Woody Harrelson
Biography
Woodrow Tracy Woody Harrelson is an American actor born on July 23, 1961, in Midland, Texas. He grew up in Lebanon, Ohio, and earned degrees in theater arts and English. Harrelson first achieved widespread recognition for his work on the NBC sitcom Cheers, where he portrayed the bartender Woody Boyd from 1985 to 1993. Throughout his career, he has been recognized for his performances with multiple industry honors, including a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series and three Academy Award nominations. He is a versatile performer known for his work in both television and film, maintaining a long-standing presence in the entertainment industry.
Career overview
Harrelson began his rise to fame on the television series Cheers, joining the cast in 1985 for the show's fourth season. During his eight-season tenure, he received five Emmy Award nominations and won the award in 1989. Following his success on television, Harrelson transitioned into a prolific film career. He has appeared in a wide range of notable motion pictures, including White Men Can't Jump, Natural Born Killers, The Thin Red Line, No Country for Old Men, Seven Pounds, Zombieland, Seven Psychopaths, and Solo: A Star Wars Story. His work has earned him critical acclaim and multiple Academy Award nominations, including a Best Actor nod for The People vs. Larry Flynt and Best Supporting Actor nominations for The Messenger and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.
In addition to his filmography, Harrelson has continued to work in television, most notably starring in the HBO series True Detective. His career is characterized by his ability to portray diverse characters across various genres, moving from his early comedic roots on Cheers to more dramatic roles in cinema. With 187 known acting credits, he remains an established figure in American acting, recognized for his contributions to both classic sitcoms and major feature films.
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Career timeline
Full filmography
- Animal Farm (2026) as Boxer (voice)
- Animal Farm (2026) Executive Producer
- Brothers (2026) as Woody Harrelson
- Brothers (2026) Executive Producer
- Groundswell (2026) as Narrator (voice)
- Full Phil (2026) as Philip Doom
- Robert Richardson: The White Devil (2026) as Self
- Now You See Me: Now You Don't (2025) as Merritt McKinney
- The Electric State (2025) as Mr. Peanut (voice)
- Last Breath (2025) as Duncan Allcock
- Ella McCay (2025) as Eddie McCay
- Ladies & Gentlemen... 50 Years of SNL Music (2025) as Self
- Kuleana (2025) as Narrator (voice)
- Fly Me to the Moon (2024) as Moe Berkus
- Suncoast (2024) as Paul
- Girl from the North Country (2024) as Nick Laine
- White House Plumbers (2023) as E. Howard Hunt
- White House Plumbers (2023) Executive Producer
- Champions (2023) as Marcus
- Champions (2023) Executive Producer
- Common Ground (2023) as Self
- Willie Nelson 90: Long Story Short (2023) as Self
- Triangle of Sadness (2022) as The Captain
- The Man from Toronto (2022) as The Man from Toronto
- The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse (2022) Executive Producer
- Homeward Bound: A Grammy Salute to the Songs of Paul Simon (2022) as Self
- Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021) as Cletus Kasady / Carnage
- Kate (2021) as Varrick
- The Freak Brothers (2021) as Freewheelin' Franklin Freek (voice)
- Dear Rider: The Jake Burton Story (2021) as Narrator (voice)
- Kiss the Ground (2020) as Self - Narrator (voice)
- The Men of Midway (2020) as Self
- Roland Emmerich: Man on a Mission (2020) as Self
- The Kelly Clarkson Show (2019) as Self
- Zombieland: Double Tap (2019) as Tallahassee
- Midway (2019) as Admiral Chester W. Nimitz
- The Highwaymen (2019) as Manny Gault
- The Highwaymen (2019) Executive Producer
- Breakthrough (2019) as Narrator (voice)
