Woody Harrelson Goes Through Hell While Eating Spicy Wings | Hot Ones

I don't know how to talk anymore, dude.

How do people look comfortable?

Hey, what's going on everybody? For First We Feast, I'm Sean Evans and you're watching Hot Ones. It's the show with hot questions and even hotter wings. And today we're joined by Woody Harrelson. He's an Emmy award winning actor and icon of Hollywood

who's entertained audiences for more than 40 years. Check out his podcast, Where Everyone Knows Your Name, alongside Cheers co-star Ted Danson. And finally, A Diamond Heist reunites the retired horseman in a brand new movie, Now You See Me, Now You Don't, the third installment of the film series

set to theaters on November 14th. Woody Harrelson, welcome to the show.

Thank you, Sean. Great to be here, man. You've interviewed so many of my friends, I can't believe I'm finally in this seat.

And it's about time. What's going through your head as you prepare to take on the gauntlet?

It's just pure fear.

On that note, are you ready to get started? Ah, what the heck? And then dietary restrictions noted, we've adjusted the lineup accordingly.

Okay. restrictions noted, we've adjusted the lineup accordingly. Okay, pick it up and pop it. Damn, that's tasty. Can you lick your fingers? I don't remember.

Of course, you can let it fly. Just be yourself, yeah. It's a sovereign nation over there on that side of the set. Thank you. I don't remember. Of course, you can let it fly. Just be yourself. Yeah. It's a sovereign nation over there on that side of the set.

Thank you.

That's how I feel being a Texan.

So, you've been playing the role of wisecracking mentalist Merritt McKinney since 2013. And recently on your podcast, Mark Ruffalo tells a story about how you tried to hypnotize him on set. Have you ever successfully hypnotized someone or been hypnotized yourself? And if so, can you paint the picture for us?

A good friend of mine, Keith Barry, who helped with the first two Now You See Me's, he's an Irish fella and he's really good at hypnosis. And one time he was trying to explain it to me, and we were like on Zoom or FaceTime or something. He said, oh, if I was there, because he could see me just dropping more and more into your unconscious mind, you know?

And he was ready to just pull me in, have me sleep. So I think I'm susceptible, if you're thinking about it. Habanero, wow. You ain't messing around, are you?

Mm-mm.

Okay.

Okay.

In my sovereign state over here, it's already a mess.

And this to me is a little bit of a step, but so far so good.

You took a step up.

I mean, I know on the TV they're showing that

do do do do do do do, and then you're saying that.

You don't call it BTUs, what do you call it?

Scoville units. Yeah, the Scoville units.

Yep.

Yeah.

So when we had Cate Blanchett on the show, she talked about how she'll often feel regret on the final day of shooting, because it's then when she feels like she finally understands the character. Does that at all ring true to you as an actor? And if so, is there a character from your career that you wish you got a second bite of the apple for?

Well, that's a very good question. Yes, that's happened too damn often.

Man, I'm already hot with this shit. What the? Okay.

Planet of the Apes was one that I really have thought about that. I mean, I'll be just walking down the street and I'll think of, oh, I should have done, you know. Like literally, I'd say a thousand times, I've thought of adjuncts or things I would have done

different or things I would have done different or things I would have modified. I mean, I can play crazy and I feel like I normalized the character too much.

You would have gone a little crazier

if you could do it again.

Oh yeah.

If I had another shot at that, man, I could nail it. But hindsight 20-20.

Let's kick it down the road, here we go.

Nice. I'm just kidding. Cautious, and then dive in.

Okay.

Yeah, bring it.

There we go.

I love that spirit. So when Colin Farrell was on the show, he told a story about being in the middle of a scene when director Terrence Malick took the camera, pushed it away from the scene to focus on a bird, an osprey, if memory serves me.

Does that story about his obsession with the natural world track with your own experience working with him on The Thin Red Line?

He would come out, we were up in the North Dane Tree in Australia, and he'd come out and he'd look at the grass blowing, you know, and he'd be like, I like the way the grass is. Let's put the camp, you know, like, he very much was...

Like nature is kind of like dictating the shape of the scene a little bit.

Yeah, or just like the images that he was saying, you know, like it just happened to be a breeze and it just happened to be blowing this section, you know. He's obviously a genius. No one could doubt it. Wow, I mean, we got how many left?

We've only done three?

