Woody Harrelson grew up in Lebanon, Ohio. He received degrees in theatre arts and English from Hanover College, Indiana. His career began in New York theatre as an understudy in Neil Simon’s ‘Biloxi Blues’. Within months, he was cast as Woody on the hit TV series, “Cheers” (1982).
Due to conflicts with his TV shedule, Harrelson found it difficult to cross-over to films. His first appearance was in Wildcats (1986) with Goldie Hawn. His next movie, Cool Blue (1988) (V), was releases directly to video. He followed with two cameos, which went uncredited. Meanwhile, he continued to be active in theatre in L.A.: ‘Zoo Story’, ‘2 on 2’ (his own basketball drama), ‘Brooklyn Laundry’ (with Glenn Close and Laura Dern). In 1991, Doc Hollywood (1991) gave him his first widely-seen movie role. The follo wing year, White Men Can’t Jump (1992), with Wesley Snipes established him as a box-office draw. He followed immediatly with two hits, Indecent Proposal (1993) and Natural Born Killers (1994). Harrelson lives with his former assistant, Laura Louie, and their 2 daughters.