The banter between the Cheers actors was so funny I was literally laughing all day – does it get any better than that?
Proselytiser asks:
Cheers has withstood the test of time and is as charming now as it was 20 years ago. Did you have any inkling back then that you were joining a show destined for such longevity?
Guardian contributor I knew it was a good show, of course, but you never know if something will stand the test of time. It is gratifying that people love the show so much. I was lucky to work with that whole gang - it was like going to work at a playground every day. One of the things I learned was - I love the writers/producers work ethic. If a joke wasn't working they'd make it work. They were unrelenting in the pursuit of excellence. If a joke wasn't working during the shooting of the show, they would stand round the bar in a circle, and pitch jokes to each other - it might take 15 minutes. I just love the fact that they always wanted to make it great. And I think ultimately they succeeded.
I think that what happens is people fall in love with characters. The characters were really interesting and played by great actors - I still marvel at how Ted Danson and George Wendt and Rita Perlman and Kirstie Alley and John Ratzenberger and Kelsey Grammar - I just marvel at how great they were. What a privilege to get that time with them. It was a remarkable journey. It's cool to have a joke or two in one story, that you know a) millions of people are going to see on Thursday and b) you know they're going to laugh. That's not something you get very often, no matter what you're doing. And the banter between all these actors was so phenomenally funny I was literally laughing all day - does it get any better than that?
Apologies to Woody – while typing up his answers we misspelled Rhea Perlman’s name as “Rita”.
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PlanetHarris asks:
Which was the most difficult film/role you ever had to do and why?
Guardian contributor I think The Messenger was very hard, because imagining myself as a career military guy, it's pretty far from who I am. And the fact I was working on another movie in Romania, and had to leave that movie, go shoot this in under a month, and go back to Romania to finish the other movie, just didn't give me any prep time. But I watch it, and I love it. I think Ben Foster is one of the great young actors. And my performance turned out OK, in spite of all the obstacles.
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gpmcadam asks:
Ever going to be a sequel to Rampart?
Guardian contributor It's gratifying to hear people ask about Rampart. It was not a good release - you can make a movie that's really good, but it's put in the hands of a distributor, who may or may not care about it. Certainly in the case of this movie, I don't think they released it well. But fortunately I've heard from a number of people who seem to like it. That's the good thing about projects that fail, you get to see them later on. Like Out of the Furnace, it's dark, but it is very well done. Scott Cooper, great director. Another movie of his I'm looking forward to seeing again is Hostiles with Christian Bale, it's phenomenal. But I don't see a sequel happening to Rampart - my understanding is that a movie has to be even mildly successful to think about sequel...
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I quit smoking dope – I don't think I could have filmed Lost in London if I was consuming as much as I used to – I needed all my faculties!
Patrick Ryan asks:
Do you see any downsides to smoking dope?
Guardian contributor Well, I quit, so I must! On the other hand, pretty much every day I'm tempted to go back to smoking. There's nothing wrong with smoking pot, if you can do it moderately, and I was in a perpetual fog, be it London or San Francisco. I felt like I wasn't as emotionally connected to people around me. I feel more emotionally available now. I cry sometimes. And I don't think I could have pulled off Lost in London if I was consuming as much pot as I used to - I needed all my faculties!
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Eavesdropper asks:
Who’s the hottest band in the States right now?
Guardian contributor I love Michael Franti and his latest album is phenomenal. His band is called Spearhead. In a sense it's like U2 - very political, there's songs with incredible messages, and it's also musically great. His latest single, my God it's good! There's an incredible video he did, Once a Day... there's this video that's so happy and optimistic. And just the philosophy of the music is incredible - it's something the world is lucky to have.
I love Alt-J, Kasabian, Elbow, Arcade Fire, The Killers I've been on a kick with. I love Dave Matthews. And of course, Willie Nelson. I think U2's latest album is the one I'm looking forward to, as well as the latest Alt-J album - those are the two I'm really anticipating. And Bruno Mars! Went to that show, it was off the hook. And i'm getting into Donald Glover - aka Childish Gambino- because I'm working with him now. He did a rap album, but came along with this R&B, funk, soul album - it's so good.
I feel lucky to have been in a U2 video, because I'm such a fan. They have never sold out, never kowtowed to the mainstream
stuckinazoo asks:
The U2 video seemed to come out of leftfield. How did you and your daughter’s involvement come about?