I know, I know. But let's look at the good news.

What is the good news?

A third of it is done and behind us.

Oh, a third.

You know what I mean?

We're a third down. And that will give us the momentum to make it all the way to the end.

Okay. I like how you, yeah, it's like waves.

Yeah, exactly. I'm in a flow state right now, and I'm trying to transfer that in a second-hand kind of way. Are you feeling it? Yeah, yeah, I'm in the flow state. Come on, Sean.

Oh, this is so groovy. Here we go. I'm wondering what that little stank-o-meter's doing right now. Stank-o-meter's turning up. I bet it is.

It's pretty good.

You're liking them so far.

Yeah.

I mean, yeah.

So you're saying we're not yet halfway.

No, but we're almost halfway, you know? I'm a glass half full kind of a person over here.

No, I'm in a show, and from now on when I watch your show, I'm gonna have such respect for these people who are scurrying past four and into five and six, et cetera.

I think it's important for people to have that experience because right when you're watching, you're always like, oh, I could do that, or I wonder how I'd handle that in that situation. But it's good, you know, like everyone who comments should actually sit in the seat, I think.

No, I never wondered that, because I always knew I'll never do that show. I don't have what it takes.

How did we get you here?

Well, because my family is all like, can you do hot ones? They all love hot ones. They love your show. And I love your show to watch.

But to live it is another story.

Ha ha ha.

Harbinero never fails. What the fuck?

You eat the whole thing?

Half.

Fuck it, man.

Yeah, let's go.

Let's party.

Let's party.

Is it true in the people versus Larry Flynt, the line, Alanis, I'll be along in an hour and I'll bring the ping pong balls, was improvised and inspired by a ping pong game that you had with Alanis Morissette the night before?

Yes, that's right. I had a, when I met her, and she's still a, I like her a lot, amazing lady. I was wearing a necklace that I got from Larry Flint, which was a... diamond vagina. -♪♪♪♪

Just a...

I just remembered that.

Are you not allowed to...

This is why we do the show.

You know, half the people on this planet have vaginas. You can't use the word.

Yeah, yeah, it's not a big deal.

It's not a big deal at all.

What the fuck? everybody looks shocked. Like I said, it's a sovereign nation over there. What do you like? You just let it fly.

You just let it fly.

And then we did, we played some ping pong. But I also know that Courtney had certain issues with Atlantis because, you know, Courtney had her band Hole, and then Atlantis had the biggest record ever from a woman and was at her zenith, and I felt like she was quite jealous of Atlantis. I know she was, so I also did that to kinda...

Needle a little bit.

Needle. She likes a little fun, you know, Courtney.

How we feeling?

Dude, no.

I love the arc of this.

I like the arc of this. I like the arc of this too. Let's move on, big dog. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

I get it.

But you're doing great. You're doing great.

Which snake venom is this? Yeah, so... This is napalm or...

No, not yet. That's actually the next one.

No, that's the next one.

Some habanero, which you're probably catching. Yeah. And then just be careful around the eyes.

No, no, don't touch my eyes.

I keep getting them.

I don't know.

Oh, Lord.

There's a lot of discussion today about the state of entertainment, you know, from like the future of movie theaters, the decline of theatrical releases, the AI algorithms, streaming, the death of the movie star, etc. Is the Hollywood of today unrecognizable from the one that you entered in as a young actor, or is it in a strange way have things fundamentally more or less stayed the same?

Hmm. It is quite different because, you know, first of all, the way you distribute is much different. I never do a movie thinking people will go see it in the theaters anymore. I've kind of given up on that notion. I'm just hoping that they see them eventually online. And so you're gearing toward that. The AI thing, I am worried about what could be the end result of that.

You said we got four more left of these?

Yeah.

For better or worse.

How do people do this shit?

Are you kidding me? I saw Owen Wilson have, Owen and Matthew can do it. Oh, Jesus. I guess any Texan can do it.

♪♪

I'm starting to leave words out of sentences.

It ain't no thing.

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

♪♪ Who's all these sick bastards getting a kick.

I know.

Getting a kick out of other people's pain.

The voyeuristic quality of the crew, you're right, it's a little unsettling.

They must love it.

And kind of like, which one's going to take them down? The silent anticipation as you're eating.

Yeah, all of it.

They're all doing the side bet. He won't last till eight.

Yeah, the Woody props.

