After being an understudy in a play by Neil Simon, Woody Harrelson got his lucky break in the situation comedy Cheers.

He was cast as the sweet, country boy who tended bar, called Woody Boyd. The Cheers bar was home to Woody for eight years, where he shared the spotlight with Ted Danson, Shelley Long, Kirstie Alley, Rhea Perlman, John Ratzenberger, Kelsey Grammer, and George Wendt. Woody won an Emmy for his role and has been busy in movies and television ever since.

The first movie for Woody Harrelson was Wildcats in 1986, a comedy directed by Michael Ritchie. It starred Swoosie Kurtz and Goldie Hawn. The 1990s was a very successful decade for Harrelson, with a plethora of reputable movie performances. Doc Hollywood sealed his position as a box office draw, when he played opposite Michael J.Fox, Julie Warner, Barnard Hughes, and George Hamilton. It’s a romantic comedy and Michael Caton-Jones directed.

Other movies followed, such as White Men Can’t Jump, directed by Ron Shelton. Woody hustled on the basketball courts with his buddy, played by Wesley Snipes. Rosie Perez played the love interest. Indecent Proposal was directed by Adrian Lyne and featured Robert Redford and Demi Moore. It was an interesting exploration of infidelity and temptation. Oliver Stone cast Woody Harrelson as the lead in the violent Natural Born Killers, with Juliette Lewis and Tom Sizemore. It was made from a story by Quentin Tarantino. Another controversial movie followed for Woody Harrelson, when he played a porn publisher in The People vs. Larry Flynt. Directed by Milos Foreman, Courtney Love played his lover and Edward Norton played his lawyer.