Almost a decade after taking on an unusually challenging directorial debut with the world’s first live-streamed feature film in “Lost in London,” Woody Harrelson is finally ready to direct again. The actor revealed his desire to be back behind a camera, as well as his latest creative venture as a budding stand-up comic, while at the Variety Lounge, presented by the Sarajevo Film Festival and BH Telecom.
Despite having a career spanning more than 100 films, starring in major franchises such as “The Hunger Games” and “Star Wars,” leading TV hits such as “True Detective” and “Cheers,” and now hosting a podcast, Harrelson said directing “Lost in London” was “the most challenging thing I have ever experienced.”
To celebrate the 10th anniversary of his debut, Harrelson is thinking about revisiting the format, albeit in a less dramatic fashion. “I’ll go to one of the streamers and say: Hey, do you want to try doing a live film? Maybe like an hour, though, and certainly not like [‘Lost in London’], when there were 14 different locations and hundreds of extras.”
“It nearly killed me,” he recalled of directing and starring in the high-pressure shoot. “I think it could be fun to try it again, but this time I think it will be easier having the benefit of having done it before and knowing 190 things I would have done differently. I can hopefully fix it, make it better.”
On the subject of stressful new ventures, Harrelson has recently taken on a new practice: stand-up comedy. “I have a lot of friends who do stand up and I admire them a lot,” he said. “To me, it’s the most difficult, challenging form of entertainment because it’s you, a microphone, and the audience. And you’ve got to make them laugh. Anyway, I’ve been making notes and everything. I am sure I’m going to just absolutely crash the first time, but I think I’ll try.”
Can we expect a one-hour comedy special anytime soon? “I haven’t even tried it!,” he exclaims. “No! Can’t expect the special [laughs].”
We can expect some comedy, however, with Harrelson set to appear on Apple TV’s latest comedy series “Brothers.” The series reunites Harrelson with “True Detective” co-star Matthew McConaughey to play fictionalized versions of themselves. In the show, created by “The Office” producer Lee Eisenberg, their friendship is put to the test once they uncover a decades-old secret: they might actually be brothers.
The story is inspired by real-life events, coming to the screen a few years after Harrelson went public with the fact that his father met McConaughey’s mother just around the time the “Dallas Buyers Club” actor was conceived. Harrelson had known McConaughey’s mother for 25 years when she pulled him to one side and told him she knew his dad. “I’m thinking, well, that’s weird that she’s never told me this. I’m thinking, well, what’s behind this story?”
Has working with McConaughey in a series loosely inspired by their own lives meant learning something new about each other? “I don’t know if we learned anything new,” he said. “I mean, we’ve been hanging out a long time, and we’re very good friends. I guess I learned that he’s one of the funnest people I know. I love hanging out with him. I can barely get enough of him. And he is very much like my brother. I think the show turned out real good.”
Another Harrelson project to look forward to is Jason Bateman’s “The Cackling of the Dodos,” which marks another big reunion: with Sam Rockwell, with whom he shared the screen in “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.”
The Netflix film is the first production under Harrelson’s new banner, Children at Play, which he launched with “Champions” producer Anna Schwartz. The producer found the script, which Harrelson said was “pretty good.” He told Schwartz he would do the film if she got Rockwell to sign on, which she did. Then, Harrelson asked for Bateman to direct. And Schwartz booked the “Ozark” star.
Harrelson was particularly elated to get Bateman, whom he called “the guy with the Midas touch.” “They did a rewrite, and it really became fantastic. Much more like a Martin McDonagh or Coen Brothers type of vibe. I think that one’s going to be real good. I have a good feeling about it.”