Woody Harrelson

In Natural Born Killers (1994), Woody Harrelson gives Mickey Knox the composure to hold our attention while other characters strain for it. He lets the man seem settled in himself, which helps explain why people watch him. We found that self-possession unsettling, because it kept us interested in someone we had no wish to meet.

The move from Cheers, where he played Woody Boyd from 1985 to 1993, to Mickey was a substantial change in what audiences were asked to accept from him. The People vs. Larry Flynt (1996) continued that move towards flawed leading characters. His understated delivery has remained useful as the parts have changed. Supporting work such as Carson Wells in No Country for Old Men (2007) sits alongside Haymitch Abernathy in The Hunger Games (2012). The later career has made room for character-driven films and large ensembles, without leaving television behind.

Oliver Stone gets forceful work from him in Natural Born Killers, helped by Juliette Lewis's disruptive presence as Mallory. Their energy together holds our attention through dialogue that would otherwise lose it. The broadly played people around Mickey and Mallory make the couple seem more substantial still. But Harrelson's conviction cannot make Stone's satire less repetitive, and we remain unconvinced by the film's account of why celebrity killers attract an audience.

The familiarity is there in Now You See Me: Now You Don't (2025), where he returns as Merritt McKinney alongside Jesse Eisenberg, Dave Franco and Isla Fisher. He settles back into the ensemble easily, but a team of eight magicians leaves several actors with little to do beyond reacting. Eisenberg's increasingly funny arrogance gets more of a chance to register; Harrelson's ease cannot solve the shortage of work. This is the less rewarding use of an actor whose understated delivery can make difficult people believable. Eight magicians is a fair warning to anyone coming chiefly for Harrelson.