Born:
July 23, 1961
in
Midland, Texas
Best Known For:
His starring role in Cheers and a string of hit movies.
Early-life:
Born Woodrick Tracy Harrelson on July 23, 1961, in Midland, Texas, but grew up in Lebanon, Ohio. His father, Charles, has twice been found guilty of committing murder for money - once in 1968, the second time in 1978. He is also believed to have been one of several so-called hobos escorted from the infamous grassy knoll in Dallas immediately after JFK's assassination in 1963. Harrelson gained a degree in theatre arts and English from Hanover College in Indiana before moving to New York.
Career:
Harrelson was an understudy for Neil Simon's Biloxi Blues on Broadway and appeared in various small productions before gaining the role of dimwitted barman Woody Boyd in Cheers in 1985. His TV commitments made it difficult for him to gain good movie roles, although he did star in the hit White Men Can't Jump in 1992. When the sitcom finished a year later, he concentrated on films, and has since starred in Indecent Proposal, Natural Born Killers, The People vs Larry Flynt, Welcome to Sarajevo, The Thin Red Line, A Scanner Darkly, No Country for Old Men, The Messenger, Zombieland, 2012 and The Hunger Games movies. In 2014, he starred alongside Matthew McConaughey in HBO crime drama True Detective.
Quote:
"I like crying. And I not only wanna cry with other people, I wanna just split myself down the middle and open my guts and just throw everything out!"
Trivia:
Harrelson has had a few brushes with the law.