Every Woody Harrelson Movie Ranked Worst To Best

Woody Harrelson, whose full name is Woodrow Tracy Harrelson, is a unique actor with a bevy of memorable roles under his belt. Whether in a lead or a supporting part, or whether he's a hero or a villain, Harrelson always brings a sense of natural charm and charisma to his characters. Harrelson often works in comedy or contributes an element of humor to dramatic situations, but has never limited himself to any one particular genre. He even manages to bounce between massive blockbuster productions and smaller independent films.

Though this list will only be ranking his film roles, Harrelson has also had a number of prominent television roles. His big break was on the TV show "Cheers," a show that earned him five Emmy nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series and brought home one win. Harrelson has periodically returned to television throughout his career, such as with the first season of "True Detective," which he also executive produced. "True Detective" earned Harrelson his two most recent Emmy nominations, one for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series and one for Outstanding Drama Series, which he shared with the other executive producers.

Harrelson is no stranger to awards attention in the world of film either. He has been nominated for three Academy Awards and a BAFTA, alongside numerous other awards. We'll dig into these awards in more detail as the nominated films pop up on the list. This list will be ranking Harrelson's body of work from worst to best based on each movie's aggregate critic score on Rotten Tomatoes. We've also trimmed the list to his most prominent roles, since listing all 70 feature films the prolific Harrelson has been in would be a daunting task. Without further ado, let's get ranking.

Some audiences may have been excited for "Money Train" ahead of its release as it brought back together Woody Harrelson with co-star Wesley Snipes. The two had made for a charismatic duo in the earlier "White Men Can't Jump," which was an early breakout role for Harrelson. Those with high hopes for "Money Train" were in for a disappointment, however. Harrelson and Snipes play a pair of New York City cops who also happen to be foster brothers. When one foster brother decides to rob a trainload of money after losing his job, it's up to the other to keep him safe when things go sideways.

Most critics agreed that "Money Train" was not the finest moment for anyone involved in the production, landing the movie a bottom-of-the-barrel rotten ranking on Rotten Tomatoes. Not all critics disliked the film, however. New York Times film critic Stephen Holden was a fan and declared the film to be better than both "Speed" and "Die Hard With a Vengeance," two popular action films from around the same time. Most critics landed more in line with Brian Lowry of Variety, who wrote that the film "bounces along with a lame script and inconsistent pace."

"Seven Pounds" divided critics and audiences on Rotten Tomatoes. Critics largely derided the film as pretentious, nonsensical, and irritating, and criticized its emphasis on faith over logic. General audiences, on the other hand, enjoyed "Seven Pounds" far more. Both parties mostly agreed that the performances—particularly those of Will Smith and Rosario Dawson—are the highlights of the film. Some outlets, however, such as The New York Post, were less kind to the performances, suggesting that Dawson and Smith deserved Razzie awards. 

Will Smith stars as Ben Thomas, a mysterious man full of secrets. Ben is a mission to change the lives of seven strangers for reasons that remain elusive for much of the film. Woody Harrelson plays one of the seven strangers, Ezra. "Seven Pounds" saw Will Smith reunite with Italian director Gabriele Muccino. The two made the film "The Pursuit of Happiness" together two years earlier, which was more warmly received by both critics and audiences.

"Indecent Proposal" was poorly received by critics but was nonetheless a box-office smash hit. The film brought in a massive return of over $260 million at the domestic and foreign box office against its budget of $38 million (via The Numbers). Some critics, including the one and only Roger Ebert, gave the film positive reviews, but most Rotten Tomatoes critics found the film silly and hard to believe, if not outright insulting.

The story of this evocative romance-thriller centers around billionaire John Gage (Robert Redford), who makes an indecent proposal to David and Diana, a young married couple played by Woody Harrelson and Demi Moore. John offers $1 million in exchange for spending the night with Diana. Accepting the proposal leads to a test of their love and the strength of their relationship. The story was adapted from the novel of the same name by Jack Engelhard, while Oscar-nominated director Adrian Lyne (of "Fatal Attraction" fame) took the helm behind the camera. 

Roland Emmerich's blockbuster disaster film "2012" capitalized on the real-world hysteria surrounding the widespread theory that the world might come to an end on December 21st, 2012. The fear developed from a multitude of sources, such as rumored planetary alignments and the fated end of the Mayan calendar. Of course, none of this was true, but the panic over the world ending in 2012 was common enough that even the official NASA website published an article debunking the doomsday theories and comparing the hysteria to Y2K. 

The movie "2012," which was released in 2009 at the peak of the hysteria, stars John Cusack as a father attempting to save his family while the world falls apart around him. This disaster film ran the gamut from massive floods to city-wide earthquakes and everything in between. Woody Harrelson plays a small but memorable role as a crackpot conspiracy theorist named Charlie Frost. The film was made for the huge budget of $200 million but succeeded in bringing home a massive return on investment, with over $750 million grossed at the domestic and foreign box offices (via The Numbers).

