It probably has to start with the fact that the star of "Natural Born Killers," Woody Harrelson, is the son of a real killer, a hitman who was sentenced to two life terms and died in prison. Charles Voight Harrelson (1938-2007) led a tumultuous criminal life from a young age: he claimed to have been involved in several murders in the early 60s. He was first imprisoned in 1973 for 15 years for the murder of a Texan (he received a fee of $2000 - today, adjusted for inflation, that would be $18,500). But he was released early for good behavior a few years later. Once free, his behavior quickly deteriorated: within a few months, he shot District Court Judge John H. Wood Jr. This was done at the request of a drug dealer: he was supposed to appear before the judge on the very day of the murder, and Wood Jr. was known for his ruthlessness towards drug dealers, sentencing them to maximum terms... Harrelson, who was also fond of substances, later claimed that he killed not only Wood Jr. but also President Kennedy (although he later attributed it all to his unstable state). In 1995, he attempted to escape from prison, after which he was transferred to another, super-secure facility. The story of the judge's murder - the first in the U.S. in the 20th century - caused such a stir that writer Cormac McCarthy mentioned it in his novel "No Country for Old Men," in the film adaptation of which Woody Harrelson starred. As a child, Woody had little contact with his father: he left the family when the boy was three years old, leaving him and two brothers in the care of their mother, who was struggling to feed the children. But as a teenager and young man, he visited his dad in prison quite often. He suspected that his father was innocent of the judge's murder (as well as of Kennedy's murder) and tried to get the case reviewed. In 1988, he said in an interview: "My father is one of the most eloquent, well-read, and charming people I’ve ever known... I see him more as a friend than a father." What makes this story even crazier is that Woody's longtime friend and his partner in the series "True Detective," Matthew McConaughey, seriously suspects that he is his half-brother. It turned out that his mother had an affair with the amorous Charles Harrelson right around the time he was conceived. In 2023, the actors were seriously considering doing a DNA test to find out if they were brothers or not. However, how this story ended is unknown. In general, Woody grew up without a father and in poverty. First in his native Texas, then in his mother’s Ohio. After school, he enrolled in college in Indiana, where he studied acting and Anglo-American literature. He lived in the same apartment with future famous screenwriter Peter Farrelly, the author of "Dumb and Dumber," "There’s Something About Mary," and the Oscar-winning "Green Book." And Peter recalled that, looking at him, he thought: "Poor guy, he will never work in his profession." But by the age of 24, Woody found work: he became a star of the sitcom "Cheers" (which is usually translated as "Cheers" or "Your Health!"). He was an incredible hit in the 80s and received 28 Emmy Awards - one of which went to Harrelson for his role as the not-so-bright bartender Woody. He made his film debut in 1986 in the football comedy "Wildcats"; his co-stars were the famous Goldie Hawn and another newcomer, Wesley Snipes (in the next decade he would star with him in the sports comedy "White Men Can’t Jump" and the failed but memorable action film "Money Train"). In fact, it was in the 90s that Harrelson became a true movie star - thanks to "Indecent Proposal," "Natural Born Killers," "The People vs. Larry Flynt," "The Game" (directed by that same Peter Farrelly and his brother Bobby), "Wag the Dog," "The Thin Red Line"... He was quite active then: he spoke out against the Gulf War (many Americans considered this extremely unpatriotic, and a well-known brewing company quickly terminated its advertising contract with Woody), fought for forest preservation, and for the right to grow hemp. Once (now it’s hard to remember what it was about), he and friends staged a protest and practically blocked the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco (one driver, claiming that he was late for a crucial business meeting due to the traffic jam, later filed a lawsuit against him for several million dollars). He happily shared with journalists his thoughts on sex ("I’m not a monk. Sex is very important to me; I’m a very aggressively-minded bachelor, a sociable guy who loves to spend time with friends. In our city (Los Angeles - Ed.), it means holding a glass and crossing paths with beautiful women, again and again. But I find it hard to maintain intimate relationships. I operate from a position of complete honesty: if a woman asks me, 'Have you had many women?' I’ll say 'Yes,' if she asks 'Will we see each other again?' I’ll say I don’t know. I will never say 'Yes' just to end it - although the more often I’m asked, the more likely the answer is 'No'... I admit I’ve been indiscriminate in sex. But even though I have a lot of experience, much of it has been related to my own insecurity, with the need to feel like a man by having sex as often as possible.") By the way, he first married the daughter of playwright Neil Simon in the Mexican city of Tijuana. The next day they planned to get divorced, but the marriage registration office was closed - they had to remain husband and wife for another ten months. The next marriage, on the contrary, was quite serious: Woody and his former assistant Laura Louie married in 2008 after ten years of relationship, already becoming parents of three children and owners of an 800-acre plot of land in Costa Rica (it’s a rainforest, Harrelson said that in the jungle it’s "easier for him to find peace of mind"). They are still together. In the early 2000s, his career experienced a noticeable slump - big films were not coming along very often. Many had already mentally assumed that he was heading down the same path as his friend Wesley Snipes - that is, to nowhere. However, in 2010, for one of the modest independent films, "The Messenger," he was nominated for an Oscar - and around this time, a natural flood of very bright supporting roles in big hits began. From "Zombieland" to "The Hunger Games," from "Now You See Me" to "War for the Planet of the Apes," from "2012" to "Venom: Let There Be Carnage." And plus many "prestigious" arthouse films: "Seven Psychopaths," "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri," "Triangle of Sadness"... Today he has three Oscar nominations. And one hopes that the next one will turn out to be successful - he really is one of the best American actors.