And they might be right on that.

When you're making a movie like White Man Can't Jump, does the natural competition, that theme in the film, does it ever bleed out over set? Like, is there a particular scene or off-screen moment that most blurred the line between acting and actual rivalry?

Oh, yeah, because in the scene where, um... I've just won a bunch of money, and now me and Wes make a bet because he's saying I can't stuff it. In reality, I couldn't stuff it, right? You know, I kept trying, and we were betting small sums.

And then he goes to this trailer, and I remember the lady who was the boom lady, she says, Woody, have you stretched? No, I haven't stretched in ages. Stretch, you know? I started stretching out, stretching out.

Grab a basketball, stuff it. I'm like, oh my God. When he comes out of that trailer. So I did the whole thing, like pretending, oh man, I just can't. You know, and I try, we do a look,

and then I'm like, hey man, why don't we bet $1,000, right? And then I stuffed it. And the look on his face was worth everything, man. He just like, because he knew I couldn't. But it helped the stretch.

Little lesson there for you people who are ever, you know, trying to do that. The other lesson is don't do this shit.

Yeah, or at least if you're going to, make sure that you stretch first.

Okay.

This smells a little chemically.

Yeah.

Yeah. What's that metal and rust in there?

Yeah, I was gonna say,

it tastes a little chemically.

Yeah. Yeah.

The fuck?

Yeah.

Are you kidding me?

They gotta alter these ingredients.

You know what? Rust was like a good qualifier when you said that. Like it does have a metallic kind of taste to it.

Yeah, metallic. Yeah. I don't think that's what you want in your food, is it?

No.

No. You don't want it in your food, you don't want it in your drink.

No, I guess you just want it on your talk show, you know? For the uninitiated, what's it like to be a spectator at the World Chess Championship? You know, even as a big sports fan, I kind of can't imagine what that atmosphere is

like. It's pretty exciting. And I love how you can just keep going and...

Yeah, in an almost merciless, like ceaseless way, I understand. Yeah, like I'm a train coming at you from that side of the table. Yeah, in an almost merciless, like ceaseless way, I understand. Yeah, like I'm a train coming at you from that side of the table.

Yeah, yeah. You get to 8, 9, 10, you're like, hey, I, uh, now I got the hard questions.

Is being a ceremonial first mover a stress-inducing experience? Like can you mess that up the way that you can mess up throwing out the first pitch at a baseball game?

Oh, I messed it up on purpose. Unfortunately, I misheard the guy. I thought he said... What the fuck? I thought he said E4 and he said D4. My idea was to knock over the king with my ring finger, and they laughed and put it back together,

but then the guy looked pained and he's like, saying to the official, that wasn't mine. I'm like, oh, I pushed the wrong pawn. So I had to go, I pulled that pawn back, pushed another pawn, and then I'm just an idiot. You know, like even any joke that there was

is just completely on me. It's a real egg on your face moment.

Where does playing to a draw against chess champion Garry Kasparov, where does that fall on your list of life's greatest accomplishments?

It's right up there. I don't know how to talk anymore, man. How do people look comfortable? I saw David Blaine, he looked like he had no fucking itch whatsoever.

He's another kind of species. Yes, another species. Are you ready to move on to nine?

Who is?

Oh, you know I am.

Oh yeah. Of course. tonight who is oh you know I am oh yeah

fuck me did the people cuss on their show yeah of course

sovereign nation oh fuck yeah you can let it fly oh Oh. Oh my Jesus. I know, but on the plus side?

First the plus side.

Go ahead.

Yeah.

Not that metallic rust of DuBond, you know? Like, I told you, I really am a glass half full kind of guy. Is there a project from your career that was pound for pound just the most fun? You know, I've heard you mention that making Surfer Dude alongside Matthew McConaughey and Willie Nelson, that it was the most non-work you've ever done.

That was non-work. That's true. So fun. We just had our trailers. We both had, well, I had a bus and Matthew had a trailer parked next to each other up in Malibu at the RV place. He'd go to work in his bathing suit, never changed, no shirt. He'd come home the same. I did pretty much the same thing, but shirt. These are sick bastards, every one of them. They're laughing, they're enjoying, they're my pain.

You don't show it.

But you know what? The good news is we've reached the end.

Great. This is hell. I hope my children don't watch this. And you dip it.