"Kate" was a recent Netflix original movie added to the streaming service in 2021. The film was a "John Wick"-esque action vehicle for the talented Mary Elizabeth Winstead, but it didn't manage to connect too strongly with critics or audiences. The story follows an efficient assassin—the titular Kate—operating in Tokyo, Japan. After she is secretly inflicted with radiation poisoning, Kate has just 24 hours to uncover who is responsible and take her revenge. Miku Patricia Martineau plays Ani, a young girl who gets mixed up in Kate's revenge mission without realizing she is responsible for her father's death. Woody Harrelson plays Varrick, Kate's assassin handler, mentor, and unwitting potential adversary.

Most Rotten Tomatoes critics agreed that Winstead was good in the lead role, and the action sequences garnered some degree of praise, but that the story was unoriginal and bland, and the overall film landed in the middle of the road or skewed toward the more negative end of the spectrum. If you don't mind an overly familiar action plot with a couple of good fight scenes, "Kate" might not disappoint if you go in with low expectations.

1996's "Kingpin" was met with a middle-of-the-road reaction from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, though audiences enjoyed it a little bit more. This bowling comedy was the second movie made by the Farrelly brothers after their successful debut "Dumb and Dumber." Woody Harrelson stars as Roy Munson, a man with the potential to be the world's best bowler until he's attacked and left one-handed. Munson teams up with an Amish man named Ishmael, played by Randy Quaid, and sets about training him to pass the torch and take down the villainous Ernie McCracken, played by Bill Murray. Harrelson turned in a solid performance but was outdone by Bill Murray's scene-stealing, over-the-top role. 

Made for approximately $25 million, "Kingpin" just barely managed to make its budget back at the box office (via The Numbers), and the film was considered a major financial disappointment. After the smash-hit success of "Dumb and Dumber," "Kingpin" was a significant blow to the budding career of the Farrelly brothers, as they lamented in a retrospective interview. Bobby Farrelly said of "Kingpin" 20 years after the fact, "It was not a box office hit. So Pete and I did have a feeling at that time that our career may be in trouble.... We had a big hit and now we don't.' And we were wondering if we'd ever get another movie. We weren't entirely sure."

"Out of the Furnace" is a crime drama from director Scott Cooper, whose first movie, "Crazy Heart," won two Academy Awards. As his sophomore effort, "Out of the Furnace" wasn't met with anywhere near the same level of critical acclaim. Though there weren't many Rotten Tomatoes critics who called the film out-and-out awful, many thought it didn't excel or do anything worthwhile that hadn't been seen before in similar movies.

The story follows two brothers, played by Christian Bale and Casey Affleck, who struggle to get by in their poor, rust-belt town. They both aspire to move away to a better place but inadvertently get on the bad side of a violent crime boss, played by Woody Harrelson in a memorable villain role. "Out of the Furnace" is a dark and depressing film with little hope to be found once things go bad. The A-list cast is the clear highlight of the film despite its shortcomings. Zoe Saldana, Sam Shepard, Forest Whitaker, and Willem Dafoe round out the impressive roster of actors.

Similar to the aforementioned "Shock and Awe," "LBJ" is a collaboration between star Woody Harrelson, writer Joey Hartstone, and director Rob Reiner. This earlier collaboration fared a bit better with both critics and audiences on Rotten Tomatoes, but still landed more on the negative end of the spectrum with both parties. Woody Harrelson plays Lyndon B. Johnson, the man who succeeded John F. Kennedy after he was assassinated. The film begins before the assassination and deals primarily with the event and its aftermath, though it also covers other ground, including LBJ's dealings with the 1960s civil rights movement.

Filling the role of JFK was Jeffrey Donovan, and his brother Bobby Kennedy was played by Michael Stahl-David. Jennifer Jason Leigh plays LBJ's wife, Lady Bird Johnson, and Richard Jenkins and Bill Pullman play a pair of important senators. Some critics considered "LBJ" to be worth a watch despite its flaws, such as Rex Reed with The Observer, who considered Harrelson miscast in the title role but conceded that he had "enough spice to keep the viewer alert and attentive." Other critics gave the film considerably less leeway, such as Robert Abele with The Wrap, who wrote about the film's direction: "Reiner's more like an efficient ride operator, unconcerned about the clankiness of the machinery but certain you'll enjoy the stuff that's supposed to work."

"Venom: Let There Be Carnage" is a direct sequel to 2018's "Venom" and managed to perform better with both critics and audiences than its predecessor, though it still landed a marginally rotten score on Rotten Tomatoes. Tom Hardy stars as Eddie Brock/Venom in a dual role, as does Woody Harrelson, who plays Cletus Kasady/Carnage. This is Harrelson's most recent film to date. Harrelson appeared briefly in the same role in the first "Venom" film before becoming the main villain of the sequel.

