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But from the beginning, Harrelson was ambitious and quixotic.
Below, weve ranked Harrelsons 60-plus movie roles, from worst to best.
61.Surfer, Dude(2008)
61.
It is still pretty mind-blowing that this movie exists.
60.Scorched(2003)
60.
59.Anger Management(2003)
59.
We know Harrelson was just playing along here, but … yikes.
58.The Cowboy Way(1994)
58.
57.After the Sunset(2004)
57.
56.The Grand(2007)
56.
55.Seven Pounds(2008)
55.
Hey,youtry playing an angelic, vegetarian, blind telemarketer in a movie drowning in gooey sentiment.
But, well,youve seen the film.
54.Play It to the Bone(1999)
54.
And considering how many great movies have been made about boxing, this is a big problem.
Harrelsons in terrific shape here, though.
53.Sleepwalking(2008)
53.
52.Ed TV (1999)
52.
Ellen DeGeneres is fun in it, though.
51.Defendor(2010)
51.
50.Merritt McKinney in theNow You See Memovies (2013, 2016)
50.
49.Kate (2021)
49.
Put it this way: Would you cast someone like Harrelson if thatwasntthe twist?
48.The Man From Toronto(2022)
48.
Kevin Hart is a nobody.
Woody Harrelson is a hit man.
What happens if everybody mistakenly thought Hart was the hit man???!?
47.Money Train(1995)
47.
Three: Jennifer Lopez is in it.
Four: Robert Blake is in it.
And hes very creepy!
46.Wilson(2017)
46.
45.Indecent Proposal(1993)
45.
Its a good look on him.
44.Management(2009)
44.
43.She Hate Me(2004)
43.
42.Friends With Benefits(2011)
42.
Theres immediate pleasure in watching Harrelson, once again, playing someone whos good at basketball.
41.Midway(2019)
41.
Nimitzwas a real person, butMidwaydoesnt do much to bring him alive.
(Harrelson copies the mans hairdo expertly, so thats something.)
Emmerich could have just as easily hired wax figures.
40.Fly Me to the Moon(2024)
40.
(Hes very good at mixing clean-cut handsomeness with a slightly devilish smile.)
39.LBJ(2017)
39.
38.2012(2009)
38.
37.The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio(2005)
37.
(No truth to the rumor that they were tempted to call itEven Farther From Heaven.)
He makes failure seem almost touching.
36.Suncoast(2024)
36.
Story(1991)
35.
A one-scene role, but its a funny scene.
This was still the stage of his career when viewers would think, Hey, isnt that theCheersguy?
Storywould pave the way for a more prominent film career.
34.Doc Hollywood(1991)
34.
Fox) whos just arrived.
I credit Michael J.
33.A Prairie Home Companion(2006)
33.
32.Wildcats(1986)
32.
The main takeaways from this movie are the scenes Harrelson shares with futureWhite Men Cant Jumpco-star Wesley Snipes.
Hes definitely convincing wearing a helmet.
31.Champions(2023)
31.
Back in the 1990s, Harrelson starred in the Farrelly brothers underratedKingpin.
30.A Scanner Darkly(2006)
30.
Dont do drugs, kids.
29.Semi Pro(2008)
29.
The movie isnt terrible, but thats what happens here.
28.Welcome to Sarajevo (1997)
28.
27.Shock and Awe(2018)
27.
Slightly thankless and on-the-nose work?
Oh sure, but Harrelsons rascally charm compensates immensely.
26.North Country(2005)
26.
25.Venom: Let There Be Carnage(2021)
25.
[Whispers to date]: Hes Carnage.
24.Battle in Seattle(2007)
24.
Harrelson is forced back to work and is destroyed by the experience, and becomes destructive in response.
The movie needs fewer characters and story lines; it might have been better off just focusing on him.
23.Triple 9(2016)
23.
22.Palmetto(1998)
22.
Harrelsons constant state of befuddlement is a treat from start to finish.
21.Solo: A Star Wars Story(2018)
21.
He doesnt pop the way others in the cast do, but hes not necessarily supposed to.
20.Triangle of Sadness(2022)
20.
If the character ultimately becomes a bit repetitive, that doesnt obscure the wicked glee in Harrelsons eye.
19.Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri(2017)
19.
18.Transsiberian(2008)
18.
17.Out of the Furnace(2013)
17.
For a lot of other actors, Harlan DeGroat would be a crowning achievement.
What makes Harlan so frightening is the moral vacuum at the center of the character.
Hes not the villain because of some dark childhood trauma or complicated relationship with the films other characters.
Speaking of psychopaths, Harrelsons turn in writer-director Martin McDonaghs so-so follow-up toIn Brugescapitalizes on the actors steely stillness.
Charlie is funny, but what makes him so frightening is that hes never aware of that fact.
15.The Hi-Lo Country(1998)
15.
The movie is a little too self-serious, but Harrelson cuts through all that.
14.Haymitch Abernathy in theHunger Gamesmovies (2012,2013,2014,2015)
14.
But then, all of a sudden, he says, like, some genius, really eloquent thing.
And youre like, Oh, so you are there.
TheHunger Gamesmovies always suffered from a bit of self-seriousness, but Harrelsons presence helped humanize them a little.
13.Wag the Dog(1997)
13.
12.The Glass Castle(2017)
12.
This adaptation of the Jeannette Walls memoir suffers from dysfunctional-family-drama familiarity.
11.Zombieland, Zombieland: Double Tap (2009, 2019)
11.
And seriously: Bill Fucking Murray!
10.The Thin Red Line(1998)
10.
9.Rampart(2012)
9.
Still, this is hypnotizing work in a flawed film thats hard to shake off.
8.The Edge of Seventeen(2017)
8.
A lot of disillusioned teenagers would kill to have a teacher like Mr. Bruner.
7.War for the Planet of the Apes(2017)
7.
6.White Men Cant Jump(1992)
6.
Were not sure about thefashion of this movie,but the film still holds up today.
Who knew Woody Boyd was such a fast-talker?
5.No Country for Old Men(2007)
5.
4.The Messenger(2009)
4.
Im in the middle of a pretty good run now, Harrelsonsaid in the fall of 2009.
The good offers are coming my way again.
Too often, Harrelson has had to struggle to enliven underwritten characters with his own quirky persona.
3.Natural Born Killers(1994)
3.
Gone was the idea of the actor as the sweet dope fromCheersor the hustling baller ofWhite Men Cant Jump.
Few actors could sell the line At birth, I was cast into a flaming pit of scum.
Harrelson makes you believe it.
2.Kingpin(1996)
2.
This movie cracks us up just thinking about it.
1.The People vs. Larry Flynt(1996)
1.
Hes one of my good buddies now, Harrelsonsaid this summer.
