Woody Harrelson on Becoming Involved in “North Country:” “Just they sent it. Niki [Caro] wanted me to do it and contacted my agent. Luckily I did it because I’m really psyched to be a part of this film.”
Woody Harrelson on Working with Charlize Theron: “We built a rapport pretty quickly because we just right away hit it off. We have kind of a nice back and forth, needle her a bit and she’d needle me. She always had the upper hand, little more clever, better zinger thrown my way than I could return, but we were neighbors in Minnesota. Like I’d walk out my door and from here to that wall was her door. So I’d come over for a cup of sugar, whatever I needed. She’s a very cool neighbor, one of the coolest neighbors I ever had for sure.”
On the Men of “North Country” Leaving the Characters Behind: “They were really able to deal with it and move on. I don't think that it got to where… You know, because of the nature, how intense this movie is, like all of those guys seemed to be - everybody would blow off steam after work and really hang together. I don't think it built up in a negative way for them.”
Woody Harrelson on Fighting Against Authority: “I do relate to that. I think it’s a great theme, like kind of a timely theme. What’s going on in the world, it’s like we gotta get up, stand up. So it’s a great message. I love the message of this film.”
Woody Harrelson’s Knowledge of Sexual Harassment Cases: “I actually had an oxygen bar and unfortunately I wasn’t there very much, but while not being there, two of the people working for me were then charged by some of the waitresses or something with sexual harassment. They sued me, even though I wasn’t even there and had nothing to do with it. It was a money thing. I think they were just gouging. Well, I know they were. They were just gouging for money. So I had to pay them off undisclosed [sums] that I thought was really unfair.
You have to know the specifics of the case, but I felt like they were gouging. I do think that there are times when people go over the line and certainly in the case of this film, that’s true. But there are times, unfortunately, where it’s just people going for some money.”
Harrelson says his personal experience didn’t influence how he viewed his character in “North Country.” Harrelson said, “I think a lot of times it is really legit. Just because that I didn’t think was legit doesn’t mean… Certainly in this case I think that it was a lot more. Even some of the things that you didn’t see in the movie that were in the book, I mean, it’s even more extreme. I don't know if you read the book ‘Class Action’ but it was extreme. It was really horrible what those guys were doing. It wasn’t like simple flirtation.”
Woody Harrelson on Returning to Acting: “Yeah. I mean, I don't know. I never have felt all that connected to Hollywood. I guess Hollywood’s just a concept.
I’m psyched to do movies because I took a long time off and at the time that I stopped doing them, I wasn’t appreciating it. I was feeling like I was on a hamster wheel. And then going and just hanging with my family for a long time and living the life of Riley, I think was the best thing I could’ve done. Now, coming back and doing these films, I really am just trying to be careful about the quality of the project. Really cautious.”
Page 2: Woody Harrelson on "Prairie Home Companion"
