Academy Award-nominated and Emmy Award-winning actor Woodrow Tracy Harrelson was born on July 23, 1961 in Midland, Texas, to Diane Lou (Oswald) and Charles Harrelson. He grew up in Lebanon, Ohio, where his mother was from. After receiving degrees in theater arts and English from Hanover College, he had a brief stint in New York theater. He was soon cast as Woody on TV series Cheers (1982), which wound up being one of the most-popular TV shows ever and also earned Harrelson an Emmy for his performance in 1989.

While he dabbled in film during his time on Cheers (1982), that area of his career didn't fully take off until towards the end of the show's run. In 1991, Doc Hollywood (1991) gave him his first widely-seen movie role, and he followed that up with White Men Can't Jump (1992), Indecent Proposal (1993) and Natural Born Killers (1994). More recently, Harrelson was seen in No Country for Old Men (2007), Zombieland (2009), 2012 (2009), and Friends with Benefits (2011), along with the acclaimed HBO movie Game Change (2012).

In 2011, Harrelson snagged the coveted role of fan-favorite drunk Haymitch Abernathy in the big-screen adaptation of The Hunger Games (2012), which ended up being one of the highest-grossing movies ever at the domestic box office. Harrelson is set to reprise that role for the sequels, which are scheduled for release in November 2013, 2014 and 2015. Harrelson has received two Academy Award nominations, first for his role as controversial Hustler founder Larry Flynt in The People vs. Larry Flynt (1996) and then for a role in The Messenger (2009). He also received Golden Globe nominations for both of these parts. In 2016, he had a stand-out role as a wise teacher in the teen drama The Edge of Seventeen (2016).

Harrelson was briefly married to Nancy Simon in the 80s, and later married his former assistant, Laura Louie, with whom he has three daughters.

Laura Louie (28 December 2008 - present) ( 3 children)

Trivia

Is a vegan.
Moonlights as the lead singer in the band Manly Moondog and the Three Kool Hats.
Graduated from Hanover College in 1983 with a degree in theatre arts & English. Member Sigma Chi fraternity.
Was married to Neil Simon's daughter, Nancy Simon. Has had relationships with: Carol Kane, Ally Sheedy and Moon Unit Zappa.
Was arrested in Columbus (Ohio) in June 1983, charged with disorderly conduct - he was dancing in the street, halting traffic; he later jumped out of a moving police van, laughing maniacally, and finally punched one of the two arresting officers to the ground.
Brother of Brett Harrelson and Jordan Harrelson.
Admits to having been a sex addict.
Claims to have had 17 jobs in one year.
Chosen by People magazine as one of the 50 Most Beautiful People. [1990]
Activist for the legalization of marijuana.
A jury in Beattyville, Kentucky dismissed a marijuana possession charge against him. He was arrested in 1996 for planting 4 marijuana hemp seeds in rural Kentucky and in his defence he said he was challenging a state law that makes no distinction between marijuana and hemp, even though hemp contains little of the drug found in marijuana and can be used to make a variety of industrial products. [August 2000]
Woody and approximately a dozen other hemp activists and environmentalists took a bicycle tour down the west coast of America, starting in Seattle, Washington and 1000 miles later ending at the University of Santa Barbara in California. The tour was escorted by the Mothership, a Chicago city transit bus fueled by hemp oil and powered by solar panels. [April 2001]
The ex-son-in-law of playwright Neil Simon, one of Woody's first plays was Simon's "Biloxi Blues" in 1984.

When I let up from the weed, and the drinking too, I cried every day. And I liked that. I like crying. And now I not only wanna cry and show my crying to other people, I wanna just split myself down the middle and open my guts and just throw everything out!
Well for six years during Cheers (1982), I couldn't get another job. So I was getting to the mindset of, 'Wow, so this is it. I thought the career was just starting and apparently it's just over.' Fortunately then, I got a role in Doc Hollywood (1991) and then White Men Can't Jump (1992). Those I was doing during my hiatus from Cheers (1982), and then I did Indecent Proposal (1993) during my last hiatus. And then Indecent Proposal (1993) came out literally the day after we wrapped Cheers (1982). And then I started work on Natural Born Killers (1994). So I was fortunately able to segue, but for awhile I thought, 'Jeez, this is it'. And I felt that I could do so much more. I really wanted to express myself a little more. Not to say that "Woody Boyd" was not a great role!
It was very interesting. I read that book and I honestly had no idea what the hell was going on. Then I did the movie because I just wanted to do it. I wanted to work with Richard Linklater, Keanu Reeves, 'Robert Downey Jr.' and Winona Ryder. I wanted to do it, but I really still don't know what the hell that film is about. But I just know it's really interesting (On A Scanner Darkly (2006)).
I never was disillusioned with acting because I love acting. But I just felt at one point that I was on a hamster wheel, you know? Just doing movie after movie and thinking so much about career related things and I think missing out on hanging with my friends and family as much I needed to. So I just took some time off. I was maybe going to do two or three years and it turned into five years. But certainly, I'd say it was the best thing I ever did. And now I come back to this whole thing really energized about it. (2005 quote)
Most people take it pretty badly and just go crazy - I was no exception. But I feel like I've come out of it with my spirit still intact. (2002 quote on fame)
I've found that every time you stand up for something and open your mouth, you alienate someone. I spent a lot of time wanting to become rich and famous, then when I got there, I found it was hollow. What is important to me is my connection with family and friends, and to nature, and to stand up for what I believe in. It really makes you feel good to follow through with your convictions. Granted, between opening my mouth and some of the movies I've chosen to do, I've alienated a lot of my fans, I'm sure. Hopefully I'll make better movies, but I'll never stop opening my large, prominent mouth. (1997 quote)
(On environmental issues) I've been concerned for years. When I was in the seventh grade, I did a report about the environment and the loss of species. It was supposed to be only a few pages, but ended up being nearly 50. I've always had an intense relationship with nature, something which I think all of us have somewhere inside of us. Getting involved environmentally, really stepping out there, happened when I was doing Cheers (1982). Ted Danson couldn't make it to a couple of his meetings with the American Oceans Campaign, and he asked me if I would step in for him.