3 weeks ago
Not galore American actors make nan modulation from TV to movies, but moreover less transverse complete from Hollywood to Europe. Four years ago, while still a bankable sanction successful commercialized workplace franchises, Woody Harrelson swanned effortlessly into nan world arthouse, playing nan Marxist skipper of a doomed cruise liner successful Swedish auteur Ruben Östlund’s 2nd Palme d’Or victor Triangle of Sadness. This twelvemonth Harrelson returns to Cannes successful Full Phil, nan latest by Quentin Dupieux, France’s wizard of odd, acting pinch Kristen Stewart successful a movie nan head describes arsenic “Emily successful Paris successful hell.”
DEADLINE: How did you get progressive pinch Quentin Dupieux?
WOODY HARRELSON: There’s a woman who useful pinch me, Ilya [Bronchtein]. She was my assistant, and past she became a producer. Within 2 weeks of starting producing, she was telling me, “You person to watch this guy’s movies.” I yet watched his [2023] movie Yannick and I was like, “Oh my god, this feline is amazing.” Then I watched The Second Act [2024] and I’m like, “Holy sh*t.” Because you ne'er know. The first one, well, possibly that’s conscionable luck. But not erstwhile you spot different 1 that’s besides brilliant. I was ace interested. And she says, “Why don’t I put a meeting?”
Well, I wasn’t readying connected going to Paris, but we arranged a gathering pinch Quentin and Hugo [Sélignac], his producer, and it was great. I said, “What are you doing next?” and Quentin says, “Oh, I’m doing this movie, Full Phil. I’m trying to get Jim Carrey, but he hasn’t publication it, and I can’t get him to publication it.” I’m like, “I cognize Jim! I’ll get Jim to …” And past I consciousness a footwear nether nan array and it’s Ilya. [Laughs.] She’d already publication nan script, and it was successful her mind that she wanted maine to beryllium capable to do it. Luckily, aft that meeting, he was like, “Well, I deliberation Woody mightiness beryllium bully for this too.” And that’s really it each went down.
DEADLINE: How agelong did it each take?
HARRELSON: Oh, from that gathering to nan extremity of shooting? I deliberation each took spot wrong 2 months. Maybe 2 and a half. I mean, it was amazing. He’s for illustration nary 1 else. He writes it, he directs it, he shoots it, he edits it. So, if you person a question, you sewage each section correct there. It was amazing, because he shoots truthful fast. The first day, I deliberation we did possibly 9 pages, conscionable maine and Kristen successful a edifice room, and past we came backmost nan adjacent time and did different 8 aliases 9 pages. You’ve sewage to beryllium connected your crippled pinch him, because he’s fresh to go.
DEADLINE: What tin you uncover astir nan crippled of nan film?
HARRELSON: Well, I tin show you that it’s a begetter and girl who are successful a very often combative situation. They determine to return a travel to Paris to effort to get nan narration connected a amended footing, and things don’t spell to plan, necessarily. I don’t deliberation I should opportunity excessively much.
DEADLINE: Did you cognize Kristen before?
HARRELSON: Oh, yeah. I met Kristen erstwhile she first started retired and location was this task that I did, which we wanted her to do and she agreed to do it, but past she ended up dropping retired of it. But I’d heard astir her from Sean Penn, who was saying, “This girl’s really sewage it.” And of course, that’s proven true. She was awesome successful this [Full Phil]. I haven’t seen it yet, but I perceive it’s very good, truthful I’m excited to spot it.
DEADLINE: What benignant of capacity is it from you?
HARRELSON: Well, it’s benignant of theatrical, successful nan consciousness that Quentin doesn’t do a batch of different sets, truthful it’s very overmuch for illustration doing a play. It’s nan 2 of america going backmost and forth. And moreover erstwhile we do spell to different place, we spell to a restaurant, you cognize what I mean? But it’s sewage his signature consciousness of humor, and besides his intensity. It’s beautiful cool.
DEADLINE: People thought you’d beryllium coming to Cannes pinch Ruben Östlund’s caller film, The Entertainment System Is Down. Did that reunion hap successful nan end? Because you said you were going to beryllium successful that movie — whether he wanted you to beryllium successful it aliases not.
HARRELSON: Oh, I was determined to beryllium successful it. [Laughs.] But no, it didn’t activity out, because nan portion I wanted to play, he ended up cutting that portion out. I mean, he’s sewage truthful galore group successful that film, because it’s astir an airplane afloat of people. So, yeah, I get it. It wasn’t important to nan story, but it would’ve been a nosy part.
DEADLINE: Does Östlund person a akin characteristic to Dupieux?
