Woody Harrelson’s first role was the one that brought him immediately to stardom, which was his supporting part as Woody Boyd on the sitcom Cheers, in 1985. Brought on as a replacement for Nicholas Colasanto, who passed away earlier that year, Boyd was a simple-minded, but good-hearted bartender, often misunderstanding characters’ dubious intentions and sometimes taking things too literally. The role earned Harrelson five Emmy Awards.
Harrelson started taking on movie roles during the last few years of Cheers, and after the show ended, his film career really took off. And while Harrelson was known for portraying one of the nicest characters on Cheers, many of his film roles were the total antithesis of Woody Boyd.
Despite such a drastic change of pace, Harrelson received numerous awards for the many roles he’s taken on, and many of his films have drawn large crowds. The latest film of his, Zombieland: Double Tap, is the sequel to the 2009 cult hit Zombieland, and finds him revisiting fan-favorite character Tallahassee. The sequel received positive reviews, just like its predecessor, and has so far been doing well for itself at the box office.
To coincide with Zombieland: Double Tap’s release, here’s a look back at ten of Harrelson’s best films (in alphabetical order):
1) The Edge of Seventeen
This coming-of-age drama stars Hailee Steinfeld as Nadine Franklin, a depressed teen whose brother, played by Blake Jenner, starts dating her best friend, played by Haley Lu Richardson, which strains her relationship with both of them. Harrelson plays Mr. Bruner, Nadine’s high school teacher and her main source of support. While the role does sound like a stock character, Harrelson winds up having the best role in the film. While he always cares about Nadine, calling her his favorite student, he has no problem firing nasty insults back at her when she tries to start arguments with him, and the dialogue exchanges between the two make for some side-splitting hilarity that elevates Harrelson’s role far from being just a typical supporting character. While this is ultimately Steinfeld’s movie, Harrelson’s presence is just as strong here.
2) The Messenger
The film focuses on Ben Foster as Sgt. Will Montgomery, a U.S. Army Staff Sergeant on leave who winds up having to be a casualty notification officer, under the direction of Captain Tony Stone, played by Harrelson. The film is often dark, though is an in-depth look at the intricacies of different relationships, as Foster and Harrelson witness the different ways in which family members react to the news of their loved ones’ deaths, and relate them to their own experiences. The film could have easily gone down a very heavy-handed route, but deals with its subject matter in a mature and subtle route, making it one of the best and most underrated films of 2009. The film was nominated for countless awards, including the Academy Awards, and it was mainly for two things: Best Original Screenplay and Harrelson as Best Supporting Actor. Needless to say, while an often overlooked film, this is one of the actor’s finest roles.
3) Natural Born Killers
Harrelson’s first major role right after Cheers ended found him as one half of the titular killers, alongside Juliette Lewis. The two portray Mickey and Mallory Knox, two serial killers on the run from the police who go on to be hailed as cult figures and seen as a modern-day Bonnie and Clyde. Directed by Oliver Stone, the film is one of the most polarizing cult films around. On one hand, like many films to this day, it’s seen as having sympathy for serial killers and there were worries about the film inspiring real-life violence. On the other hand, the film is a great look at the way in which the media tends to portray violence in the news and glorify killers as cult figures. It has a very jarring visual style, with many scenes feeling like major drug trips. Though for those who can appreciate the satire, it can be a very darkly funny movie, with some great performances from both Harrelson and Lewis. The film also boasts an excellent supporting cast, including a wonderfully over-the-top Tommy Lee Jones, Rodney Dangerfield, and in one of his best pre-Iron Man roles, Robert Downey Jr. as the tabloid journalist who follows Mickey and Mallory around throughout the film.
4) No Country For Old Men
This Best Picture winner at the 80th Academy Awards focuses on a drug deal gone wrong, and a man named Llewelyn Moss, played by Josh Brolin on the run from a hitman named Anton Chigurh, played by Javer Bardem, after he takes off with the money. Harrelson plays a small, but pivotal, supporting part in the film as Carson Wells, a hired operative whose brief but sudden involvement plays an integral role in driving forth the cat-and-mouse between Moss and Chigurh. Written and directed by the Coen Brothers, who adapted the film from the critically acclaimed novel by Cormac McCarthy, this is often seen as their best work. The cinematography is fantastic, the suspense is slow-burning but extremely tension-filled, and the performances are top-notch, making it one of the finest films of the 21st century.