Critics noted a vast improvement with this sequel over the original, like Charlotte O'Sullivan with the London Evening Standard, who wrote, "Where the first 'Venom' was toxically dull, 'Venom 2,' at its best, is intoxicating." Increased emphasis on humor was a frequently highlighted strength by critics. Ruth Maramis with FlixChatter said that "'Venom's' premise is inherently goofy, but Andy Serkis + the terrific cast embrace its silliness and elevate it into a riotous good time."

"Doc Hollywood" was an early movie in Woody Harrelson's career while he was still appearing on "Cheers." The film stars Michael J. Fox as Ben Stone, a young doctor on his way to interview for a flashy job as a plastic surgeon in Beverly Hills when he gets in a car accident and winds up stranded in a tiny town instead. Julie Warner plays Lou, Ben's love interest, who might keep him around the small town instead of heading off to Beverly Hills. Woody Harrelson costars as Hank Gordon, a local resident who also has romantic feelings for Lou.

The screenplay for "Doc Hollywood" was adapted from the book "What? Dead Again?" by Neil B. Shulman, who was a doctor in real life and pulled from his own experiences in the medical field when writing the book. Similar to "EDtv," "Doc Hollywood" was another film that critics enjoyed more than audiences on Rotten Tomatoes.

This long-awaited sequel to "Zombieland" didn't fare quite as well with critics on Rotten Tomatoes as the original, but it still landed a fresh score and audiences rated it even more highly than the first film. The entire main quartet of actors returned: Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone, and Abigail Breslin. High-profile newcomers to the cast of the sequel included Luke Wilson, Rosario Dawson, Zoey Deutch, and Thomas Middleditch.

"Zombieland: Double Tap" switched up the road trip for a Washington, D.C. setting, with the quartet of survivors taking up residence in the White House. The zombies from the first film remain a plague on humanity, but now there are more dangerous "evolved" zombies to deal with as well. A full decade passed between the two "Zombieland" films, but the series wasn't entirely silent. A TV version of "Zombieland" was attempted by Amazon in 2013, but the potential series never went beyond the pilot.

With a near-identical critic score on Rotten Tomatoes, "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 2" was met with a similar reaction as "Part 1," though audiences liked it marginally less. The climactic entry in the series was a success, even though the box office return continued its downward slope started by the previous entry. As reported in The Wall Street Journal, "Mockingjay, Part 2" had the lowest box office opening results out of any film in the "Hunger Games" series. Despite the decline, this series finale still brought in over $100 million and was a major success, per Variety.

Released one year after "Part 1," the climactic chapter picks up right where the previous film left off and wraps up the final efforts of the rebels from District 13 led by Katniss. It also resolves the long-running love triangle between Katniss, Peeta, and Gale. "Mockingjay, Part 2" was the final film of Philip Seymour Hoffman and was released posthumously. Though Katniss's story came to a close, Suzanne Collins, author of the source material, returned to the franchise with a new prequel book in 2020 titled "The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes." As reported by Insider, an adaptation of the prequel has been greenlit by Lionsgate.

"Defendor" is an off-beat entry into the canon of superhero movies. Audiences didn't take to the movie, but Rotten Tomatoes critics found a lot worthwhile in this indie film. Woody Harrelson stars as Arthur Poppington, who adopts the persona of Defendor when he goes out at night to fight crime. The somewhat delusional Defendor lacks any superpowers, leaving him closer to being a vigilante than a superhero than he would like to admit. It is easy to draw a comparison between the premise of "Defendor" and the James Gunn film "Super," in which Rainn Wilson plays a somewhat delusional man devoid of superpowers who adopts a superhero/vigilante persona to fight crime. "Defendor" beat "Super" to release by a year, reaching audiences in 2009.

Critics applauded Harrelson's solid performance for holding the movie together. Elias Koteas, Kat Dennings, Sandra Oh, and Michael Kelly round out the cast of "Defendor." The movie was the feature-length debut of writer, director Peter Stebbings, who has continued directing primarily in the realm of television. 

1992's "White Men Can't Jump" is another certified fresh Woody Harrelson movie, and this time, audiences rated it positively on Rotten Tomatoes too. Harrelson plays Billy Hoyle, a skilled basketball player who relies on other players underestimating his abilities as a white man to hustle them out of their money. Snipes plays Sidney Deane, one of Billy's marks, who winds up partnering with him to take the hustle to the next level. Harrelson and Snipes made for a good duo with strong chemistry in this street basketball comedy. The film also gets a little bit of romance into the mix with a love interest played by Rosie Perez.