HARRELSON: They’re overmuch different people. I look astatine Quentin arsenic much for illustration a Fellini. I don’t cognize why, but that’s really I ideate Fellini would be. He’s a large personality. Ruben is besides ace fun, an absorbing guy, but they don’t look akin to me. They look very different.
DEADLINE: Why did you want to do Triangle of Sadness?
HARRELSON: I saw The Square and Force Majeure, and I was like, “Oh, man.” But what was funny was that my agent, Jeremy [Plager], was nan 1 that wanted maine to watch them. I deliberation I watched The Square first. And you cognize really Ruben has specified a unsocial vision, and really he’ll framework a scene, and nan camera will enactment connected it for excessively long? And so, I watched nan first 10 minutes and I turned it off. I’m like, “Jeremy, are you retired of your mind?” And he says, “Watch nan remainder of nan film.” So, I watched nan remainder of it and past I saw what he saw: “Oh my god, this feline is simply a existent unsocial talent. He’s brilliant.”
DEADLINE: Full Phil is successful nan Official Selection astatine Cannes. How galore times person you been there?
HARRELSON: I don’t know. Half a dozen, maybe? But nan top acquisition was, for sure, pinch Triangle of Sadness. I mean, it was incredible. The guidance of nan assemblage to that film, I couldn’t judge it. I thought it would beryllium good, but I didn’t cognize it would beryllium for illustration that. At nan clip I was doing a 100 days of nary drinking. I retrieve going afterward to nan statement connected nan beach, and I met virtually nan top sommelier successful Europe. This guy! He could conjecture nan region, nan twelvemonth and each that, pinch conscionable his consciousness of smell. It was a large nighttime already, and he says, “I’ve sewage a typical vessel for you.” I was like, “Oh, I’m connected my 98th time of nary drinking.” [Laughs.] Oh, my f*cking god! I realized later, that was truthful stupid — I should person taken a mulligan. But I wouldn’t do it. I didn’t portion that night.
DEADLINE: Are you readying a renaissance successful European cinema?
HARRELSON: I’m really willing successful doing European films, peculiarly French. I’ve sewage to meet a fewer awesome French directors. You’re not needfully going to get paid [big money] successful Europe, but you’ve sewage to place that. The Europeans make awesome movies. They do. They make awesome movies present successful America but, per capita, I’d opportunity they’ve made much awesome movies complete there.
DEADLINE: After True Detective, a batch of group thought you’d beryllium going into that abstraction much that you have. How do you consciousness astir streamers and serial television?
HARRELSON: Well, it’s astir apt what I watch nan most. It is what I watch nan astir — I get hooked connected a series. But I did do different show pinch Matthew [McConaughey] that’s coming retired this fall. We play ourselves, and it’s fiction, for illustration Curb, successful a way. We play ourselves, but everything’s fictionalized.
DEADLINE: What tin you show america astir it?
HARRELSON: I tin show you this: I extremity up coming to Texas to bent pinch him, and I bring my bus. And erstwhile nan autobus is wrong nan gates of his ranch, it’s not going to spell anywhere. That was nan concept, and that’s what we’ve done for nan first 8 episodes.
DEADLINE: Is it based connected nan net rumor that you are related, aliases could perchance beryllium related?
HARRELSON: That’s going to facet in. Yeah. That’s decidedly going to facet in.
DEADLINE How agelong person you known Matthew?
HARRELSON: I’ve known him since ’97. Yeah, rather a while. We’ve had a batch of nosy together. Yeah, I emotion him. I emotion him for illustration a brother, for sure.
DEADLINE: The title of nan show is Brothers, isn’t it?
HARRELSON: Yeah.
DEADLINE: Is location an mentation for that?
HARRELSON: You’re going to person to watch it!
DEADLINE: You’ve been reasonably prolific lately. What benignant of things drawback your attention?
HARRELSON: Well, did you spot that movie Wasteman? You gotta watch that movie. So, nan feline who directed it, his name’s Cal McMau. I met pinch him successful London. I’m really willing successful these young board who haven’t go known yet. They haven’t go Josh Safdie yet, but they could be. You cognize what I mean? And so, I’m really willing successful these kinds of people. I’m besides going to do a movie pinch Sam Rockwell and Jason Bateman directing. And that’ll beryllium nan adjacent movie I sprout successful June. I conscionable want to activity pinch nan champion imaginable people. I mean, I’ve ever wanted this, but I conscionable want to beryllium really much intractable astir nan conception of doing thing that conscionable mightiness not move retired well.
DEADLINE: Are you acrophobic of failure? You look for illustration a reasonably robust person.