5) The People Vs. Larry Flynt
Quite possibly the best of Harrelson’s earlier roles, this biographical drama has Harrelson starring as the titular Flynt, who rose to prominence for publishing the pornographic magazine Hustler, and subsequently came under much public scrutiny, leading him to become an adamant defender of free speech. Despite being directed by acclaimed director Milos Forman and containing an excellent screenplay by Ed Wood (and later Man on the Moon) duo Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski, this film’s strongest element is without a doubt Harrelson’s performance. Here, he’s at his most commanding as Flynt, taking control of every scene he’s in, turning the controversial publisher and making him someone easy to invest in. The role earned Harrelson a great deal of awards, as well as a nomination for Best Actor at the Academy Awards, and this solidified him as an excellent leading man in film.
6) Seven Psychopaths
A struggling screenwriter, played by Colin Farrell, gets mixed up in the criminal underworld when his friends, played by Sam Rockwell and Christopher Walken, steal the Shih Tzu of a gangster, played by Harrelson. Martin McDonagh’s follow up to the critically acclaimed In Bruges wasn’t quite as well received as the former, but it’s still a ridiculously good time and extremely hilarious. Harrelson got to combine the best of both his dramatic and comedic skills as the antagonist, Charlie Costello. One moment he’s cracking jokes, and the next minute he turns brutally sinister and absolutely vicious, making him one of the most unpredictable forces in the film. The rest of the cast is also top notch, with Farrell, Rockwell, and Walken all turning in some fantastic performances of their own. A pitch black violent comedy that still manages to get in some solid character drama, this was by far one of the best films of 2012.
7) Three Billboard Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Harrelson’s second collaboration with Martin McDonagh finds him as police chief Bill Willoughby, who failed to solve the rape and murder of a young woman. In retaliation, her angry mother, played by Frances McDormand, puts up the titular three billboards specifically calling Willoughby out for his lack of progress. While the film still maintains McDonagh’s signature blending of pitch black comedy and drama, this is a much heavier film than either Seven Psychopaths or In Bruges. Though unlike those other two films, this made much more of a serious impact, inspiring protestors for various events to do what McDormand’s character did here and post billboards with similar wording. Like Seven Psycopaths, this was without a doubt one of the best films of its year, with its emotional drama, moments of dark humor, and fantastic performances. Harrelson was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for this film, but ended up losing to Sam Rockwell, also for this film. McDormand also ended up winning Best Actress.
8) Transsiberian
Harrelson stars alongside Emily Mortimer as an American couple who take a train from Beijing to Moscow. Along the way, they encounter a mysterious young couple, played by Kate Mara and Eduardo Noriega, who seem friendly at first, but soon find out aren’t who they seem to be. It’s a bit of a typical setup, with its “danger on a train” scenario, in the vein of Murder on the Orient Express. However, this often-forgotten thriller is extremely tense, thanks to some fantastic direction by Brad Anderson. The film is filled with pulse-pounding suspense, and is incredibly atmospheric, capturing that old-school mystery feel that’s not often seen in films these days. In terms of acting, Mortimer ultimately gets some of the meatiest scenes, though everyone does a really solid job here, including Harrelson, Mara, as well as Ben Kingsley as an unexpected passenger who joins later on in the film. It’s not one of the most well-known films around, but it’s one that you shouldn’t miss.
9) War for the Planet of the Apes
The third film in the Planet of the Apes reboot trilogy finds the series’ protagonist Caesar, played by Andy Serkis, two years into a war with the humans after the events of the second film. Harrelson leads the human army as a man simply known as The Colonel, a ruthless man with a vendetta against the apes. Harrelson fully taps more into his evil side here, more so than he did in Seven Psychopaths or Natural Born Killers, having close to no redeemable qualities about him, and The Colonel quickly becomes a very loathsome character upon meeting him. As far as the reboot trilogy goes, the second film, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, remains the best of the trilogy, this is not far behind. Containing some great emotional depth, thrilling action scenes, and top notch special effects, this served as a fitting conclusion to one of the best reboots around.
10) Zombieland
Harrelson’s first foray into Zombieland remains one of his best roles to date. Harrelson stars as Tallahassee, a trigger-happy survivor of the zombie apocalypse, who teams up with Jesse Eisenberg’s Columbus, Emma Stone’s Wichita, and Abigail Breslin’s Little Rock as they battle zombies as well as trying to put up with one another in the process. This film was one of the first that brought on a renewed mainstream interest in the zombie genre, made not too long before shows like The Walking Dead were around. And it remains one of the most fun ventures into the genre. The film allowed Harrelson to really let loose after having just starred in much heavier dramas like Seven Pounds and the previously mentioned Transsiberian and No Country for Old Men in the last few days. He, along with the rest of the main cast, have some fantastic chemistry with one another that make for some really solid laughs that nicely balance out its over-the-top violence. Dark, bloody, and ridiculous, Zombieland is still a great time to this day.
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