Woody Harrelson on ‘Rampart’ and Being Happy

1/14/2012Woody HarrelsonTheresa

Woody Harrelson recently spoke with Richard Rushfield of The Daily Beast about his role as Officer Dave Brown, in the upcoming film Rampart.  In the lengthy article Woody talks about what drew him to the role, his training, “being happy” and more.

His thoughts after initially reading the script:

I thought he was an asshole…And I was like, Jesus. I don’t want to play this guy. Then I was like—well, I gotta play it.  It’s a great part. It’s Oren Moverman. I’ve just got to do it. It’s not even a question. Now let me find the humanity in this guy.”

On his ride-alongs with the LAPD:

You know, I have a little trepidation being around cops as a lot of people do. But in this case, they weren’t going to be unfavorably disposed towards me, so it was a little bit easier. What was great was seeing how human they were. They were just great guys. They liked to talk about sports and girls and anything, just normal guys who just happen to be really powerful.

On making a connection with his character:

The thing I really connected with the character on was family. I have daughters. I’m surrounded by women, even my dog is female. So this was an area I could relate to, and I really feel like Dave Brown, he does a lot of really morally questionable things but he has this side of him where he loves his family and it’s heartbreaking to see how all that has fallen apart. 

On choosing roles and “being happy”

A buddy of mine, Tom Ballanco, has this statement, if you’re not standing on the edge, you’re taking up too much room. I love that. It’s not that I live by it, but I kind of love that idea. The emotional edge, the comedic edge. The edge of things. To just sit fat and comfortable in the middle is not interesting to me. I find those characters much more interesting who have that edge to them. In life though, I’m pretty relaxed. I can get into some weird moods, of course. But generally, I can’t imagine a better life than the one I have. I’m very friggin’ happy. Psyched about it. I don’t really want for anything. I don’t need more money. I don’t need a better part. There’s not much reason for me to be anxious or unhappy or angry.

You can read the full article here which includes details on Woody’s meeting with those on the other side of the law, as well as how the actors’ performances changed portions of the film.

Source: The Daily Beast