Mini Biography
Academy Award-nominee Woody Harrelson was born on July 23, 1961 in Midland, Texas. He grew up in Lebanon, Ohio, and, after receiving degrees in theater arts and English from Hannover College, had a brief stint in New York theater. He was soon cast as Woody on TV series "Cheers" (1982), which wound up being one of the most-popular TV shows ever and also earned Harrelson an Emmy for his performance in 1989.
While he dabbled in film during his time on "Cheers" (1982), that area of his career didn't fully take off until towards the end of the show's run. In 1991, Doc Hollywood (1991) gave him his first widely-seen movie role, and he followed that up with White Men Can't Jump (1992), Indecent Proposal (1993) and Natural Born Killers (1994). Recently, Harrelson has been seen in No Country for Old Men (2007), Zombieland (2009), 2012 (2009/I), and Friends with Benefits (2011), along with the acclaimed HBO movie Game Change (2012) (TV).
In 2011, Harrelson snagged the coveted role of fan-favorite drunk Haymitch Abernathy in the big-screen adaptation of The Hunger Games (2012), which ended up being one of the highest-grossing movies ever at the domestic box office. Harrelson is set to reprise that role for the sequels, which are scheduled for release in November 2013, 2014 and 2015. Harrelson has received two Academy Award nominations, first for his role as controversial Penthouse founder Larry Flynt in The People vs. Larry Flynt (1996) and then for a role in The Messenger (2009/I). He also received Golden Globe nominations for both of these parts.
Harrelson was briefly married to Nancy Simon in the 80s, and is currently married to his former assistant, Laura Louie, with whom he has three daughters.
Filmography
2013 Untitled Detective Project (TV series) (pre-production)
Martin Hart
2013 Out of the Furnace (post-production)
Curtis DeGroat
2013 The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (post-production)
Haymitch Abernathy
2013 Turkeys (post-production)
Jake (voice)
2013 Now You See Me (post-production)
Merritt Osbourne
2012 Seven Psychopaths
Charlie
2012 The Hunger Games
Haymitch Abernathy
2012 Game Change (TV movie)
Steve Schmidt
2011 Rampart
David Douglas Brown
2011 Friends with Benefits
Tommy
2010 Bunraku
The Bartender
2009/I 2012
Charlie Frost
2009 Zombieland
Tallahassee
2009 Defendor
Arthur Poppington / Defendor
2009/I The Messenger
Captain Tony Stone
2008 Seven Pounds
Ezra
2008 Management
Jango
2008 Surfer, Dude
Jack Mayweather
2008 Semi-Pro
Monix
2008 Sleepwalking
Randall
2008 Transsiberian
Roy
2007 Battle in Seattle
Dale
2007 The Grand
One Eyed Jack Faro
2007 No Country for Old Men
Carson Wells
2007 The Walker
Carter Page III
2006 A Scanner Darkly
Ernie Luckman
2006 Free Jimmy
Roy Arnie (voice: English version)
2006 A Prairie Home Companion
Dusty
2005 The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio
Kelly Ryan
2005 North Country
Bill White
2005 The Big White
Raymond Barnell
2004 After the Sunset
Stan Lloyd
2004 She Hate Me
Leland Powell
2003 Anger Management
Galaxia / Security Guard Gary
2003/I Scorched
Jason 'Woods' Valley
2001 Will & Grace (TV series)
Nathan
1999 Play It to the Bone
Vince Boudreau
1999 Edtv
Ray Pekurny
1999 Frasier (TV series)
Woody Boyd
1998 The Hi-Lo Country
Big Boy Matson
1998 The Thin Red Line
Sgt. Keck
1998 Ellen (TV series)
Henry
1998 Palmetto
Harry Barber
1997 Wag the Dog
Sergeant William Schumann
1997 Welcome to Sarajevo
Flynn
1996 Spin City (TV series)
Tommy Dugan
1996 The People vs. Larry Flynt
Larry Flynt
1996 Kingpin
Roy Munson
1996 The Sunchaser
Dr. Michael Reynolds
1995 Money Train
Charlie
1994 The Simpsons (TV series)
Woody Boyd
1994 Natural Born Killers
Mickey Knox
1994 The Cowboy Way
Pepper Lewis
1994 I'll Do Anything
Ground Zero Hero
1985-1993 Cheers (TV series)
Woody Boyd
1993 Indecent Proposal
David Murphy
1992 White Men Can't Jump
Billy Hoyle
1991 Ted & Venus
Homeless Vietnam Veteran
1991 Doc Hollywood
Hank Gordon
1991 L.A. Story
Harris' Boss (uncredited)
1990 The American Film Institute Presents: TV or Not TV? (TV movie)
1990 Mother Goose Rock 'n' Rhyme (TV movie)
Lou the Lamb
1990 Cool Blue (video)
Dustin
1990 Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color (TV series)
Woody Boyd
1989 Kenny Rogers Classic Weekend (TV movie)
1989 Dear John (TV series)
Richard
1989 True Believer
Man in Dodd's office (uncredited)
1988 Killer Instinct (TV movie)
Charlie Long
1988 Mickey's 60th Birthday (TV movie)
Woody Boyd
1987 Bay Coven (TV movie)
Slater
1987 Paul Reiser Out on a Whim (TV movie)
1986 Wildcats
Krushinski
1978 Harper Valley P.T.A.
Extra (uncredited)