And you dip it. And you rip it.

Cheers, Woody.

To you.

All right, now that we've eaten the last dab, to the audience watching at home, we're gonna do a quick setup, because honestly, I have absolutely no idea what's about to happen, but I've been told it's something very special.

I'm just going to try an experiment, okay? So this is something, my mentor is here. He's in the room. These people can't see him, but he's here watching me, which makes it all harder. I just want you to think of a number

that might be meaningful or important to you.

You know what?

Make it something that you won't forget, like let's just say, pen number.

Okay.

Or like an old pen number.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Because I don't want your present. I don't think they should have, you know, your old pen number. Yeah, yeah. The one you're not presently using.

All right, I have it. I have it in my head. You got it? An old one. Yeah, yeah. Okay. You have it in your mind. Out of service pin number, yeah.

You nearly killed me, dude. You nearly killed me. And I'd say that with all due respect, because I know you nearly kill people on a daily.

Welcome to the club.

Yeah. Okay, I want you just to take these cards and you and I to shuffle like this.

I can give it a shot. Probably not as smooth as you, but I'll give that a shot.

Yeah, do your best.

All right. It's good?

Yeah.

Whenever you feel good about it.

All right, I feel good about it.

Great. I'm gonna try now to, um... I'm trying to read your mind right now, just to think what the number could be. You know what? You take the deck. You take the deck.

Yeah, yeah.

Okay?

My dad used to be a card shark. I never tell anybody about that. And I asked him, how is it that you always win? He said, I cheated. I cheat. That's what he said. I want you to just make a little pile in front of you.

But just one card on top of the other, face down, and stop when you want. Just make a, yeah. Nice and slow. Nice and slow, one at a time. Small pile, you can stop whenever you want.

Yep, great, great. Let's do one more. Feel good, okay, one more, great. So you stopped there randomly, right?

Mm-hmm.

So let's take these a while away and that's where you stopped. So let's, why don't you put now the four cards in a row here, the next four cards.

Up or down?

No, down, face down. One, two, three, four. Okay, so you stopped there. If you'd have stopped here, you'd have had all these different cards. If you'd have stopped here,

would have been these, right? Yeah. Okay, but you stopped there of your own choice, of your own volition. I didn't make you do that. Okay, David Blaine, can you come in and come over here, dude?

Come over here and this is my mentor.

But basically you shuffled, then you shuffled, then you dealt for real and you stopped there?

Yes, Yes.

If that's the number, I'm actually going to freak out. No, seriously.

I am too.

Well, say your number out loud.

Okay. 8687.

8687.

Yeah.

Okay. Well.

If that's 8687, that's crazy.

Let's see if that's an eight. Start with that.

That's an eight. Let's try it. Let's see if that's an eight. Start with that. That's an eight.

That's pretty.

That's a six.

That's a six. That's crazy. That's pretty good already.

That's crazy, by the way.

By the way, that's crazy.

You're on fire.

No, that's crazy. No, seriously. I was sweating. I was sweating more than the Reaper. That is crazy.

Well, you know what? The pressure's on because there's one more card to turn. If this is a seven, you know, I almost killed you, you're going to kill me. I'm going to fall dead of a heart attack, right?

That's crazy. That's crazy.

Woo!

APPLAUSE Woody, you've Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you.

Woody, you've got tricks. Look at you taking on the wings of death, living to tell the tale, and now there's nothing left to do but roll out the red carpet for you. This camera, this camera, or this camera,

let the people know what you have going on in your life. This little movie called Now You See Me, now you don't, which is gonna give you a lot of entertainment, a lot of pleasure, gonna make you very happy. I did also a Jim Brooks movie, which I think is wonderful. And next year, Matthew McConaughey and I are coming, I can't speak to him.

I know, I know. Are coming out with a show together, sitcom, a comedy called Brothers. So please stay tuned if you're interested.

Thank you, Sean. Thank you, David. Nice to meet you.

Thank you.

Oh my God, David.

David, I know you well. Happy you didn't bring any Reapers today.

All right?

By the way, I tried.

That was an incredible...

We spoke to Smoke and Ed who we're both obsessed with.

We were trying to bring Pepperex. My God, you guys eating that was so funny. He's showing nothing. You're almost...

I know, I know.

...destroyed by it.

The things that we do.

He must have been, he just didn't show it. Stuff it and pop it.

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