White Men Can't Jump is a 1992 American comedy drama sports film starring Woody Harrelson and Wesley Snipes as streetball hustlers, co-starring Rosie Perez. The film was written and directed by Ron Shelton and released in theaters on March 27, 1992 by 20th Century Fox.

Plot[link]

Billy Hoyle (Harrelson) is a former college basketball player who makes a living hustling streetballers who assume he cannot play well because he is white. Hoyle never downplays his skill to increase the stakes; it is the black basketball players' own assumptions that are at the root of the hustle.

Such a talented but arrogant player is Sidney Deane (Wesley Snipes), a star on the Venice Beach, California outdoor courts. He is humiliated twice by Billy in front of his friends, losing a wager. But he also recognizes a good thing when he sees one and immediately begins to think of a number of ways Billy can be useful to him.

Billy and his girlfriend Gloria Clemente (Rosie Perez) are on the run from out-of-state mobsters because of a gambling debt. A voracious reader, making note of obscure facts, Gloria's goal in life is to be a contestant on the television show Jeopardy! and make a fortune. Sidney's mission in life is to buy a house for his family outside the rough Baldwin Village, Crenshaw District neighborhood of Los Angeles. He talks Billy into a partnership and they hustle other players for money. But when they unexpectedly lose a game, it turns out that Sidney has double-crossed Billy by deliberately playing badly alongside him, making Billy lose $1,700 to a group of Sidney's friends.

Gloria is incensed at Billy's blowing his money again and is also suspicious of how it happened. On the way to Sidney's apartment, she tells Billy: "Sometimes when you win, you really lose. And sometimes when you lose, you really win. And sometimes when you win or lose, you actually tie and sometimes when you tie, you actually win or lose. Winning or losing is all one organic globule, from which one extracts what one needs."

Once they get to Sidney's and appeal to his wife (Tyra Ferrell) for fairness, Gloria agrees to share some of the money provided Sidney and Billy are willing to team up again for a major 2-on-2 outdoor tournament. While they bicker incessantly, Sidney and Billy do win the grand prize of $5,000, largely due to Billy's ability to disrupt his opponents' concentration. Billy's most notable claim is that he is "in the zone," a state of mind in which nothing can get in his way. Sidney is pleased with the outcome, yet he cannot help mocking Billy about his inability to slam dunk. "White men can't jump," he notes. Billy, however, claims that dunking the basketball is unnecessary grandstanding, while expressing a belief that black guys like Sidney would "rather look good and lose than look bad and win."

Billy insists that he can indeed dunk but Sidney clearly disagrees. Infuriated, Billy claims he is willing to bet his share of the $5,000 on his ability to dunk. Sidney accepts and gives him three chances. Billy fails, losing his share. When he tells Gloria, she leaves him. One of Sidney's friends works as a security guard at the TV studio that produces Jeopardy!. He agrees to get her on the show, if Billy can sink a hook shot from beyond the half-court line, which he does. To begin, Gloria stumbles over sports questions (notably naming Babe Ruth as the NBA's leading rebounder), but makes a comeback with a pet topic, "Foods That Start With The Letter 'Q' ". She wins $14,100 on her first episode. Gloria and Billy get back together.

Billy sings Gloria a song he has composed to win her back. Everything in his world is all right again, but now it is Sidney who suffers misfortune and needs a favor. He and his family are burglarized and become more desperate for money. Billy is supposed to get a steady job and settle down, but Sidney needs him to play basketball for money again and use his share of Gloria's take. Gloria warns that if Billy gambles with her money "we are through." Billy feels he must honor the obligation he owes Sidney for getting Gloria on Jeopardy! in the first place. They play a final game against two hoops legends of the L.A. scene, "The King" and "Duck." In a very tight game, Sidney and Billy prevail, the winning points coming when Sidney lobs an "alley-oop" pass to Billy, who dunks it.

Returning home happy, Billy discovers Gloria has kept her word and left him for good. He is crushed. Then the mobsters who are after Billy track him down and he pays off his debts. Billy once again asks Sidney to set him up with a real job. Billy says that Gloria has left him many times, but that "this is it", and Sidney remarks "Maybe you two were better off without each other." As the closing credits are about to roll, Billy launches into yet another basketball argument with Sidney and they are right back where they began—but, this time, as friends.

