sat right behind me at some Broadway play. Like, literally I could reach back and touch him. I never said nothing to him. He never said nothing to me.”
After actively ignoring each other on account of the animosity, they crossed paths again a couple of years later, and Harrelson wasn’t in the mood for mending fences. “I had made up my mind that I didn’t like the guy one bit,” he admitted. “Well, before long, I’m talking to someone, and someone’s tapping me on the shoulder, and then I turn, and it’s him, Quentin Tarantino.”
Fortunately, Harrelson discovered the first time they came face-to-face that “he was so fucking cool,” and it was Tarantino who extended the olive branch. “He said, ‘Look, man, I know we’ve had this shit going on for years, let’s just forget about it and let’s just sweep it under the rug,” with Harrelson happy to oblige.
They’ve been friendly with each other ever since, even if Tarantino hasn’t gotten around to casting Harrelson in any of his productions as of yet. He’s only got one more to go before he retires so it may not happen at all, but at least nobody has to worry about their feud being reignited.
Never Miss A Take
The Far Out Quentin Tarantino Newsletter
All the latest Quentin Tarantino content from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.