Woody Harrelson reveals he turned down Han Solo movie; he's glad he changed his mind
Woody Harrelson knew that he’d be crazy to turn down a Star Wars movie — and yet, he nearly did. When Harrelson was first approached about Solo, the upcoming Han Solo stand-alone film, he wasn’t convinced that it was worth his time. As the actor told Yahoo Entertainment’s Kevin Polowy, he’d been in this situation before, with another beloved franchise. Watch the video above.
“I actually turned it down at first. And then, I ended up doing it,” Harrelson said of the Star Wars film. “I mean, I turned down Hunger Games twice, so this is no genius making these decisions.”
Why would he turn down a coveted place in the Star Wars pantheon? Homesickness. “Honestly I’d been working, I’d done so many things back to back and I just wanted to go home,” he said. “I was like, obviously this is something most actors would want to be a part of, but I just wanted to go home, so I decided not to do it.”
The actor, who spoke with Yahoo Entertainment while promoting his biopic LBJ, explained that producer Allison Shearmur brought him around, and he’s “really glad… because I can’t imagine not knowing all those people I got to work with.”
Lucasfilm hasn’t revealed much about Harrelson’s character Beckett, whom the actor has called “kind of a criminal and a mentor to Han.” But Harrelson’s list of Solo buddies includes stars Alden Ehrenreich (young Han Solo), Donald Glover (young Lando Calrissian), and female lead Emilia Clarke, which seems to indicate that Beckett will be right in the middle of the action.
“Everybody who worked on that film was really cool… I get the feeling that it’s gonna be pretty great,” Harrelson said.
Solo opens in theaters on May 25, 2018.
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