Woody Harrelson on that time he and Michael J. Fox drank cobra blood in Thailand: 'Mike promptly vomited'

Michael J. Fox "never could hold his cobra blood," according to pal Woody Harrelson.

Harrelson was on hand Saturday in Los Angeles for the 13th annual Governors Awards, where they dole out all the honorary Oscars, to present Fox with the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award. During his introduction of the erstwhile Alex P. Keaton, Harrelson shared a little tidbit about a night of drinking gone awry in Thailand.

The pair were on a trip through the Thai jungle when Fox handed some money to someone who led them to a fight between a cobra and a mongoose. Doesn't it feel like all Woody Harrelson stories start like this?

DMI/The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock Michael J. Fox and Woody Harrelson

Anyway, Harrelson said he "didn't believe it" when he saw Fox "sitting next to this kid with dozens of cobras all around them ready to strike and — no jest — and the kid was toying with these cobras."

He continued, "He taunted a bunch of these cobras and then he found the orneriest cobra, grabbed it by the neck, threw it in a cage with mongoose, where I saw the craziest fight I've ever seen between any animals other than studio executives," adding, "You guys know I'm kidding."

Well, the mongoose won the fight, and as tradition dictated, it was time to become "brother to the snake" by drinking its blood.

"They took the snake, yep, tied it by its tail, run the blood out, half-filled four glasses with cobra blood and half with Thai whiskey," Harrelson explained. "Mike and I drink lots of things together, and he can hold his own — can I say, he's Canadian. But Mike promptly vomited his snake cocktail. Never could hold his cobra blood."

VALERIE MACON/AFP via Getty Images

When Fox took the stage to accept the Hersholt Award, honoring "outstanding contributions to humanitarian causes," he thanked and hugged Harrelson for his introduction. "I love you. We did some damage," Fox said to his Doc Hollywood costar. "We did some damage in the '80s."

Fox had recommended Harrelson for a role in the 1991 fish-out-of-water comedy, helping to launch the latter's film career. Accepting his award for his work with Parkinson's disease, with which he was diagnosed shortly after filming Doc Hollywood, Fox reflected on living with the disease.

"I refer to Parkinson's as the gift that keeps on taking. But it truly has been a gift," Fox said. "Once I became engaged in learning about the disease, every interaction, every new piece of information I gathered, every researcher or NIH official I talked to, all confirmed the science was ahead of the money."

He added, "The answers could be unlocked with the right investments."

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