Cast[link]

• Wesley Snipes as Sidney Deane
• Woody Harrelson as Billy Hoyle
• Rosie Perez as Gloria Clemente
• Tyra Ferrell as Rhonda Deane
• Cylk Cozart as Robert
• Kadeem Hardison as Junior
• Ernest Harden Jr. as George
• Freeman Williams as Duck Johnson
• Louis Price as Eddie "The King" Faroo
• Alex Trebek as Himself

Reception[link]

White Men Can't Jump grossed $14,711,124 in 1,923 theaters in its opening weekend, with a total gross of $76,253,806 in the U.S. and $90,753,806 worldwide ^[2][3] and was the 16th highest grossing movie of 1992.

The film received positive reviews. It currently has a 78% "fresh rating" on Rotten Tomatoes, with 28 positive reviews.^[4] Roger Ebert of Chicago Sun Times gave the film three and a half stars, saying it was "not simply a basketball movie", praising Ron Shelton for "knowing his characters".^[5] Janet Maslin from New York Times praised Wesley Snipes for his "funny, knowing performance with a lot of physical verve".^[6] The film was reportedly one of filmmaker Stanley Kubrick's favorites.^[7]

Production[link]

Bob Lanier, Detroit Pistons and Milwaukee Bucks legend and Hall of Famer, was hired as basketball coach for the movie. He was impressed with Harrelson and Snipes, suggesting that both reached division III college basketball skill level.^{[citation needed]}

The original music soundtrack and song "If I Lose" were composed by saxophonist and composer Bennie Wallace, who also scored Ron Shelton's film "Blaze."

The musical R&B quintet Riff recorded a song and accompanying music video called "White Men Can't Jump" for the movie. The music video featured Woody Harrelson, Wesley Snipes and Rosie Perez. It can be seen on the DVD release with bonus features.

Marques Johnson has a supporting role as Raymond, who loses a game to Snipes and Harrelson. Johnson was a star player for UCLA's 1974-75 national championship team coached by John Wooden and later played for the NBA's Bucks, Clippers and Warriors.

Freeman Williams, who played "Duck" Johnson, also had a distinguished NBA career, playing for the Clippers, Jazz, and Bullets from 1978-86.

NBA player Gary Payton made an uncredited appearance as an unidentified street baller.^[8]

The category "Foods that start with the letter 'Q'" was an actual category on an October 1997 episode of Jeopardy!^[9]

There is a video game based on the movie, for the Atari Jaguar console.

To introduce a new basketball shoe, Nike teamed up with the makers of White Men Can't Jump to assemble the package of shoes inspired by characters Billy Hoyle and Sidney Deane.^[10]

Soundtracks[link]

Two soundtracks were released by Capitol Records, the first, White Men Can't Jump was released on March 24, 1992 and consisted mostly of R&B, the second, White Men Can't Rap was released on April 7, 1992 and consisted entirely of hip hop.

Popular Culture[link]

Over a decade after the film's release, the on court trash-talking and comical mother-insults between players seen in the prominently in the opening game and continuing throughout White Men Can't Jump provided the inspiration for the television show, MTV's Yo Momma which had series running between 2006 and 2007, allowing competitors trade disses with each other in order to win over the crowd and judges.

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: White Men Can't Jump

Film portal

• White Men Can't Jump at the Internet Movie Database
• http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/white_men_cant_jump/

Wesley Snipes
Snipes in September 2009
Born	Wesley Trent Snipes (1962-07-31) July 31, 1962 (age 49) Orlando, Florida, United States
Occupation	Actor, martial artist, film producer
Years active	1986–2010
Spouse	April Dubois (1985–1990) Nikki Park (2003–present)
Children	5

Wesley Trent Snipes (born July 31, 1962) is an American actor, film producer, and martial artist, who has starred in numerous films, thrillers, and dramatic feature films. Snipes is known for playing the Marvel Comics character Blade in the Blade film trilogy, among various other high profile roles. Snipes formed a production company, Amen-Ra Films, in 1991 and a subsidiary, Black Dot Media, to develop projects for film and television. Snipes has been training in martial arts since age 12, earning a high ranking 5th dan black belt in Shotokan Karate and 2nd dan black belt in Hapkido.^[1] He has also trained as a student of Capoeira^[1] under Mestre Jelon Vieira and in a number of other disciplines including various styles of kung fu^[2] and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. As of 2012^[update] Snipes is serving a prison sentence for misdemeanor failure to file U.S. federal income tax returns.^[3]

Early life[link]

Snipes was born in Orlando, Florida, the son of Marian, a teacher's assistant, and Wesley R. Snipes, an aircraft engineer.^[4] He grew up in The Bronx, New York City. He attended P.S. 132, an elementary school in the Bronx. Snipes graduated from I.S. 131, a middle school in the Bronx, and also attended the famed Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing, but moved back to Florida before he could graduate. After graduating from Jones High School in Orlando,^[5] Snipes returned to New York and attended the State University of New York at Purchase, before being asked to leave his junior year. Snipes also attended Southwest College in Los Angeles.

