Woodrow Tracy "Woody" Harrelson (born July 23, 1961) is an
American Emmy Award-winning and
Academy Award-nominated
actor. Harrelson's breakthrough role came in the classic
sitcom Cheers as Woody Boyd. Notable film roles include 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.
Biography
Early life
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 Charles Harrelson, who was a free-lance contract killer.
He was convicted and eventually died during his life sentence in maximum security prison.