- Live in Front of a Studio Audience: "All in the Family" and "Good Times" (2019) as Archie Bunker
- Live in Front of a Studio Audience: Norman Lear's "All in the Family" and "The Jeffersons" (2019) as Archie Bunker
- Venom (2018) as Cletus Kasady / Carnage
- Basketball: A Love Story (2018) as Self (archive footage)
- Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018) as Tobias Beckett
- The Origins of Ebbing (2018) as Self
- War for the Planet of the Apes (2017) as The Colonel
- Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017) as Willoughby
- The Nineties (2017) as Self (archive footage)
- The Glass Castle (2017) as Rex Walls
- Wilson (2017) as Wilson
- Shock and Awe (2017) as Jonathan Landay
- LBJ (2017) as Lyndon B. Johnson
- Lost in London (2017) as Woody Harrelson
- Lost in London (2017) Writer
- Lost in London (2017) Director
- Lost in London (2017) Producer
- Now You See Me 2 (2016) as Merritt McKinney / Chase McKinney
- The Edge of Seventeen (2016) as Mr. Bruner
- Triple 9 (2016) as Sergeant Detective Jeffrey Allen
- The Duel (2016) as Abraham Brant
- Must See TV: An All Star Tribute to James Burrows (2016) as Self
- Pawns No More: The Making of The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 (2016) as Self (Haymitch Abernathy)
- The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (2015) as Self - Guest
- The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (2015) as Self - Guest
- Hot Ones (2015) as Self
- The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 (2015) as Haymitch Abernathy
- The Mockingjay Lives: The Making of the Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 (2015) as Self - Haymitch Abernathy
- Late Night with Seth Meyers (2014) as Self
- True Detective (2014) as Martin Hart
- True Detective (2014) Executive Producer
- The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 (2014) as Haymitch Abernathy
- Surviving the Game: Making The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2014) as Self - Haymitch Abernathy
- The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013) as Haymitch Abernathy
- Now You See Me (2013) as Merritt McKinney
- The Frame (2013) as Haymitch Abernathy
- Free Birds (2013) as Jake (voice)
- Out of the Furnace (2013) as Harlan DeGroat
- David Blaine: Real or Magic (2013) as Self
- The Hunger Games (2012) as Haymitch Abernathy
- Seven Psychopaths (2012) as Charlie Costello
- Game Change (2012) as Steve Schmidt
- How to Make Money Selling Drugs (2012) as Self
- Who Bombed Judi Bari? (2012) as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
- The World Is Watching: Making the Hunger Games (2012) as Self - Haymitch Abernathy
- Friends with Benefits (2011) as Tommy Bollinger
- Rampart (2011) as Dave Brown
- Method to the Madness of Jerry Lewis (2011) as Self
- The (R)evolution of Immortal Technique (2011) as Self
- Ethos (2011) as Host
- Bunraku (2010) as The Bartender
- The End of the World: The Actor's Perspective (2010) as Self
- 2012: Roland Emmerich - Master of the Modern Epic (2010) as Self
- 2012 (2009) as Charlie Frost
- Zombieland (2009) as Tallahassee
- The Messenger (2009) as Tony Stone
- Defendor (2009) as Arthur Poppington / Defendor
- Management (2009) as Jango
- Miloš Forman: What Doesn't Kill You… (2009) as Self
- Simply Raw: Reversing Diabetes in 30 Days (2009) as Self
- Seven Pounds (2008) as Ezra Turner
- Burma: It Can't Wait (2008) as Divo
- Surfer, Dude (2008) as Jack
- TransSiberian (2008) as Roy
- Semi-Pro (2008) as Monix
- Sleepwalking (2008) as Randall
- Hempsters: Plant the Seed (2008) as Himself
- The Hempire Strikes Back (2008) as Self
- No Country for Old Men: Josh Brolin's Unauthorized Behind the Scenes (2008) as Self
- The Graham Norton Show (2007) as Self
- No Country for Old Men (2007) as Carson Wells
- Nanking (2007) as Bob Wilson
- Battle in Seattle (2007) as Dale
- The Walker (2007) as Carter Page III