Martial Arts Training[link]

Snipes began training in martial arts when he was 12 years old. He has a 5th dan black belt in Shotokan karate and a 2nd degree black belt in Hapkido. He also practices some different styles of kung fu, capoeira, eskrima and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

Career[link]

Acting and rise to fame[link]

At age 23, Snipes was discovered by an agent while performing in a competition. He made his film debut in the 1986 Goldie Hawn vehicle Wildcats. Later that year he appeared on the TV show Miami Vice as a drug-dealing pimp in the episode "Streetwise" (first aired December 5, 1986). In 1987, he appeared as Michael Jackson's nemesis in the Martin Scorsese-directed music video "Bad" and the feature film Streets of Gold. That same year, Snipes was also considered for the role of Geordi La Forge in the TV series Star Trek: The Next Generation, but the role eventually went to LeVar Burton.^[6]

Snipes' performance in the music video "Bad" caught the eye of director Spike Lee. Snipes turned down a small role in Lee's Do the Right Thing for the larger part of Willie Mays Hayes in Major League, beginning a succession of box-office hits for Snipes. Lee would later cast Snipes as the jazz saxophonist Shadow Henderson in Mo' Better Blues and as the lead in the interracial romance drama Jungle Fever. He played the drug lord Nino Brown in New Jack City, which was written specifically for him by Barry Michael Cooper. He also played a drug dealer in the 1994 film Sugar Hill.

Although Snipes is better known for his roles in action films like Passenger 57, Demolition Man (with Sylvester Stallone), Money Train, The Fan, U.S. Marshals and Rising Sun, he has also had success in comedies like White Men Can't Jump, and To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar where he played a drag queen alongside Patrick Swayze and John Leguizamo. Snipes has also received critical acclaim for his performances in dramas like The Waterdance and Disappearing Acts.

In 1997, he won the Best Actor Volpi Cup at the Venice Film Festival for his performance in New Line Cinema's One Night Stand. In 1998, Snipes had his largest commercial success with Blade, which has grossed over $150 million worldwide. The film turned into a successful series. He also received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and an honorary doctorate from his alma mater, SUNY/Purchase.

Most of his latest films have been released straight-to-DVD. His latest films are The Shooter (also known as The Contractor), filmed in Bulgaria and the UK, with Charles Dance, Lena Heady and Eliza Bennett, Gallowwalker, released in 2009, and Game Of Death with Ernie Hudson, Robert Davi, Zoë Bell, and Gary Daniels.

Snipes was originally slated to play one of the four leads in Spike Lee's 2008 war film Miracle at St. Anna but had to leave the film due to his widely publicized tax problems; his role eventually went to Derek Luke.^[7]

Snipes with Ethan Hawke in 2009.

Snipes made a comeback performance in Brooklyn's Finest as Caz, a supporting character. He also had to turn down the part of Hale Caesar in The Expendables because he was not allowed to leave the United States without the court's approval.^[8] He was also offered the role of Nick Curran in Basic Instinct but turned it down because of commitments on another film.^{[citation needed]} He has spoken with Sylvester Stallone about a part in a sequel to The Expendables.^{[citation needed]}

Other ventures[link]

In the late 1990s, Snipes and his brother started a security firm called the Royal Guard of Amen-Ra, dedicated to providing VIPs with bodyguards trained in law enforcement and martial arts. Amen- ra is also the name of his film company. In 1996, the first film produced by Amen Ra was A Great And Mighty Walk – Dr. John Henrik Clarke.^[9]

In 2000, the business was investigated for alleged ties to the United Nuwaubian Nation of Moors. It emerged that Snipes had spotted 200 acres (0.81 km²) of land with the intention to buy and use for his business academy, which were close to the aforesaid compound in Putnam County, Georgia. Both Snipes' business and the groups used Egyptian motifs as their symbols.^[9]

Ultimately, Snipes and his brother did not buy the land, instead establishing their company in Florida, Antigua, and Africa. The compound of the United Nuwaubian Nation of Moors was raided in 2002 and their leader was convicted. Later the conviction was overturned.^[9]

In 2005, Snipes was in negotiations to fight Fear Factor host Joe Rogan.^[10]

Personal life[link]

Snipes with wife Nakyung Park in 2009.

