Woody Harrelson

Woody Harrelson’s 10 Best Movies

Woody Harrelson

Woody Harrelson is incredibly underrated as one of the most versatile and talented dramatic and comedic actors of his generation, both on the big and small screens.  In 1985, Cheers faced a casting crisis when beloved actor Nicholas Colasanto died.  To replace him behind the bar, they cast an unknown young Woody Harrelson who only went on to be Emmy nominated six times for playing Woody Boyd: Cheers‘ clueless and lovable little brother.  But in the 25 years since Cheers‘ end, Harrelson has put together one of the most impressive resumes of any actor working.  His range is astounding: from goofball to serial killer to an impressive series of military and law enforcement characters (both good and evil) and back again to goofball.  There are some performers for whom it’s a struggle to put together 10 pieces of work and an honorable mention.  Woody could have had a whole second list, and he’s only continuing to get better.

Shelly Long and Woody Harrelson in Cheers
Woody Harrelson’s Best 10

1. Cheers (1985-1993, NBC) Woody Boyd
2. Wag the Dog (1997) Sgt. William Schumann
3. True Detective Season One (2014-HBO) Det. Marty Hart
4. War for the Planet of the Apes (2017) The Colonel
5. Edge of Seventeen (2016) Mr. Bruner
6. Zombieland (2009) Tallahassee
7. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017) Willoughby
8. Game Change (2012-HBO) Steve Schmidt
9. Seven Psychopaths (2012) Charlie
10. Now You See Me (2013) Merritt McKinney
Honorable Mention: North Country (2005) Bill White

Woody Harrelson in Wag the Dog

Oscars, Golden Globes & Emmys

Oscar Wins (0): None

Oscar Nominations (3): The People vs. Larry Flynt (1997), The Messenger (2010), Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri (2018)

Hailee Steinfeld and Woody Harrelson in Edge of Seventeen

Golden Globe Wins (0): None

Golden Globe Nominations (4): The People vs. Larry Flynt (1997), The Messenger (2010), Game Change (2013), True Detective (2015)

Woody Harrelson in War for the Planet of the Apes

Emmy Wins (1): Cheers (1991)

Emmy Nominations (9): Cheers (1987-1991), Frasier (1999-Guest Actor), Game Change (2012), True Detective (2014-Actor and Producer)

Woody Harrelson in True Detective

My Favorite Harrelson Scene:
“The Nature of Economics” from Cheers Season 8 (1989)

Next Film: Harrelson will next appear (reportedly as Carnage) in October’s Venom with Tom Hardy.  He’s currently shooting The Highwaymen with Kevin Costner about the policemen who capture Bonnie & Clyde.


6 thoughts on “Woody Harrelson’s 10 Best Movies”

  1. I love this guy! His charisma is off the chart. He was wonderful in Cheers, he was one of the most benign and lovable TV characters of all time, but the film roles he picked early on were carefully chosen to ditch that image. It might not have worked, if he wasn’t so darn good. I’m thinking specifically of Indecent Proposal, Natural Born Killers, and The People Vs. Larry Flint. I don’t like any of those movies, but he is incredibly natural and convincing in them, and while it’s impossible to forget Woody from Cheers when you watch those films, you don’t experience a cognitive dissonance trying to reconcile his TV and movie work. You did experience a cognitive dissonance when Oliver Stone tried to place the blame for the actions of two serial killers on every corner of our society, while letting the serial killers dance off into the sunset at the end (“but it’s a satire!”). You definitely experienced a cognitive dissonance when you were asked to view Larry Flint as a hero, instead of a guy who simply had every right to engage in free speech, as all Americans do, from the best to the worst. But Woody… ah, Woody. He elevates whatever he is in.


    Liked by 1 person

    1. Well, I think you and I both have a disdain for Oliver Stone, but Harrelson definitely made a conscious choice to run from Cheers type casting as soon as he could, and he’s had the best film career of any cast member, so you can’t argue with his results. I hope he gets another nomination for Three Billboards. He certainly deserves it.

