Harrelson's family was poor and relied on his mother's wages.[3] He attendedThe Briarwood School in Houston, Texas.[5] In 1973, he moved to his mother's native city ofLebanon, Ohio,[6] where he attendedLebanon High School, from which he graduated in 1979.[7]
Harrelson is widely known for his work on the NBC sitcomCheers. He played bartenderWoody Boyd, he joined the cast in 1985 in season four, spending the final eight seasons (1985–1993) on the show. For this role, Harrelson was nominated for fiveEmmy Awards,[10] winning once in 1989.
In 2003, he co-starred as Galaxia/Gary in the comedy filmAnger Management. He appeared in the action filmAfter the Sunset and the Spike Lee filmShe Hate Me. In 2005, Harrelson was inThe Big White andNorth Country. Also in 2005 he appeared as Kelly Ryan, husband of a contest-obsessed woman in the filmThe Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio. In the winter of 2005–2006 Harrelson returned to London's West End, starring in Tennessee Williams'Night of the Iguana at theLyric Theater. Harrelson directedBullet for Adolf (a play he wrote with Frankie Hyman) at the esteemedHart House Theatre in Toronto, Ontario, which ran from April 21 to May 7, 2011.Bullet for Adolf opened Off-Broadway (New World Stages) with previews beginning July 19, 2012, and closed on September 30, 2012, canceling its announced extension through October 21.[12] The play was panned by New York critics.[13] Harrelson made two films in 2006, the animated film version ofFree Jimmy and alsoA Scanner Darkly the latter being written and directed byRichard Linklater.
Harrelson in April 2007
In June 6, 2010, Harrelson took part playing inSoccer Aid 2010 forUNICEF UK atOld Trafford in Manchester. The match was broadcast live on UK'sITV television. After being brought on as a substitute forGordon Ramsay, Harrelson took the final penalty in thepenalty shootout, following a 2–2 draw after 91.2 minutes.[citation needed] Despite being initially unaware of exactly from where his kick had to be taken, Harrelson scored to win the game for "The Rest of the World" team, beating England for the first time since the tournament began. When later interviewed, he claimed that he "didn't even remember the moment of scoring." In 2011, he starred as Tommy in the movieFriends with Benefits. Harrelson narrated the 2011 filmETHOS, which explores the idea of a self-destructing modern society, governed by unequal power and failed democratic ideals. Harrelson also took part inSoccer Aid 2012 on May 27, 2012. The match ended 3–1 in favor of England.[14]
In March 2021, he is set to portrayFelix Kersten inThe Man with the Miraculous Hands, the feature film adaptation ofJoseph Kessel's 1960 novel of the same title.[34] Harrelson starred in theHBO political limited seriesWhite House Plumbers (2023) where he portrayed intelligence officerE. Howard Hunt. The series is focused on theWatergate scandal and investigation. Harrelson also executive produced the series.[35] Also in 2023, he starred inChampions, as a disgraced coach coerced to head up a Special Olympics basketball team, featuring many actors with special needs.
In 1985, Harrelson married Nancy Simon (daughter of playwrightNeil Simon) inTijuana, Mexico. The union was not intended to be serious, and the two had planned to divorce the following day, but the storefront marriage/divorce parlor was closed when they returned to it and they remained married for another ten months.[36]
In 2008, he married Laura Louie, a co-founder of theorganic food delivery service Yoganics.[37] They met in 1987 when she worked as his personal assistant.[38] They reside inMaui, Hawaii, and have three daughters (born in 1993, 1996, and 2006).[39]
Harrelson is a fan of chess. In November 2018, he attended the first game of theWorld Chess Championship inLondon, played between Norwegian championMagnus Carlsen and American contenderFabiano Caruana. He made the ceremonial first move for the game.[41] He had also played the ceremonial first move for the previousWorld Chess Championship, held in New York City in 2016.[42]
In 1999 in Prague, Woody Harrelson, playing White, employed theParham Attack, named after Bernard Parham, to draw World Chess ChampionGarry Kasparov. However, Harrelson was aided by several chess Grandmasters who were in Prague to spectate the chess match between GMAlexei Shirov and GMJudit Polgár.[43]
In 2023, Harrelson's longtime friend andTrue Detective co-star/co-executive producerMatthew McConaughey stated that he and Harrelson could potentially be brothers. McConaughey's mother claimed to have been intimate with Harrelson's father, Charles Harrelson, around the time of McConaughey's conception.[46]
Harrelson follows araw vegan diet.[47][48] Along with not eating meat or dairy, Harrelson does not eat sugar or flour.[47] InZombieland, in which he plays a character with an affinity forTwinkies, the Twinkies were replaced with vegan faux-Twinkies made fromcornmeal.[49] He appeared on a postage stamp (as a PhotoStamp) in 2011 as one ofPETA's 20 famous vegetarians,[50] and he was named PETA's Sexiest Vegetarian in 2012 (along withJessica Chastain).[51]
Harrelson was a religiousPresbyterian as a child, and studied theology during college.[52] Harrelson toldPlayboy in October 2009, "I was getting into theology and studying the roots of the Bible, but then I started to discover the man-made nature of it. I started seeing things that made me ask, 'Is God really speaking through this instrument?' My eyes opened to the reality of the Bible being just a document to control people."[53] He describes himself as having "a strong spiritual life".[54]
In April 2020, Harrelson made a post on Instagram promotingthe conspiracy theory that claims a link between5G networks andCOVID-19, which was later deleted.[55] In May 2022, Harrelson said he "doesn't believe in thegerm theory" and found the use offace masks as a preventative measure against COVID-19 to be "absurd", adding, "I'm sick of like, you're wearing a mask, and you think it contains your breath—but if it did you'd die, you'd be breathing in your owncarbon monoxide [sic]."[56]