Snipes has been romantically linked to a number of women, including Jada Pinkett Smith, Sanaa Lathan, Halle Berry and Jennifer Lopez. He has been married twice, first to April Snipes, with whom he has a son, Jelani Asar Snipes, born in 1988. Jelani had a cameo role in Snipes' 1990 film Mo' Better Blues. In 2003, Snipes married painter Nakyung "Nikki" Park, with whom he has four children: son Akhenaten Kihwa-T Snipes, daughter Iset Jua-T Snipes (born July 31, 2001), son Alaafia Jehu-T Snipes (born May 26, 2004), and son Alimayu Moa-T Snipes (born March 26, 2007). Snipes spends a lot of time in Park's home country of South Korea, which he calls his "second home."

Snipes, who was raised a Christian, converted to Islam in 1978 but left Islam in 1988. During a 1991 interview, Snipes said "[Islam made] me more conscious of what African people have accomplished, of my self-worth, [and gave] me some self-dignity."^[11]

Snipes' apartment was destroyed by the collapse of the World Trade Center's Twin Towers during the September 11 attacks. He was on the West Coast at the time. During his time in New York Snipes was trained in fighting by his friend and mentor Brooke Ellis.^[12]

Legal troubles[link]

New Line lawsuit[link]

In 2005, Snipes sued New Line Cinema, and David S. Goyer, director of Blade: Trinity, which Snipes also produced. He claimed that the studio did not pay his full salary, that he was intentionally cut out of casting decisions, and that his character's screen time was reduced in favor of co-stars Ryan Reynolds and Jessica Biel.

Snipes contends that Goyer, his fellow producers, and New Line kept him out of the project's decision process, and that this alleged misconduct ended up harming the film's box office performance (it made just $52 million, compared to the previous installments' respective grosses of $70 million and $82 million). He says that a portion of his salary—$3.6 million—was withheld as punishment. Neither Goyer nor New Line has commented on these allegations. The suit was later settled, but no details were released.^[13]

Incident involving South African passport[link]

In 2005, Snipes was detained at OR Tambo International Airport for attempting to leave South Africa using a fraudulent South African passport.^[14]

Federal tax convictions[link]

On October 12, 2006, Wesley Snipes, Eddie Ray Kahn, and Douglas P. Rosile were charged with one count of conspiring to defraud the United States under 18 U.S.C. § 371 and one count of knowingly making or aiding and abetting the making of a false and fraudulent claim for payment against the United States, under 18 U.S.C. § 287 and 18 U.S.C. § 2. Snipes was also charged with six counts of willfully failing to file federal income tax returns by their filing dates under 26 U.S.C. § 7203.^[15] The conspiracy charge against Snipes included allegations that he filed a false amended return, including a false tax refund claim of over US$4 million for the year 1996, and a false amended return, including a false tax refund claim of over US$7.3 million for the year 1997. The government alleged that Snipes attempted to obtain fraudulent tax refunds using a tax protester theory called the "861 argument" (essentially, an argument that the domestic income of U.S. citizens and residents is not taxable). The indictment said Snipes used accountants who already had a history of filing false returns to obtain refund payments for their clients.^[16] The government also charged that Snipes sent three worthless, fictitious "bills of exchange" to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in the amounts of $1,000,000 (on November 30, 2000), $12,000,000 (January 18, 2001), and $1,000,000 (September 10, 2002), each accompanied by an IRS tax payment voucher coupon.^[17]

Snipes was a client of American Rights Litigators, which Kahn operated. As a client, Snipes gave a percentage of his tax refunds to Kahn's organization.^[18] The government also charged that Snipes failed to file tax returns for the years 1999 through 2004.