HARRELSON: Oh, I’ve had my adjacent share.
DEADLINE: Really?
HARRELSON: Fair stock of failure. But I’m still consenting to rotation nan dice sometimes. I retrieve talking to Emma Stone, astir 2 aliases 3 years ago, and it was astir this point I was trying to determine on. She says to me, “Woody, unless you perfectly person to do it — have to do it — don’t do it. It can’t beryllium 1 of those wherever you’re, ‘Oh, this could beryllium cool.’ The level of passion has to beryllium really hot.” So, I’m still trying to perceive to her advice.
DEADLINE: What, for you, would represent a failure?
HARRELSON: Well, surely there’s movies I’ve done, for illustration Last Breath and Suncoast, that weren’t wide seen, but I don’t see them a nonaccomplishment because they ended up being really bully movies. I deliberation a nonaccomplishment is conscionable erstwhile nan movie turns retired not good. And that’s tough.
DEADLINE: How do you cognize erstwhile 1 of your films is simply a failure?
HARRELSON: I watch it. It’s easy to tell.
DEADLINE: We perceive these stories astir Hollywood that if your film’s not a hit, group blank you astatine parties and extremity returning your calls. There’s a benignant of passive-aggressive measurement that you find out.
HARRELSON: I’m judge that’s each up of me!
DEADLINE: What’s nan movie you’re doing pinch Jason Bateman?
HARRELSON: Oh, it’s called Cackling of nan Dodos with Netflix.
DEADLINE: Are you playing a bad guy? It’s been a while.
HARRELSON: Well, he’s an Iowa farmer. Not a bad guy, not a bad guy.
DEADLINE: You don’t look to play bad guys very often. Is location a logic for that? You’re very bully astatine them, by nan way.
HARRELSON: No, I for illustration playing nan bad guy. Yeah, I person nary problem pinch that. I conscionable return these things arsenic they come. I retrieve I did this movie called Out of nan Furnace [2013] pinch Christian Bale and Casey Affleck, and that movie is nan first clip that I tin ever retrieve doing a portion – a bad-guy portion – wherever I was like, “I’m not moreover going to try to get a laugh, aliases person immoderate benignant of redeemable point astir maine — I conscionable want to beryllium existent to what a unspeakable feline this is.” You cognize what I mean? Not effort to make myself likable. Because moreover successful nan really bully bad feline parts, there’s often a likability to nan character. Maybe that makes nan feline moreover much insidious, I don’t know. So, I deliberation nan adjacent clip I do effort playing a bad guy, I don’t want to consciousness for illustration I person to beryllium somewhat likable.
DEADLINE: You do nan sound of Freewheelin’ Franklin successful Tubi’s Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers series. Have you had a chance to meet Gilbert Shelton, nan author, yet?
HARRELSON: No, I ne'er sewage to meet him yet, but I’ll beryllium successful Paris soon. That’s wherever he lives. Maybe I’ll get to meet him there.
DEADLINE: You must person publication his ’60s underground comic books — The Freak Brothers and Fat Freddy’s Cat?
HARRELSON: Yeah. It’s conscionable specified good, funny humor. Stoner joke tin beryllium beautiful great. Sometimes it’s conscionable silly, but pinch him, I emotion it.
DEADLINE: Is location an creation to sifting bully stoner drama from bad stoner comedy?
HARRELSON: What was that 1 astir nan extremity of nan world? This Is nan End? And what was nan 1 pinch each those guys, but Brad Pitt was successful it? He was hitting a bong. Remember? That 1 was funny too. Pineapple Express? That was great. Yeah, I deliberation that might’ve been nan 1 Brad Pitt was in. [Editor’s note: Pitt wasn’t, but nan lead characteristic was inspired by his capacity successful True Romance].
DEADLINE: How tin you show nan quality betwixt an character that’s faking it and a existent stoner performance?
HARRELSON: I don’t cognize if it’s going to beryllium excessively evident because these actors are each beautiful good.
DEADLINE: Do you person plans to activity again pinch Martin McDonagh?
HARRELSON: I conscionable saw him, not agelong ago. I was complete successful London. I went by his location and I saw a mates of scenes from his caller movie. Oh my god! Phenomenal. Just phenomenal. I was like, “You could conscionable put that retired arsenic your trailer, either 1 of those scenes.” John Malkovich and Sam Rockwell. Oh, delicious. But, yeah, I dream to activity pinch Martin again. I really would love to activity pinch Martin again. I sewage to activity pinch him twice. I turned him down 1 clip and boy did I regret it. It was The Pillowman. Did you spot that play ever? I publication it and I was like, ‘Oh no, nan darkness…’ I mean, he ever has that equilibrium betwixt nan acheronian and nan light. But successful that, I thought, ‘No, nan acheronian has flooded nan light.’ I mean, there’s a kid crucified connected stage! Anyway, I didn’t do it, and Billy Crudup did nan part. I went and watched it connected Broadway and I was like, “Oh, shit.” It was incredible. John Crowley directed it.