On June 1, 1996, Harrelson was arrested inLee County, Kentucky, after symbolically planting fourhemp seeds to challenge the state law that did not distinguish between industrial hemp and marijuana. Harrelson had arrived in the county with his attorney, former Kentucky governorLouie B. Nunn, an agent and a camera crew fromCNN. While at a local hotel, Harrelson phoned the county sheriff, Junior Kilburn, to advise him of his intentions. Kilburn and Deputy Sheriff Danny Towsend arrived at the location where Harrelson informed them he would be. With the cameras rolling, Harrelson planted the hemp seeds into the ground. Once planted, Kilburn placed Harrelson under arrest for cultivatingmarijuana and booked him into the county jail. He was released on $200 bail the same day. He later signed autographs and posed for photos with deputies. He was acquitted of those charges with the help of Nunn after just 25 minutes.[57] The events were featured in the 2010 Michael P. Henning documentary filmHempsters: Plant the Seed.[58]
In 2002, Harrelson was arrested in London after an incident in a taxi that ended in a police chase. Harrelson was taken to a London police station and later released on bail.[59] The case was later dismissed after Harrelson paid the taxi driver involved in the incident £550 ($844).[60] This became the inspiration for his 2017 live-streamed filmLost in London.[61]
In 2008,TMZ photographer Josh Levine filed a lawsuit against Harrelson for an alleged attack outside a Hollywood nightclub in 2006. A video of the incident appeared to show Harrelson grabbing a camera and clashing with the photographer. Los Angeles prosecutors declined to press charges against the actor, but Levine filed a suit that summer asking for $2.5 million in damages.[62] The case was dismissed in April 2010.[63]
Harrelson is an enthusiast and supporter of the legalization ofmarijuana andhemp.[67][68] He was a guest onZiggy Marley's track "Wild and Free", a song advocating the growing of cannabis. Since 2003, Harrelson has served as a member onNORML's advisory board.[69]
Harrelson has attended environmental events such as the PICNIC'07 festival that was held inAmsterdam in September 2007.[70] PICNIC describes its annual festival as "three intensive days [when] we mix creativity, science, technology, media, and business to explore new solutions in the spirit of co-creation".[71] He once scaled theGolden Gate Bridge with members of North CoastEarth First! group to unfurl a banner that read, "Hurwitz, aren't ancient redwoods more precious than gold?" in protest of Maxxam Inc. CEOCharles Hurwitz, who once stated, "He who has the gold, makes the rules."[72]
Harrelson once traveled to the west coast in the U.S. on a bike and a domino caravan with a hemp oil-fueledbiodiesel bus with the Spitfire Agency (the subject of the independent documentaryGo Further) and narrated the 1999 documentaryGrass. He briefly owned anoxygen bar inWest Hollywood called "O2".[citation needed][73]
Harrelson has spoken publicly against the2003 invasion of Iraq as well as previously protesting against theFirst Gulf War, both atUCLA as well as during a college concert tour in Iowa and Nebraska in 1991 under the auspices of "Woody Harrelson Educational Tours". In October 2009, he was given an honorary degree byYork University for his contributions in the fields of environmental education, sustainability, and activism.[74]
In June 2010, Harrelson took part inSoccer Aid atOld Trafford in Manchester to raise money forUNICEF.[75] Harrelson played the last 15 minutes and scored the winning goal in the penalty shootout following a 2–2 draw during normal time.[75] He played in the UNICEF game 2012, playing the last 10 minutes of the game for the Rest of the World team, losing 3–1 to England.
Harrelson describes himself as an anarchist.[76] In a conversation withHoward Zinn, Harrelson stated that he considers Zinn to be a personal hero of his.[77] In 2002, Harrelson wrote an article in the British newspaperThe Guardian condemning PresidentGeorge W. Bush's preparation for aUS invasion of Iraq as a "racist and imperialist war".[78] He also stated that he was against the U.S.'s previouswar in Iraq and PresidentBill Clinton'ssanctions against Iraq. In 2013, Harrelson condemned PresidentBarack Obama for failing to withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan, negatively comparing him toRichard Nixon.[79]
In 2023, he appeared to endorseRobert F. Kennedy Jr.[80] In May 2024, Kennedy'scampaign released a short documentary on the life and career of RFK Jr, narrated by Harrelson.[81]
^"Woody Harrelson".hollywood.com. 2007.Archived from the original on January 25, 2013. RetrievedSeptember 9, 2007.whimsically married in Tijuana in 1985 intending to divorce the following day, but when the couple returned to the storefront marriage/divorce parlor, they found it closed because it was Sunday; marriage lasted 10 months; Harrelson would later tellUSA Today, 'We had to get a summary dissolution through Jacoby and Meyers. I think at the time Neil was a little bit worried I might try to go after her money.'
^"Woody Harrelson – Cannabis activist and personal freedom supporter". e-stoned.com. 2007. Archived fromthe original on September 28, 2007. RetrievedSeptember 9, 2007.among other prominent activists opposed to marijuana prohibition. He has lent his celebrity status to the cause of reforming marijuana laws. Harrelson Backs Medical Pot Growers in California
^"No Compromise in Defense of Mother Earth! Earth First". northcoastearthfirst. 2007. Archived from the original on August 25, 2007. RetrievedSeptember 9, 2007.With the help of actor Woody Harrelson, a group of NCEF! activists hung a huge banner from the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, which said, "Charles Hurwitz, Aren't Ancient Redwoods More Precious Than Gold?"
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