      Liked by 1 person

  2. Woody will more than make up for any shortcomings in Echenreich. I’m starting to think that Solo is looking better and better. Have you entertained the possibility that it recaptures that OT feel, and actually helps to heal the rift in the fan community caused by TLJ? The opposite of what was assumed would happen? I mean, it’s not like TLJ is a bomb, I am not saying that, it’s about to pass 1 billion, the other day Disney officially made back the 4 billion they paid for Lucasfilm in SW movie ticket sales, the second TLJ weekend was the dodgy-for-BO Christmas weekend, there was non-stop negative Last Jedi press in the week leading up to the Holiday weekend, it’s a middle chapter in a trilogy (always a hard sell), TFA and R1 were unknown quantities, and people now know there will be a SW film every year, so enthusiasm is waning. Maybe Solo surprises, provides a shot in the arm.


    Liked by 1 person

    1. I certainly want it to be good. I think a lot of the problem will be creating awareness amongst non-hardcore fans who have no clue there’s another SW movie coming out in five months. I know they don’t want to step on TLJ’s box office (which is doing just fine) but they need to start marketing Solo soon. I’m heartened that John Williams is writing the main theme, even if he’s not scoring it (TLJ’s music is impeccable no matter what you think of the film). Kasdan did say that his script was the best SW script he had ever written when this all began, so is it possible? Sure. But it does have a horrible release date. I get Disney doesn’t want to movie Nutcracker or Mary Poppins 2 during holiday 2018, but even moving this to August would give it a better shot than sandwiching it between Infinity War and Deadpool 2 and Incredibles 2. As far as healing the rift? I don’t think so. I don’t even think Episode IX can do that. Fans may really enjoy the anthology films here and there, but it’s the Saga that is the backbone of the franchise, and what VII healed VIII broke. Now we’re just stuck with a new argument that, personally, I’m too tired to actually have, which is why I haven’t written up my problems with the film. Rather just move on. When the poll results for the community rating get published later this week, you can see that at least readers here are totally polarized (though 10 passed 1 for the new top rating; neither actually being a correct assessment of the film).

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Happy New Year.


        Here’s the reason why you need to have hope for SW: the seuqel trilogy is just three films, and we all knew Disney bought Lucasfilm with the aim of making 20 or more. I was hoping the saga films would end after Eposode 9. Disney has still not made up thier mind about that. Did I want to the episodes to end because of a stalwart descision by Disney, rather than because of damage control? Of course. The way this is happening is terrible. But it was always going to be a business choice on thier part, and ending the Skywalker saga after this trilogy is still the right thing to do. And if TLJ pushes them in the right direction, where they might not have gone otherwise, it might actually be a good thing for the franchise in the long run.

        The numbered episodes were going to be a drag past 10. The ongoing saga was not going to work if there was never any final in sight. People were going to quickly sense the forced open-endedness, and the fact that Disney was pretending it was a single coherent story when it was not. It was going to become really ridiculous.


        IF Disney can right this ship, and make quality films like Rogue One that are well-received, which BTW is MUCH easier to do when you divorce the movies from the expectations of the numbered episodes, this all might be OK. All Solo has to be is good. People will understand if it simply underperforms at the BO. It’s been set up to fail. It might be fantastic BTW. Diehard SW fans are a crabby, fickle crowd who are as likely to base thier opinions on the vagaries of lightsaber coloration as the actual merits of the movies, and they have been burned and jerked around, and maybe TLJ was the last straw, and everything from this point on will be approached with distrust and the finest of fine-toothed combs. But as for the multitudes and multitudes of folks who tend to enjoy SW because SW embodies the concept of having fun at the movies? They will keep loving SW, so long as Disney does not choke with the next few films. If I were Disney I would postpone 9 and maybe make Obi Wan first. Then try to make 9 a triumphant return to form, even if it’s three years from now. TLJ’s biggest crime is that it is a weird movie with an off-kilter tone designed to keep the audience off balance, in a nervous way. This is an easy to fix problem going forward. Just cut all that out, and go back to making SW.

        Liked by 1 person

      2. It feels a little ridiculous to even be having this conversation, with the film having made this much money. I know you can say: crowd enough people into enough theaters quickly enough and they’ll cough up a lot of money before they’ve realized they didn’t like the movie. But I’m not ready to declare that this movie hurt the brand that much. Not yet. I’m not sure it’s that widely disliked. I’m sure you know that i’m not trying to minimize your opinion or your disappointment. But we are living in a weird time, and the internet is a weird place, and there is a lot of smoke and mirror stuff going on in the form of clickbait. Just because a movie does not have people in paroxysms of excitement does not mean it’s a disappointment, especially not in 2017, and even ESB would not be whipping people up today. Dark middle part of a trilogy where nothing gets resolved. I’m going to ride this one out without getting too discouraged.


        Like

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