Woody Harrelson: “What a Fool I Would Have Been to Pass on ‘The Hunger Games’”

Posted July 23, 2012 by Ciara in Cast

Woody Harrelson recently spoke to Broadway.com about his new play Bullet For Adolf. The Haymitch actor is both playwright and director of the humorous, semi-autobiographical show about an unlikely friendship and the disappearance of a World War II artefact. As well as discussing his life on stage and screen, Broadway.com also talked to Woody about The Hunger Games:

One of the most talked about franchises right now has to be The Hunger Games. Tell us about playing Haymitch Abernathy.
That was a pretty cool experience. [Director] Francis Lawrence, who is doing [the second film] Catching Fire, was over at the apartment and I told him this true story: You can’t imagine being the idiot that turned down The Hunger Games, but I actually did. I turned it down. I don’t know why. Maybe I didn’t feel like there was enough to do in the role. Luckily [director] Gary Ross came back to me. In the meantime I had read all the books and I was like, “Oh my god. This is great!” I felt kind of bad for passing it up. He said, “You gotta do it! I don’t have a second choice.” And I said, “Well, in that case, let’s do it.” What a fool I would have been if I passed it up.

How does it feel to have fans that range from Cheers to The Hunger Games?
It’s kind of that surreal. I guess you can call [fans] “friendly strangers.” It’s like being a hot girl: A lot of people come up and want to talk to you. You don’t really know them, but it’s cool because I like people. It’s been an incredible journey. I feel very lucky that people want shake my hand.

We’re glad you accepted Woody and have a great birthday too! Thanks to HG Fireside Chat