Woody Harrelson

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Woody Harrelson
Image:Woody Harrelson cropped by David Shankbone.jpg
Woody Harrelson at the Tribeca Film Festival
Birth name Woodrow Tracy Harrelson
Born July 23 1961 (1961-07-23) (age 47)
Midland, Texas, U.S.
Spouse(s) Laura Louie (m. January 11, 1998, present) 3 children
Nancy Simon (m. June 29, 1985 div. 1986)

Woodrow Tracy "Woody" Harrelson (born July 23, 1961) is an American Emmy Award-winning and Academy Award-nominated actor. His first well-known role was Woody Boyd in the 1980s sitcom Cheers. Notable film roles include Mickey Knox in Natural Born Killers, Larry Flynt in The People vs. Larry Flynt and Dusty in A Prairie Home Companion.

Contents

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early life

Harrelson was born in Midland, Texas, the son of Diane Lou (née Oswald) and Charles Voyde Harrelson, who divorced in 1964; he has two brothers, Jordan and Brett, the latter of whom is a professional motorcycle racer. Harrelson grew up in Lebanon, Ohio, with his mother. Harrelson attended Lebanon High School and later Hanover College in Indiana, becoming a member of the Sigma Chi Fraternity, and receiving a Bachelor of Arts in Theater Arts and English in 1983.

[edit] Career

Image:White men cant jump.jpg
Harrelson in White Men Can't Jump
After graduation, Harrelson moved to New York City. In 1985, he was cast as the naive but genial Midwestern bartender Woody Boyd on the television series Cheers, and won an Emmy for the role. His first film was 1986's Wildcats with Goldie Hawn. Harrelson became friends with Wesley Snipes and starred with him in the box-office hits Money Train and White Men Can't Jump. He appeared in mostly minor roles until he starred in Robert Redford's Indecent Proposal in 1993, a role which helped open doors for Harrelson in the film industry.

In 1994 Harrelson starred in arguably his best known role to date, Mickey Knox in Oliver Stone's Natural Born Killers. During this time he also starred in the Farrelly brothers cult classic Kingpin. In 1996, he starred in the title role of the controversial film The People vs. Larry Flynt, for which he received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor. Following this performance Harrelson went to star in films such as Wag the Dog, Edtv, The Thin Red Line and Palmetto.

More recently, he had a fairly long run on the NBC sitcom Will & Grace as Grace's love interest Nathan and played FBI agent Stan in 2004's After the Sunset. His most recent films are A Prairie Home Companion and A Scanner Darkly, and No Country for Old Men which were released in June and July of 2006 and November of 2007, respectively.

[edit] Personal life

In 1985, Harrelson married Nancy Simon, daughter of playwright Neil Simon, in Tijuana. The two intended to divorce the following day, but the storefront marriage/divorce parlor was closed when they had returned to it, and the two remained married for ten months.[1] On January 11, 1998, Harrelson married Laura Louie, his former assistant of two years and a co-founder of Yoganics, an organic food delivery service.[2] The couple, who have been together since 1990, have three daughters, Deni Montana (born March 5, 1993), Zoe Giordano (born September 22, 1996), and Makani Ravello (born June 3, 2006). When announcing Makani's birth, the couple referred to the three as their "goddess trilogy".[3]

[edit] Activist work

Image:Woodyandme.jpg
Woody Harrelson in 2004
Harrelson is a supporter and activist for the legalization of marijuana and hemp in the US.[3] On June 1, 1996, he was arrested in Kentucky after he symbolically planted four hemp seeds to challenge state law that failed to distinguish between industrial hemp and marijuana. Harrelson won the case.

Harrelson is also an environmental activist. He once climbed the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco with members of North Coast Earth First! group to unfurl a banner that said, "Hurwitz. Aren't ancient redwoods more precious than gold?" in protest of MAXXAM/Pacific Lumber CEO Charles Hurwitz, who once stated, "He who has the gold, makes the rules".[3] Harrelson, an ethical vegan and raw foodist, has also denounced animal experiments in the cosmetics industry.

He has travelled the American West Coast on a bike and domino caravan with a hemp oil-fueled biodiesel bus (the subject of the independent documentary, Go Further) and has narrated the documentary Grass. Harrelson briefly owned an oxygen bar in West Hollywood called "O2". He is also a peace activist and has often spoken publicly against the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

[edit] Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
1986 Wildcats Krushinski His first film
1987 Bay Coven Slater
1988 Cool Blue Dustin Direct-to-Video
Mickey's 60th Birthday Woodrow Tiberius "Woody" Boyd TV
Killer Instinct Charlie Long TV
1990 L.A. Story Harris' Boss Cameo
Mother Goose Rock 'n' Rhyme Lou the Lamb Cameo
1991 Doc Hollywood Hank Gordon
Ted and Venus Homeless Vietnam Veteran Cameo
1992 White Men Can't Jump Billy Hoyle
1992 Cheers: Last Call! Woodrow Tiberius "Woody" Boyd NBC special
1993 Indecent Proposal David Murphy
1994 Natural Born Killers Mickey Knox
The Cowboy Way Pepper Lewis
I'll Do Anything Ground Zero Hero
1995 Money Train Charlie
1996 The People vs. Larry Flynt Larry Claxton Flynt Jr. Nominated for an Oscar: Best Actor in a Leading Role
Kingpin Roy Munson
The Sunchaser Dr. Michael Reynolds
1997 Wag the Dog Sgt. William Schumann
Welcome to Sarajevo Jordan Flynn
1998 The Thin Red Line Sgt.Keck
Palmetto Harry Barber
The Hi-Lo Country Big Boy Matson
1999 Play It to the Bone Vince Boudreau
EDtv Ray Pekurny
Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me Himself Cameo
2003 Anger Management Galaxia/Gary
Go Further Kendisi
Scorched Jason 'Woods' Valley
2004 After the Sunset Stanley "Stan" P. Lloyd
She Hate Me Lenald Power
2005 North Country Bill White
The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio Kelly Ryan Limited
The Big White Raymond "Ray" Barnell
2006 Free Jimmy Roy Arnie (voice) English version
A Scanner Darkly Ernie Luckman
A Prairie Home Companion Dusty
2007 The Walker Carter Page III
No Country for Old Men Carson Wells
Battle in Seattle Dale
The Grand One Eyed Jack Faro
2008 Transsiberian Roy
Semi-Pro Monix
Sleepwalking Randall
Bolt Rhino the Hamster voice only
Management Jango filming

[edit] References

  1. ^ Woody Harrelson (HTML). hollywood.com (2007). Retrieved on 2007-09-09. “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 tell USA TODAY's Tom Green, "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.”
  2. ^ Woody Harrelson (HTML). yahoo (2007). Retrieved on 2007-09-09. “wife Laura Louie: born c. 1965; co-founded Yoganics, an organic food home delivery service in 1996; worked as Harrelson's assistant for over two years (1987 to c. 1990)”
  3. ^ a b c Woody Harrelson, Wife Welcome Daughter (HTML). PEOPLE (MONDAY JUNE 05, 2006 07:15 PM EDT). Retrieved on 2007-09-09. “We are proud to announce the completion of our goddess trilogy with the birth of our third daughter, Makani Ravello, born on June 3rd”

[edit] External links

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