How much is Woody Harrelson worth?
| Net Worth: | $62 Million |
|---|---|
| Profession: | Professional Actor |
| Date of Birth: | July 23, 1961 (age 61) |
| Country: | United States of America |
| Height: | 5 ft 9 in (1.77 m) |
About Woody Harrelson
Woodrow Tracy Harrelson was born on July 23, 1961 and is an American actor and playwright with an estimated net worth of $62 million. One of the most charismatic actors of his generation Woody Harrelson was born in Midland Texas. One lesser-known fact about Woody Harrelson is that he is also a playwright.
Early life was not so easy for Woody Harrelson and his family. His mother was the only parent around. That is because his father was a convicted hitman. In 1979, he received a life sentence for murdering a judge. But, Woody Harrelson stated that his father wasn’t around even before that, that he struggles to even remember him, nor does he have any real memories of his father.
His mother worked as a secretary to provide for him and his two brothers. He worked various odd jobs as a teen to help the family. One of his favorite jobs over the summer was working at the Kings Island amusement park. He attended college and got a degree in theater and English in 1983. Fun fact about his time in college, he then met Mike Pence, the future vice president of the US.
Woody Harrelson jokes that Pence hasn’t changed much since those days, while his religious affiliations have shifted significantly.
Even if today that is not the case, especially amongst the younger generation, those under 35, Woody Harrelson was synonymous with his character on one of the greatest TV sitcoms that ever were. Woody joined at the end of the fourth season. His character was also named Woody, and also came from his hometown of Indiana. But, many were skeptical at first. He had many shoes to fill. He replaced Coach, the beloved bartender character, who was one of the silliest and heartfelt parts of the show. Nicholas Colasanto, who played Coach for those four seasons, died before they started to film the fourth season.
But Woody Harrelson and his character on Cheers, Woody, were a great success. He managed to become an integral part of the show and stayed on for the next 8 years until the show ended its run in 1993. But fans were not the only ones who enjoyed his role as the wisecracking bartender. He was also acclaimed by the critics. He earned 5 Emmy nominations, but only won one. After Cheers ended he largely shifted his focus from TV to film. But it is also important to note that he won his second Emmy when he guest-starred on the Cheers spin-off, Fraiser.
While Cheers was finishing its run, Woody Harrelson restarted his movie career. Soon, an iconic role would follow. He played a basketball hustler in the movie White Men Can’t Jump.
That movie was an enormous box office hit and made him an even bigger star than he already was. Early in his career, as well as later in life, he had a knack for finding movies that were huge box office successes. For example, he stared with Demi Moore and Robert Redford in Indecent Proposal, a movie that earned $266.6 million dollars at the box office alone.
He soon showed that he was more than just a wisecrack character actor, more than just shades of his Cheers character, which many of his first movie roles seemed to be. In the Milos Forman movie The People vs Larry Flynt, he played the publisher of Hustler magazine Larry Flynt. That movie changed a large perception of him as an actor. He was nominated for both the Oscar and the Golden Globe award but failed to lift both statues.
He would receive his second Oscar nomination years later for the movie Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.
When Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey joined in to play two detectives on the now-iconic first season of True Detective, many were skeptical, including one of the most famous TV critics at the time Andy Greenwald. Many thought it would be an expensive flop or a vanity project by the two actors. But it was anything but. As the season progressed, the TV show would become a phenomenon, one of the most-watched and discussed shows of the decade.
Woody Harrelson was nominated for every possible TV award following that season of True Detective. He also starred in the cult classic horror-comedy called Zombieland.
Woody Harrelson is an immensely talented actor who was not afraid to take chances. You can tell just by looking at his body of work. Replacing Coach on Cheers was not a small feat. Many, most people would fail to do that. Cheers was a mega-popular show, and the Coach was a dearly beloved character. But based on his qualities as an actor, and his overall winning positive personality, that exudes a love of life that at a time seems absolutely unconquerable, Woody Harrelson, accomplished just that.
He was always a hard worker. He didn’t want to stay just a TV actor, just a guy who had his 5 to 10 funny lines on a TV show every night. He wanted more. He took great risks for his career. One such risk was staring in the indie comedy White Men Can’t Jump. But, the biggest risk was probably playing Larry Flynt in The People vs. Larry Flynt. But he has the ability to turn those risks into amazing success stories. The final risk, staring as Marty Hart in True Detective also paid off immensely.
A strong belief and determination can carry you a long way, as the success of Woody Harrelson shows.
Summing-Up
Woody Harrelson is another mesmerizing story from rags to riches. A son of a poor mother and a convicted father, he fought and vanished the stigma that his father put on his family. He worked hard, took risks, and got things done. In his body of work, one finds all kinds of diverse characters, the only thing that combines them all is that they exude a unique charisma by one of the most cheerful and nicest people to ever grace TV or Film.
