Woody Harrelson, who won both accolades and hearts with his role as bartender Woody Boyd in Cheers (1985-1993), went on nailing the big screen with hits like White Men Can’t Jump, Natural Born Killers, and The Messenger. But, just like other notable actors, Woody Harrelson has a regret that haunts him to date, and it has everything to do with Tom Cruise’s $273 million cult classic, Jerry Maguire.
Woody Harrelson Couldn’t Have Been More Wrong!
Woody Harrelson revealed in a 2019 interview that he was offered the titular role in Cameron Crowe-directed, Jerry Maguire, a romantic sports comedy-drama pic, which grossed over $273 million at the global box office against its $50 million budget. The Hunger Games star, who gave up this lucrative role, said:
“I was offered Jerry Maguire, and I said to Jim [producer James L. Brooks], ‘Nobody is going to give a s–t about an agent.”
Harrelson, who could have been a part of the cult classic, let Hollywood’s hunk, Tom Cruise take his chances with Gerald “Jerry” Maguire’s role, and what happened next was legendary. Everyone gave more than s*it about the slick 35-year-old sports agent as the film gained a significant cult following.
What could have been Harrelson’s, “Show me the money!”, became Cruise’s most famous catchphrase, literally and figuratively. Jerry Maguire received five Oscar nominations, with Cuba Goodling Jr., winning one for Best Supporting Actor.
Woody Harrelson Always Gets Aways With The S*it Word
Woody Harrelson sparked controversy this February, during his appearance on Saturday Night Live, as he poked fun at Covid-19 vaccine mandates. As the monologue from the episode circulated, fans slammed Harrelson for his conflicting views.
When asked if he saw the monologue controversy, Harrelson responded:
“Well, people told me it was, shall we say, ‘trending.’ No, I don’t look at that s—. I feel like, ‘I said it on SNL.’ I don’t need to go further with it [pause]…other than to say — well, no, I won’t.
Never mind. That’s enough… But it don’t change my life one bit. Not one bit, if the mainstream media wants to have a go at you, right? My life is still wonderful.”
During the Saturday Night Live episode, the Now You See Me actor joked about his frequent use of marijuana, also criticizing Hollywood for “still enforcing COVID safety protocols on film sets”. Harrelson expressed that getting vaccinated and wearing a mask isn’t fair to the crew. Was that marijuana speaking, or Harrelson, remains debatable.
Jerry Maguire (1996) is streaming on Netflix. The movie can also be rented or purchased on Amazon Instant Video.
Source: US Weekly