- The Grand (2007) as One Eyed Jack Faro
- Raw for Life (2007) as Self
- A Scanner Darkly (2006) as Ernie Luckman
- A Prairie Home Companion (2006) as Dusty
- One Summer in Austin: The Story of Filming 'A Scanner Darkly' (2006) as Self / Luckman
- The Weight of the Line: Animation Tales (2006) as Self
- The Big White (2005) as Raymond Barnell
- North Country (2005) as Bill White
- The Outsider (2005) as Self
- The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio (2005) as Kelly Ryan
- After the Sunset (2004) as Stan Lloyd
- She Hate Me (2004) as Leland Powell
- Linklater: St. Richard of Austin (2004) as Self
- Real Time with Bill Maher (2003) as Self
- Jimmy Kimmel Live! (2003) as Self
- Jimmy Kimmel Live! (2003) as Self - Guest
- The Ellen DeGeneres Show (2003) as Self
- Anger Management (2003) as Galaxia / Security Guard Gary
- Scorched (2003) as Jason 'Woods' Valley
- This So-Called Disaster (2003) as Taxi Driver
- Three Stooges 75th Anniversary Special (2003) as Self - Host
- Celebrities Uncensored (2003) as Self
- Go Further (2003) as Self
- Reel Radicals: The Sixties Revolution in Film (2002) as Narrator (voice)
- American Saint (2001) as Self
- Curb Your Enthusiasm (2000) as Woody Harrelson
- Welcome to Hollywood (2000) as Woody Harrelson
- The Directors: Milos Forman (2000) as Self
- Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999) as Woody Harrelson
- Grass (1999) as Narrator (voice)
- Play It to the Bone (1999) as Vince Boudreau
- EDtv (1999) as Ray Pekurny
- Will & Grace (1998) as Nathan
- The Thin Red Line (1998) as Sgt. William Keck
- Palmetto (1998) as Harry Barber
- The Hi-Lo Country (1998) as Big Boy Matson
- Wag the Dog (1997) as Sergeant William Schumann
- Welcome to Sarajevo (1997) as Flynn
- The Daily Show (1996) as Self
- Spin City (1996) as Tommy Dugan
- The People vs. Larry Flynt (1996) as Larry Flynt
- Kingpin (1996) as Roy Munson
- E! True Hollywood Story (1996)
- The Sunchaser (1996) as Dr. Michael Reynolds
- Money Train (1995) as Charlie
- Natural Born Killers (1994) as Mickey Knox
- The Cowboy Way (1994) as Pepper Lewis
- I'll Do Anything (1994) as Ground Zero Hero
- Frasier (1993) as Woody Boyd
- Indecent Proposal (1993) as David Murphy
- For Our Children (1993) as Self
- MTV Movie & TV Awards (1992) as Self - Presenter
- HBO First Look (1992)
- White Men Can't Jump (1992) as Billy Hoyle
- The Panama Deception (1992) Thanks
- Doc Hollywood (1991) as Hank Gordon
- L.A. Story (1991) as Harris' Boss (uncredited)
- Ted & Venus (1991) as Homeless Vietnam Veteran
- The Earth Day Special (1990) as Woody Boyd
- Disneyland's 35th Anniversary Celebration (1990) as Woody Boyd
- Mother Goose Rock 'n' Rhyme (1990) as Lou the Lamb
- Cool Blue (1990) as Dustin
- The American Film Institute Presents: TV or Not TV? (1990)
- The Simpsons (1989) as Woody Boyd (voice)
- True Believer (1989) as Man in Dodd's office
- LIVE with Kelly and Mark (1988) as Self
- Dear John (1988) as Richard
- She's Having a Baby (1988) as Woody Harrelson (uncredited)
- Mickey's 60th Birthday (1988) as Woody Boyd
- Killer Instinct (1988) as Charlie Long
- Bay Coven (1987) as Slater
- Paul Reiser: Out on a Whim (1987) as Self
- Wildcats (1986) as Krushinski
- Cheers (1982) as Woody Boyd
- Harper Valley P.T.A. (1978) as Extra (uncredited)
- Saturday Night Live (1975) as Self - Host
- Saturday Night Live (1975) as Self - Cameo (uncredited)
- Saturday Night Live (1975) as Self
- Saturday Night Live (1975) as Self (uncredited)
- The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1962) as Self
- The Wonderful World of Disney (1954) as Woody Boyd
- The Oscars (1953) as Self
- Golden Globe Awards (1944) as Self - Nominee
- Lips Like Sugar as John Carr
- Lips Like Sugar Producer
- Sailing
- Sailing Producer
- The Cackling of the Dodos
- The Cackling of the Dodos Executive Producer
- The Man with the Miraculous Hands as Felix Kersten
- Fruitloops