In a December 4, 2006, letter from Snipes in response to his indictment, he declared himself "a non-resident alien" of the United States; in reality, Snipes is a U.S. born citizen.^[19] Snipes said he was being made an example of and was unfairly targeted by prosecutors because of his fame in connection with the federal tax fraud investigation. He attempted unsuccessfully to get the trial moved away from Ocala, Florida, on the grounds that racist attitudes in that town would prejudice his chance for a fair trial.^[20] Snipes faced the possibility of serving up to 16 years in prison and paying substantial fines if convicted on all the charges.^[21] The trial began on January 14, 2008, in Ocala, Florida,^[22] with opening statements beginning on January 16, 2008.^[23]

Mug shot of Snipes taken in April 2008.

On February 1, 2008, Snipes was acquitted on the felony count of conspiracy to defraud the government and on the felony count of filing a false claim with the government. He was, however, found guilty on three misdemeanor counts of failing to file federal income tax returns (and acquitted on three other "failure to file" charges). His co-defendants, Douglas P. Rosile and Eddie Ray Kahn, were convicted on the conspiracy and false claim charges in connection with the income tax refund claims filed for Snipes.^[24][25]

On April 24, 2008, Snipes was sentenced to three years in prison for willful failure to file federal income tax returns under 26 U.S.C. § 7203.^[26][27][28] Kahn was sentenced to 10 years in prison and Rosile was sentenced to four and half years in prison.^[29] In April 2009, the Los Angeles Wave reported that Snipes has refused to answer certain questions in connection with a talent agency lawsuit in which the agency claims that Snipes owes over $1.4 million in commissions. Snipes is reported to have taken the position that his answers could incriminate him in a federal tax investigation. Lawyers for the talent agency stated that Snipes' lawyer advised the lawyers for the talent agency that "Snipes and his [ ... ] companies are under an additional investigation by the Internal Revenue Service and Snipes would be asserting his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination and would not answer any questions at his deposition."^[30] On May 22, 2008, the trial court ruled that Snipes could remain free while his appeal was being considered.^[31]

On July 16, 2010, in a 35-page decision, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit affirmed Snipes's convictions.^[32][33][34] At the conclusion of its decision, the Court of Appeals stated:

Although Snipes argues that there were mitigating factors that the judge did not specifically mention at sentencing, these facts—his college education, his family, and his charitable activities—do not compel the conclusion that the sentence crafted in accordance with the 18 U.S.C. [section] 3553(a) factors was substantively unreasonable. The district court acted well within its considerable discretion in sentencing Snipes to thirty-six months in prison.^[34]

On November 19, 2010, the United States District Court in Ocala, Florida, denied motions for permission to interview jurors and motions for a new trial which had been filed by attorneys for Snipes. The Court ordered that the judgment of commitment be enforced.^[35] In the 17-page order, the Court also granted the prosecution's motion to revoke the bail for Snipes.^[35] Until December 9, 2010, Snipes remained free on bail to work, even traveling internationally, while he appealed his conviction.^[36][37]

Imprisonment[link]

In a television appearance on December 7, 2010, Snipes was asked by CNN's Larry King if he was nervous about going to prison, and he admitted his trepidation about doing time. "I think any man would be nervous," Snipes said. "Given the length of time that they are suggesting that I be away from my family, away from my profession, away from my ability to provide for my family and for those who have depended upon me to contribute to society ... I think anyone would be nervous about that."

On December 9, 2010, Snipes reported to federal prison to begin his three-year sentence.^[38][39]

On June 6, 2011, the United States Supreme Court declined to hear Snipes' appeal.^[40][41][42] Snipes is being held at the Federal Correctional Institution, McKean, a medium security federal prison in Pennsylvania, and is scheduled for release on July 19, 2013.^[43]

Filmography[link]

Film[link]

Television[link]

Other[link]

Awards and nominations[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Wesley Snipes

• Wesley Snipes at the Internet Movie Database
• Wesley Snipes at the Internet Broadway Database
• Picture of Snipes' fake South African Passport
• The Snipes Trial – a website by commentator J.J. MacNab on the criminal tax trial of Wesley Snipes

Woody Harrelson
Harrelson at the hempsters world premiere at Fantastic Fest, September 25, 2009
Born	Woodrow Tracy Harrelson (1961-07-23) July 23, 1961 (age 50) Midland, Texas, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1982–present
Spouse	Nancy Simon (1985–1986) Laura Louie (2008–present)
Parents	Charles Harrelson Diane Lou (née Oswald)

Woodrow Tracy "Woody" Harrelson^[1][2] (born July 23, 1961) is an American actor.