Guardian contributor The album was Songs of Innocence, a phenomenal album. Bono was visiting Maui, and we were hanging, and he asked me if I wanted to do this video and maybe Zoe my daughter would like to be in it as well. I love the way he presented the idea. He said: I would never do this, but you should! So I couldn't not do it. And I really like how it ended up, and feel lucky to be in a U2 video, because I'm such a fan. I think just generally the music is phenomenal, the content of the lyrics and the musicality is as good as it gets. The band have never sold out, and although their songs are very popular, they've never kowtowed to the mainstream. One of my favourite albums is Pop, which was universally panned, and maybe did least well in terms of sales. It's maybe my favourite album of theirs. Of course they've got one coming that's been two years in the making - it's supposed to be finally coming out soon. Well it better be, because their tour starts in three weeks?
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mataubrey asks:
Do you still play football? Your winning penalty for the Rest of the World at Soccer Aid was the stuff of dreams (also a fan of your acting)!
Guardian contributor I do still play, and I love it, although I had never done a penalty kick before in my life - it was the stuff of dreams to do it in front of 95000 people at Old Trafford, and 10 million people watching on television. Frankly, since I was on the Rest of the World team against England, I didn't feel very popular. The goal was met with a profound silence in the stadium - I wondered if it was even a legal goal. It wasn't until I flew to Ireland the next day that I got a lot of pats on the back.
kcsLeeds asks:
Could you give us three pros and three cons of being a vegan?
Guardian contributor The pros are you generally have more energy, although you could be a vegan and just eat potato chips and cereal and pasta. I feel it's the raw component is very important, you need your enzymes, almost more than any other notion about food - you don't have to worry about protein, carbs, and fats, you get those things, animals in nature don't worry about that. my reason for becoming vegan, mostly raw, is energy. You can feel somewhat ethically clean about the source of your diet too, and also about the fact your diet doesn't contribute to a lot of ecological problems. Because after all, it takes something like 1500 gallons of water to make a pound of beef. No to mention all the methane that cows produce. And the horrors of factory farming. I don't see the con side. I experienced both, I used to be a meat eater, and I don't see the downside. The one thing is you take a little longer to order a restaurant, and incur the wrath of those around you who think you're crazy for being vegan.
ianita1978 asks:
What is your favourite way to escape the craziness of Hollywood?
Guardian contributor I live in Hawaii, and have the greatest family I could imagine, and the most incredible friends, so it's very easy for me to escape the craziness. When I go home it's about as far away as it could be. After Cheers ended, I was certain I didn't want to raise my kids in Los Angeles, so set about looking for where we would raise them. No place was off limits. We went to Australia, New Zealand, Europe, looking for a home, and ended up in Costa Rica for a few years. I was in LA, and my buddy asked if I wanted to see Willie Nelson in concert - afterwards this lovely lady asked if I wanted to meet Willie, I said sure, went on the bus, smoke billowing out, and through it all I see a man holding up a fattie, saying come on in, let's burn one! I had the greatest conversation, and after maybe a couple of hours of talking, he said if I was ever in Maui, come and stay at my place. I said: well, sure. And after that visit to Maui, I had a sense that is where I would end up living - and sure enough, that's what happened. I can't imagine a better place to raise a family. The natural beauty, the chill people who are so cool and funny.
Woody, I cannot wait to see Wilson. Will you be working on any future Dan Clowes projects? (hint: I’d love to see you playing ‘future’ Jack in Patience)
Guardian contributor I don't think I will be in any more Clowes - I would, but the odds seem astronomical. I love Wilson, I think it came out exceptionally well, and it's cool that Picturehouse are showing that too. A real opportunity to get back to some comedy and work with my dear friend Laura Dern, who I love a lot. It was a great experience. Wilson is based on a Daniel Clowes graphic novel, which is itself very funny and well done. The character is a bit of a misanthrope, and a curmudgeon, except he's kind of very outgoing and wants to connect with people - so there's a real interesting dichotomy in his nature. He doesn't have a lot of friends, and ends up finding his old girlfriend, played by Laura Dern, and then discovering from her that she had their child who's now 16, and has been adopted. And so he goes about trying to put together this family but of course there's a lot of problems on the road to doing that. And all the hardship is material for good comedy - Craig Johnson who directed it also did Skeleton Twins, he's really a great director. It's very cool to be part of that.
I prefer comedy so it's really nice to get back to doing that. I think if I got a chance I would just do comedy, but on the other hand there's films like The Glass Castle, which has comedic moments, but it's a phenomenal movie and I can't imagine not having done it. Or a movie like LBJ which has a considerable amount of comedy but I guess you'd have to call it a drama. That also hasn't come out yet. There's parts I've chosen, even Three Billboards is a comedy with some tragic elements. In many ways my character is the dramatic relief, and I wouldn't want to miss doing that.