DEADLINE: Do you still for illustration to do theater?
HARRELSON: Yeah. I did a play successful London a mates years agone called Ulster American; it’s successful New York correct now pinch Matthew Broderick. But, yeah, earlier that, I deliberation it’d been 20 years, because nan clip earlier I didn’t person nan champion experience. The play was Tennessee Williams’ The Night of nan Iguana, which… I honestly don’t deliberation it’s a awesome play, and I don’t deliberation I was awesome successful it either. After that play, I wished I would only do drama successful theater. You cognize what I mean? I don’t want to spell do a dense Long Day’s Journey into Night and past astatine nan extremity of it, conscionable consciousness … [Sighs.] For Night of nan Iguana, I deliberation Tennessee Williams’ volition was that you consciousness for illustration you’ve been punched successful nan star plexus by nan extremity of nan experience. I don’t want to do that. I want to do 1 wherever group laugh, they person a bully time.
DEADLINE: A batch of theatre actors opportunity nan first bad reappraisal tin beryllium pinch you for nan remainder of nan performance. You person to spell up doubly a time pinch it ringing successful your ears still. Whereas by nan clip you get a bad reappraisal connected a movie, it’s been and gone. It still hurts, but it’s not affecting your performance. Do you consciousness nan aforesaid way?
HARRELSON: That’s true. It’s a poison pill successful nan brain, not conscionable for nan character – which is bad capable – but everybody else, including nan audience. I don’t ever publication reviews. Never.
DEADLINE: Seriously?
HARRELSON: I did a play successful San Francisco pinch Sean Penn and Nick Nolte and Cheech Marin and immoderate different cool actors. It was written by Sam Shepherd, and Sam Shepherd directed it. It’s called The Late Henry Moss. Anyway, erstwhile we yet opened, group were telling me, “Man, I can’t judge really bully your reviews are! Oh my god, You want to look?” Oh no, I said, I’m not looking. Well, anyway, 1 time I’m stretching connected nan level of nan flat I was renting location successful San Francisco, and I spot nan L.A. Times newspaper. There’s a image of maine and Sean. And earlier you cognize it, I’m reference nan reappraisal and I’m saying to myself, “Hey, why not return a small pat connected nan backmost each erstwhile successful a while? What’s it wounded you?” [Laughs.] Oh, it wasn’t a pat connected nan back! It was very damning. Just truthful mean-spirited to me. And truthful I was like, “Never publication different review. Just ne'er publication different one.”
DEADLINE: Do you publication nan news?
HARRELSON: I honestly do effort to debar reference nan news. It’s truthful depressing to me. It only depresses me. And what’s going connected now, I conscionable can’t look astatine it. I don’t want to. It’s for illustration 24/7 Trump, Trump, Trump. I don’t want to publication nan news. I don’t want to spot astatine nan news. For my ain intelligence health, I effort to debar it. But I do miss large stories sometime. People will say, “Did you cognize we invaded Venezuela?” and I’m like, What? I’m astounded by immoderate of nan things I don’t know, but I conscionable deliberation it’s amended for my intelligence health.
DEADLINE: What do you do to decompress?
HARRELSON: I’ll workout and I’ll agelong and conscionable beryllium astir my family arsenic overmuch arsenic possible. We’re lucky, because everyplace we go, we person friends. We’re going to New York tomorrow, sewage a ton of friends there. Friends successful London, friends successful Paris. So, I really do find being successful nan bosom of my friends and family is… [Pauses.] Well, what other is there? I don’t request thing else.
DEADLINE: One past thing. Is it existent that you erstwhile turned up, unannounced, astatine Daniel Craig’s location successful Brooklyn?
HARRELSON: At what!?
DEADLINE: There’s a communicative that you were talking to him astatine a statement successful L.A. once, and he said, “Let’s bent retired adjacent clip you’re successful New York.” And past not agelong afterwards, you knocked connected his doorway — moreover though he lives connected thing for illustration nan 20th level successful a condo pinch backstage security.
HARRELSON: Ha! Yeah. That’s true. I for illustration him. I haven’t seen him successful ages.
DEADLINE: So, you person a ninja value to you then?
HARRELSON: Yeah. I’m going to proceed to astonishment people, show up astatine their house.