Harrelson's breakout role came in the television sitcom Cheers as bartender Woody Boyd. Some notable film characters include basketball hustler Billy Hoyle in White Men Can't Jump, bowler Roy Munson in Kingpin, serial killer Mickey Knox in Natural Born Killers, magazine publisher Larry Flynt in The People vs. Larry Flynt, country singer Dusty in A Prairie Home Companion, bounty hunter Carson Wells in No Country for Old Men, zombie killer Tallahassee in Zombieland, blind piano player/meat salesman Ezra Turner in Seven Pounds, conspiracy nut Charlie Frost in 2012, a delusional man who believes that he is a superhero named Defendor in Defendor and Cpt. Tony Stone in The Messenger. For The People vs. Larry Flynt and The Messenger, Harrelson earned Academy Award nominations for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor, respectively.^[3] He also appeared as Haymitch in the film The Hunger Games, which was released on March 23, 2012.

Early life[link]

Harrelson was born in Midland, Texas, the son of Diane Lou (née Oswald) and Charles Voyde Harrelson, who divorced in 1964; he has two brothers, Jordan and Brett. Harrelson's father, who was a contract killer, was arrested for the killing of Federal Judge John H. Wood, Jr. by rifle fire in 1979 in San Antonio.^[4] His father was convicted and eventually died during his life sentence in United States Penitentiary Administrative Maximum Facility.^[4]

In 1973, Harrelson moved to his mother's native city, Lebanon, Ohio, where he was raised.^[5] Harrelson attended Lebanon High School, working through much of high school as a wood-carver at Kings Island amusement park. He later attended Hanover College in Hanover, Indiana, where he became a brother of the Sigma Chi fraternity. He received a bachelor of arts in theater arts and English in 1983. He told Playboy Magazine in October 2009, "I was getting into theology and studying the roots of the Bible, but then I started to discover the man-made nature of it. I started seeing things that made me ask, ‘Is God really speaking through this instrument? ... My eyes opened to the reality of the Bible being just a document to control people. At the time I was a real mama’s boy and deeply mesmerized by the church."^[6]

Career[link]

Television[link]

Harrelson on the red carpet at the 40th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards, August 28, 1988

Harrelson is widely known for his work on the NBC sitcom Cheers. He played bartender Woody Boyd, who replaced Coach (played by Nicholas Colasanto, who died in February 1985). He joined the cast in 1985 for season four and lasted eight seasons (1985–1993) on the show. For this role, Harrelson was nominated for five Emmy Awards^[7], winning once in 1989. His character of Boyd was from Hanover, Indiana, the town where Harrelson attended college.

In 1999, Harrelson guest-starred in the Cheers spin-off success Frasier, in which he reprised the role of Woody Boyd. Harrelson was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for this performance.

He appeared in several 2001 episodes of Will and Grace as Grace's new boyfriend.

In the November 12, 2009 episode of the Comedy Central show The Colbert Report, Harrelson was interviewed by Stephen Colbert to promote his movie The Messenger. In response to Colbert's questioning of his support for the troops, Harrelson agreed to let Colbert shave his head on camera.

On June 6, 2010, Harrelson took part playing in Soccer Aid 2010 for UNICEF UK at Old Trafford in Manchester, UK. The match was broadcast live on UK's ITV television. After being brought on as a substitute for Gordon Ramsay, Harrelson took the final penalty in the penalty shootout, following a 2–2 draw after 91 minutes. Despite being initially unaware of exactly from where his kick had to be taken, Harrelson scored to win the game for "The Rest of the World" team, beating England for the first time since the tournament began. When later interviewed he claimed that he "didn't even remember the moment of scoring".^[3] Harrelson Will Also Take Part In Soccer Aid 2012

Film[link]

While still working on Cheers, Harrelson pursued a film career. His first movie had been Wildcats, a football comedy in 1986 with Goldie Hawn. Harrelson reunited and became friends with Wesley Snipes and starred with him in the box-office hit White Men Can't Jump and the box office bomb Money Train.

In 1993 he had a starring role opposite Robert Redford and Demi Moore in the drama Indecent Proposal, which earned him a worst supporting actor Razzie Award. After that film's success, Harrelson played Mickey Knox in Oliver Stone's Natural Born Killers and Dr. Michael Raynolds in the Michael Cimino film The Sunchaser. In 1996, he starred in the comedy Kingpin alongside Randy Quaid and Vanessa Angel.