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I would be interested in playing Henry Miller. He has a way with words that's extraordinary, finding the poetry in the dirt
bookchick56 asks:
If you could play any role – any character from history, literature, any religious character, absolutely anyone, man, woman, animal – who would it be, and why?
Guardian contributor Probably Jesus... no! I think right now the character that intrigues me is Clarence Darrow - an incredible character from history, and a man of the people, he fought for labour, he fought for the working man, although he did do things for captains of industry which surprised me. The other guy I would be interested in playing is Henry Miller, one of the greatest writers of all time. The autobiographical nature of his writing inspired me to do Lost in London, I wouldn't have done such a personal story had I not been such a fan of Henry Miller. He has a way with words that's extraordinary, but also has a way of catching gritty dark moments, and finding the poetry in it. Finding the beauty in the dirt. I find him fascinating.
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I love the parks, I love the people, I love the footy, I love the pubs, and I love Johnny Vaughan. The people are very warm, in a cold climate
clementpricethomas asks:
I saw Lost in London live, in NYC cinema. It was an incredible rollercoaster of a film. However unexpectedly the genius of the film, was for me not in the actual film, but in the live interview at the end. It opened a new dimension. Would you consider carrying on with live film work and pioneering this area further?
Guardian contributor Well, I'm glad it had an impact on you. I heard several people in different areas where friends were there and told me the audience stood up and cheered -that can only mean they had a sense of how difficult it was. And I do appreciate that. But I also appreciate it when people just get caught up in the story. We've had seven public screenings with Q&As, two yesterday, one in Brighton, one in Cambridge, and the weekend before that we did Edinburgh, Liverpool and newark. And it's been truly gratifying to see people's reaction to the film, and I can't imagine the alternative considering all the work that went into it. These English audiences have really been responsive, and I hope it keeps up, because quite frankly people responding to it in England is more important to me than anywhere else I'm going to show it. It's called Lost in London, and there's a lot in it you could describe in it as particular to England, it should resonate with England because it's its home. And I do love London. On the night that these events happened I wasn't feeling the love like I am now. I've been here since November - I almost feel like an expat Londoner.
I love the parks, I love the people, I love the footy, I love the pubs, and I love Johnny Vaughan. The people are very warm, in a cold climate, and incredibly optimistic and cheery. Which, y'know, having lost the Empire, you would never see that coming! They have an incredible sense of humour. I'm generalising, there are exceptions... Everyone has been very kind.
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I don't see one positive thing Trump has done. I keep wanting him to surprise me, with just one positive thing
sphen asks:
Lost in London was on Trump’s inauguration day wasn’t it? Coincidence?-)
Guardian contributor Yeah that was a coincidence. I did it the last possible day I could do - Willie's schedule wouldn't let me do it later. So it was filmed on January 20th, which was a curious coincidence. I really look at it as Obama's last day in office, which is a much better way of looking at it.
I think Trump is doing everything he can for himself and his buddies, and certainly his buddies in the military industrial complex and big industry. I don't see one positive thing he's done. I keep wanting him to surprise me, with just one positive thing. And it still blows my mind - although I get the concept of getting out the status quo, that people could consider Trump a man of the people. Someone who is going to champion the cause of the underdog, and the average person. I look at all politicians as businessmen, working for big businessmen - in the case of Trump, he's a big businessman, working for the biggest. And not matter how independent he may seem, he still has to bow and kiss the ring.
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freelancegeezer asks:
What gave you the idea to do this film on a single take (I am presuming it was your idea) and for you what were the positives and negatives of shooting a film this way. Can’t wait to see it by the way.
Guardian contributor Well, I've always have a dream of merging theatre and film, and thought I would accomplish that with shooting in real time, like with Russian Ark and Victoria. At the time I thought of it, there was only film. But luckily, from idea to execution stage, I tend to be pretty slow moving, so the technology caught up with me. The reality is that shooting it in real time doesn't make it a theatrical experience - it needed to have a live audience. And I got the idea that it could also be livestreamed simultaneously - how many hours of stress and lack of sleep that caused me, I couldn't tell you. There were many times I cursed myself for having the thought. But now, I'm happy we did it.
I wouldn't do another live film, unless it was maybe one location with a few actors. But I would love to direct again. In a more traditional way, where the stakes aren't quite so high, and the level of stress is lower.
Right up until the day before we shot the live show, Lost in London was a certain disaster. And then magically, it all worked out!
