Best Known As: Film Actor,  Television Actor

Gist:  Woodrow Tracy "Woody" Harrelson (born July 23, 1961) is an American actor. Harrelson's breakthrough role came in the sitcom Cheers as Woody Boyd. Notable film roles include Billy Hoyle in White Men Can't Jump, Roy Munson in Kingpin, Mickey Knox in Natural Born Killers, Larry Flynt in The People vs. Larry Flynt, Dusty in A Prairie Home Companion and Carson Wells in No Country for Old Men. He also played Ezra Turner in Seven Pounds.

Life Facts:  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, the latter of whom is a professional motorcycle racer. In 1979, in San Antonio, Federal Judge John H. Wood, Jr. was shot and killed by rifle fire by Woody's father Charles Harrelson, who was a freelance contract killer. He was convicted and eventually died during his life sentence in maximum security prison.

Harrelson grew up in Lebanon, Ohio, with his mother. Harrelson attended Lebanon High School and later Hanover College in Indiana. He was a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity, and in 1983, received a bachelor of arts in theater arts and English.

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.

On December 28, 2008, Harrelson married Laura Louie, his girlfriend since 1990. 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.

Harrelson is also an executive member on NORML's executive board.

Career Facts:  After the end of Cheers, Harrelson left his television career to pursue a film career. His first film was Wildcats in 1986 with Goldie Hawn. Harrelson became friends with Wesley Snipes and starred with him in the box-office hits White Men Can't Jump and Money Train. He appeared in mostly minor roles until 1993 when he starred in Robert Redford's Indecent Proposal.

After the success of Indecent Proposal, Harrelson played Mickey Knox in Oliver Stone's Natural Born Killers and Dr Michael Raynolds in the film The Sunchaser. In 1996, he starred in the comedy Kingpin.

Harrelson's career took off when he starred in the Milos Forman film The People vs. Larry Flynt, in which he plays Larry Flynt a pornographic writer and owner of Hustler magazine. The film was a success and Harrelson's performance as Larry Flynt was considered one of the greatest performances of the year. He was nominated for a Golden Globe Award and an Academy Award for Best Actor, but subsequently lost to Geoffrey Rush for his performance in the film Shine.

After the success of The People vs. Larry Flynt, Harrelson started acting in more serious film roles. He starred in the 1997 war film Welcome to Sarajevo as Flynn and in 1997 starred as Sergeant William Schumann in Wag the Dog. In 1998, Harrelson starred in the Drama/Thriller Palmetto and played Sergeant Keck in The Thin Red Line, a war film nominated for seven Academy Awards in 1999.

After The Thin Red Line, Harreslon made other films such as The Hi-Lo Country and in 1999 he portrayed Ray Pekurny in the teen comedy EDtv. Also in 1999, he appeared as boxer Vince Boundreau in the sports film Play it to the Bone.

Harrelson didn't appear in movies again until 2003 when he co-starred as Security Guard Gary in the comedy film Anger Management. After Anger Management, Harrelson co-starred as Stan Lloyd in the action film After the Sunset, and as Leland Powell in the comedy She Hates Me.

In 2005, Harrelson played Raymond in the film The Big White and also in 2005 played the role of Bill White in North Country. Also in 2005 he appeared as Kelly Ryan in the film The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio. In 2006, Harrelson made two films, playing the part of Roy Arnie in the animated film version of Free Jimmy and as Ernie Luckman in A Scanner Darkly. In 2007 he played Carter Page III in the film The Walker.

In late 2007, Harrelson co-starred in the crime thriller No Country for Old Men, playing Carson Wells, a bounty hunter. The film won four Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director for Joel Coen and Ethan Coen. Harrelson also won the Screen Actor Guild Award for Best Cast, along with Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin and Kelly Macdonald.

In 2008, Harrelson made many films, but the most known are Semi-Pro and Seven Pounds. In Semi-Pro, he played the role of Monix and in Seven Pounds played the role Ezra Turner. Harrelson has several upcoming projects The Messenger, Defendor, Zombieland, Pinkville, The Other Side, Bunrako and his most anticipated project yet, 2012 as Charlie Frost, a man who warns everyone about the end of the world. The film is directed by Roland Emmerich. All of the projects are scheduled for release in 2009.