Woody Harrelson: Most Underappreciated Performance
Woody Harrelson is one of the most versatile actors of his generation.
He started his career with comic roles but soon became renowned for his stellar performances in dramas, thrillers and action films.
He has been nominated thrice for the Academy Awards; once as Best Actor and twice as Best Supporting Actor.
He has been in The Hunger Games, Now You See Me, Zombieland and is to be seen in Venom: Let There Be Carnage.
However, there are some great works of his, which have been overlooked.
1. Shock And Awe – 2017
Shock and Awe is a drama film and the synopsis goes like, “As the United States military prepare to invade Iraq in 2003, sceptical journalists question the Bush administration’s claim that Saddam Hussein is in possession of weapons of mass destruction.” The movie has a great cast but they seem to be bored but Woody makes it bearable with his role. Harrelson commits to his role and provides some energy into the film. He manages to show audiences some good journalism. And he is able to sell the cheesiest of the dialogue
2. Wag The Dog – 1997
Wag the Dog is a comically political satire where ” The president of the US is caught in a sex scandal a few days before the elections. To avoid media outburst and public outrage, Conrad Bean, his aide, constructs a fake war against Albania.” Harrelson plays U.S.Army Sergeant who is brought in to falsify a prisoner-of-war. Harrelson was able to gain some laugh due to his performance.
3. The Edge of Seventeen – 2016
The Edge of Seventeen had underperformed financially and it was a shame since Harrelson gave an amazing performance of a teacher. He plays Mr. Burner who is the only person to him that the struggling protagonist Nadine Franklin (Hailee Steinfeld) can open up to. Mr. Burner came to her rescue after her traumatizing date as well and it was a touching moment. They had an impactful relationship.
4. Triple 9 – 2016
Triple 9 had a promising plot which read as ” A gang of criminals are forced by Irina, the wife of a Russian gangster, to steal documents that will convict her husband. However, they find themselves double-crossed while executing their plans.”
Harrelson played a senior police detective Jeffrey Allen and he bombed his role. But the problem was the story as they tried to put a lot of things into it. It had Russian mafia, gang homicides and even former veterans breaking bad.
5. War For The Planet Of The Apes– 2017
Harrelson played the fascist paramilitary Colonel J. Wesley McCullough. The way he portrayed the authoritarian who had completely forsaken his humanity was absolutely terrifying. He truly saw the apes an an evil and that he must wipe them out in order to save the planet; and he was unflinching in this brutal torture and enslavement of Caesar’s allies.
Harrelson makes sure that he doesn’t ever hint that McCullough actually enjoys his sadistic practices but is doing for due diligence.
He was forced to kill his son yet showed no sympathy.