Harrelson's career gained great momentum when he starred in the Milos Forman film The People vs. Larry Flynt, in which he played Larry Flynt, publisher of Hustler magazine. The film was a success and Harrelson's performance was nominated for a Golden Globe Award and an Academy Award for Best Actor.

After that, Harrelson was cast in more serious film roles. He starred in the 1997 war film Welcome to Sarajevo and also in 1997 had a featured role as Sergeant Schumann in Wag the Dog. In 1998, Harrelson starred in the thriller Palmetto and played Sergeant Keck in The Thin Red Line, a war film nominated for seven Academy Awards in 1999.

Harrelson made other films such as The Hi-Lo Country and portrayed Ray Pekurny in the comedy EDtv. Also in 1999, he appeared as boxer Vince Boudreau in the Ron Shelton film Play It to the Bone.

Harrelson did not appear in movies again until 2003 when he co-starred as Galaxia in the comedy film Anger Management. He appeared in the action film After the Sunset and the comedy She Hate Me.

In 2005, Harrelson was in The Big White and North Country. Also in 2005 he appeared as Kelly Ryan, husband of a contest-obsessed woman in the film The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio. Harrelson made two films in 2006, the animated film version of Free Jimmy and also A Scanner Darkly. In 2007 he played Carter Page III, gay escort of privileged Washington D.C. women, in the film The Walker.

Woody Harrelson, April 2007.

In the Oscar-winning 2007 crime thriller No Country for Old Men, Harrelson had a small but key role as Carson Wells, a bounty hunter. The film won Best Picture and Best Director for Joel Coen and Ethan Coen. Harrelson also won a Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Cast, along with Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin and Kelly Macdonald.

Also in a movie released in 2007, Battle in Seattle, Harrelson played another key role of a Seattle police officer whose pregnant wife loses her baby during the WTO protests in 1999. The film, also starring Andre 3000 of the hip hop group Outkast, depicts thousands of people peacefully protesting the WTO's attempts to broaden gaps between rich and poor while publicly promising a bridging of the gaps. These protests go wrong when members of an anarchist group tear the city to pieces with the help of provocateurs. Harrelson's role goes from a law abiding and enforcing Officer of the law, to a grief-stricken eye-for-an-eye man with a badge to justify his actions.

In 2008, Harrelson appeared in several films, among them the Will Ferrell basketball comedy Semi-Pro and the Will Smith stark drama Seven Pounds.

In 2009, Harrelson received significant praise for his performance as Captain Tony Stone in The Messenger. In what many critics considered to be his best role, Harrelson was nominated for a Satellite Award, an Independent Spirit Award, a Golden Globe Award a Screen Actors Guild Award, and an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Harrelson has also won the Best Supporting Actor award in the 2009 National Board of Review award ceremonies and received accolades from various critics' societies.

Also in 2009, he co-starred in the horror comedy Zombieland, and is to reprise his role in its upcoming sequel. In Roland Emmerich's 2012, he played Charlie Frost, a man who warns of the end of the world. In 2010 he starred as a bartender and mentor in the futuristic western martial arts film Bunraku. In 2011, he starred as Tommy in the movie Friends With Benefits. He was cast as Haymitch in 2012's The Hunger Games.^[3]

On February 3, 2012, he participated in an "Ask Me Anything" session^[8] on the social media website Reddit.^[9] The AMA turned into a PR disaster when Harrelson failed to make meaningful responses to any questions and soon specifically refused to respond to anything not directly related to the upcoming worldwide release of the movie Rampart, which he stars in.^[10][11][12]

Theatre[link]

In 1999 Harrelson directed his own play, Furthest from the Sun, at the theater de la Juene Luene in Minneapolis. He followed next in Roundabout's Broadway rival at the N. Richard Nash played The Rainmaker in 2000, Sam Shepard's The Late Henry Moss in 2001, John Kolvenbach's On an Average Day opposite Kyle MacLachlan in London's West End in the fall of 2002, and in the summer of 2003, Harrelson directed the Toronto premiere of Kenneth Lonergan's This is Our Youth at the Berkley Street Theater. In the winter of 2005/2006 Harrelson returned to London's West End, starring in Tennessee Williams' Night of the Iguana at the Lyric Theater. Currently, Harrelson is directing A Bullet for Adolf (a play written by himself in collaboration with Frankie Hyman) at the esteemed Hart House Theatre in Toronto, Ontario, which runs from April 21 to May 7, 2011.