EmmaWeave asks:
What was the most difficult part of filming Lost in London and how much preparation was required before the shoot?
Guardian contributor Well, I think the most difficult thing, having never directed a movie before I knew it would be hard, but there were so many things going wrong that I wanted to improve that it kept me up at night. So number one problem was lack of sleep. And then going unrested into my next day... that continued even after the shoot for a couple of weeks, until I finally just stopped thinking about it.
There was a lot of preparation - we rehearsed for two months prior. There were all kinds of things we had to address with the production design, the way the camera would be because it had to be carefully choreographed. Props, wardrobe, makeup, stunts; the script changed daily. But most particularly, the sound, which I knew ahead of time would be the number one issue, really was a difficult thing to tackle. Because there were 35 actors with body mics, 50 RF antennas, 160 radios and communication. The RF antennas were on top of buildings in a two mile radius. Which was a big logistical issues for locations, to get permissions, to put them on roofs. We had 19 sound people, and they had worked on things like the Olympics, marathons, huge films, Wimbledon, and all of them said it was by far the hardest job they said they'd had. Right up to before the day before we shot the live show, it was a certain disaster, and the sound was not sorted. And then magically on the night, it all worked out. I was really uncertain - there had been so many problems with the technical elements, but ever hopeful!
I should also mention that Lost in London is showing for the next four nights at Picturehouse in central London, and then starting May 5, it's showing at various Picturehouse locations around London.
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ResonatM asks:
Have you ever read a book and thought “that would make an amazing film” if so which one, and would you direct/star in it?
Guardian contributor I recently read a phenomenal book called The People Versus Clarence Darrow, which I think would make an amazing movie. And yes, I'd like to play Clarence Darrow. I'm going to try and make that happen, as soon as I get a few other things moved off my plate. It's about a trial, a bribery trial, that went down with Darrow as a result of the trial that happened just before that, which involved these two brothers connected to the labour movement who blew up the LA Times, which I don't think they intended to do - just a bunch of giant ink barrels outside of the place they weren't aware of. They meant to scare, and they killed 20 people. Darrow knew he had a shot to win the case, and he bribed a couple of jurors.
meekstom21 asks:
Any chance of you and the Texan reuniting for another season of True Detective?
Guardian contributor I think it's unlikely, because things went great with the season we did, and I can't see what would come out of doing another one, except a lot of criticism to how it wasn't as good as the first season!
chrisdix15 asks:
Do you feel that your acting parts have “got better” as you have grown older?
Guardian contributor Yeah, mostly. I think I've become a bit more discerning about what to do, although I still have made a couple of missteps recently that I wish I hadn't wasted my time on...
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I love Peaky Blinders, The Wire, Game of Thrones, Downton Abbey, The Crown – and I'm looking forward to Jamestown
RavenKate asks:
Overall do you prefer working on film, TV or theatre or do you enjoy all equally? What types of films/TV do you prefer to watch?
Guardian contributor I love theater probably the most, although I haven't done a play in a dozen years or more. But, all of it can be fun - there's a lot more excitement in going out on stage in front of a live audience. Which is why with Lost in London, it was important to livestream it.
Guardian contributor I love Peaky Blinders, Breaking Bad, The Wire, Game of Thrones, Downton Abbey, The Crown - in fact speaking of Downton, I'm looking forward to Jamestown.
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Woody is with us now
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Post your questions for Woody Harrelson
Since his breakthrough as a dopey bartender in Cheers, Woody Harrelson has been an endearing Hollywood fixture – and nominated for two Oscars along the way. His broad grin and lugubrious Texan drawl make him a natural for goofy comedy, such as upcoming indie comic-book adaptation Wilson. But he can flip to stone-faced seriousness in works such as Natural Born Killers, True Detective and The Hunger Games franchise – just one of his blockbuster projects, which also include War for the Planet of the Apes, and the Star Wars spin-off movie about Han Solo.
His directorial debut is the madly energetic comedy Lost in London, shot in a single take and broadcast live to cinemas as it was being filmed. A polished-up version is now being released, and Woody is joining us to answer your questions about it and anything else from his career, in a live webchat from 1pm GMT on Monday 1 May. Post them in the comments below and he’ll answer as many as possible.
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I'd just like to say thank you to everybody who took the time out of their day to be a part of this. I know there were a lot I didn't answer, but there were literally hundreds! I was a captive of how much time I had. Also, I really hope you guys go see Lost in London, because it's a labour of love, and a lot of great people spent a lot of time working on it. And having said all that - have a great day!