Personal life[link]

Marriages and family[link]

In 1985, Harrelson married Nancy Simon, daughter of playwright Neil Simon, in Tijuana. The two intended to divorce the following day, but the storefront marriage/divorce parlor was closed when they had returned to it, and the two remained married for ten months.^[13]

On December 28, 2008, Harrelson married Laura Louie, his girlfriend since 1987. The couple have three daughters, Deni Montana (born February 28, 1993), Zoe Giordano (born September 22, 1996), and Makani Ravello (born June 3, 2006). When announcing Makani's birth, the couple referred to the three as their "goddess trilogy." Laura is his former assistant and a co-founder of Yoganics, an organic food delivery service.^[14]

Legal issues[link]

Harrelson was arrested in 1982 for disorderly conduct after he was found dancing in the middle of the street.^[15] He was also charged with resisting arrest after he ran from the police and assault after he hit one of the officers.^[15] Harrelson avoided jail time by paying a $390 fine.^[16]

On June 1, 1996, Harrelson was arrested in Lee County, Kentucky, after he symbolically planted four hemp seeds to challenge the state law which did not distinguish between industrial hemp and marijuana. Harrelson was acquitted of these charges in 2000.^[17]

In 2002, Harrelson was arrested in London after an incident in a taxi that ended in a police chase. Harrelson was taken to a London police station and later released on bail.^[18] The case was later dismissed after Harrelson paid the taxi driver involved in the incident £550 ($844).^[19]

In 2008, TMZ photographer Josh Levine filed a lawsuit against Harrelson for an alleged attack outside a Hollywood nightclub in 2006. A video of the incident appeared to show Harrelson grabbing a camera and clashing with the photographer. Los Angeles prosecutors declined to press charges against the actor, but Levine filed a suit that summer asking for $2.5 million in damages.^[20] The case was dismissed in April 2010.^[21]

Advocacy work[link]

Woody Harrelson in 2004

Drug Reform/Green Industry[link]

Harrelson is an enthusiast and supporter for the legalization of marijuana and hemp, but does not consider himself to be an activist for that cause.^[22][23] Harrelson was a guest on Ziggy Marley's track "Wild And Free," a song advocating the growing of cannabis. Since 2003, Harrelson serves as a member on NORML's advisory board.^[24]

Environmental[link]

Harrelson is also an environmental activist. He has attended environmental events such as the PICNIC'07 festival that was held in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, for three days in September 2007.^[25] PICNIC describes its annual festival as "three intensive days [when] we mix creativity, science, technology, media and business to explore new solutions in the spirit of co-creation."^[26] He once scaled the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco with members of North Coast Earth First! group to unfurl a banner that read, "Hurwitz, Aren't ancient redwoods more precious than gold?" in protest of Maxxam Inc/PALCO CEO Charles Hurwitz, who once stated, "He who has the gold, makes the rules."^[27]

He once traveled to the west coast in the U.S. on a bike and a domino caravan with a hemp oil-fueled biodiesel bus with The Spitfire Agency (the subject of the independent documentary, Go Further) and narrated the documentary Grass. Harrelson briefly owned an oxygen bar in West Hollywood called "O2." He is a peace activist, and has often spoken publicly against the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Harrelson is also an ethical vegan and raw foodist. He did not eat Twinkies for his movie Zombieland, replacing them with vegan faux-Twinkies made from cornmeal.^[28] He appeared on postage stamps issued in 2011 as one of PETA's 20 famous vegetarians.^[29] In October 2009, he was conferred an honorary degree by York University for his contributions in the fields of environmental education, sustainability, and activism.^[30]

UNICEF[link]

In June 2010, Harrelson took part in Soccer Aid at Old Trafford to raise money for UNICEF. Harrelson played for the "Rest of the World" team, playing in the last 15 minutes, and scored the winning kick in the penalty shootout following a 2–2 draw during normal time.^[31] He also played in the UNICEF game 2012, playing the last 10 minutes of the game for the "Rest of the World team", losing 3-1 to England.

Political views[link]

Harrelson is a supporter of the 9/11 truth movement and has supported reopening an investigation into the September 11 terrorist attacks.^[32]

Filmography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Woody Harrelson

• Woody Harrelson at the Internet Movie Database
• VoiceYourself
• Woody Harrelson at Emmys.com