"White Men Can't Jump" wasn't the only sports-centric movie that writer/director Ron Shelton made. He also wrote and directed "Bull Durham," "Cobb," "Hound Dogs," "Tin Cup," and "Play It to the Bone," which saw him collaborating again with Woody Harrelson in 1999.

"The Thin Red Line" is a World War II movie from acclaimed filmmaker Terrence Malick. Malick's screenplay was adapted from the novel of the same name written by James Jones. The real-life war experiences of Jones laid the foundation for his writing, and "The Thin Red Line" is actually the middle book in Jones's trilogy of WWII novels, which began with "From Here to Eternity" and concluded with "Whistle." The book and film both center around the WWII battle of Guadalcanal and jump between the perspectives of various soldiers.

Malick's "The Thin Red Line" production was notorious for shooting an abundance of footage and taking an extremely long time in the editing room; almost two full years. The two-hour, fifty-minute theatrical release of the movie saw a number of high-profile actors cut from the film or having their roles drastically reduced from an initial cut that clocked in at a much longer runtime. Woody Harrelson as Sgt. Keck was one of the actors to make it through the arduous editing process intact.

The first "The Hunger Games" movie kicked the series off with a massive financial success right off the bat in 2012, bringing in almost $700 million off of a budget of around $78 million (via Box Office Mojo). This dystopian action-adventure movie was adapted from the young adult novel of the same name written by Suzanne Collins. Collins contributed to the screenplay along with Billy Ray and Gary Ross, the latter of whom also directed the film, his first since "Seabiscuit" nine years earlier.

"The Hunger Games" establishes the dystopic world of the series, known as Panem, and the 12 districts that divide it. Jennifer Lawrence stars as Katniss, a young woman who takes her sister's place in the titular "Hunger Games," a televised battle royale fight to the death for the entertainment of Panem's upper-class society. Woody Harrelson makes his first appearance in the series as Haymitch Abernathy, a past winner of the Hunger Games who plots to overthrow the ruling class via organized rebellion. Harrelson's convincing in the role and arguably one of the best parts of the film. 

Woody Harrelson earned his first of three Oscar nominations for "The People vs. Larry Flynt." A Best Director Oscar nomination was also given to Milos Forman, a Czech filmmaker who previously won the Best Director Academy Award for "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" in 1975 and again in 1984 for "Amadeus." Forman also directed the musical "Hair," and the Jim Carrey-led Andy Kaufman biopic "Man on the Moon." 

Harrelson stars as the titular Larry Flynt in this biopic on the real-life pornography tycoon behind Hustler magazine, who became a major free-speech defender after coming under fire for supposedly breaking decency and obscenity laws. Edward Norton, Crispin Glover, James Cromwell, and Courtney Love all co-star. Also in a prominent role is Brett Harrelson, brother of Woody Harrelson. Brett Harrelson hasn't acted in too many films, though he did serve on the crew of two other films starring his brother: "Kingpin" and "Now You See Me."

As the second film in the series, "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire" is both the highest-rated and the highest-grossing film of the entire "Hunger Games" franchise, pulling in more than $865 million at the domestic and international box offices, via Box Office Mojo. After Gary Ross directed the first "Hunger Games" film, Austrian filmmaker Francis Lawrence took over the directing duties for the remainder of the series. Lawrence also made films like "I Am Legend" and "Water for Elephants," along with directing dozens of music videos.

"Catching Fire" picks up about a year after the events of the first film, which concluded with Katniss and Peeta winning the "Hunger Games." The rebellion against the ruling class begins despite President Snow's warning to Katniss to quell the public's agitation. Many critics highlighted a notable jump in the quality of filmmaking between the first film and this sequel, such as Debbie Lynn Elias with Behind the Lens, who wrote, "Bigger, darker and more allegorical than ever, with 'Catching Fire,' Francis Lawrence excels with visual splendor."

Both Sam Rockwell and Woody Harrelson returned from "Seven Psychopaths" for writer/director Martin McDonagh's next film, "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri." The film follows a mother, played by Frances McDormand, who makes hell for the local police when they fail to find and arrest her daughter's murderer even after an extended period of time. Harrelson plays the put-upon chief of police, Willoughby, while Rockwell plays his racist subordinate, Dixon. Peter Dinklage, Lucas Hedges, Caleb Landry Jones, and John Hawkes all have memorable supporting roles.

Rockwell and Harrelson were both nominated in the same Oscars category for Best Actor in a Supporting Role, and Rockwell won. Frances McDormand also won an Oscar for her work on the film, and the overall film received additional Academy Award nominations in the editing, screenplay, music, and Best Picture categories. Martin McDonagh's trademark dark sense of humor still shines in "Three Billboards," but the film also reaches deeper into the dramatic and emotional moments of its characters than his previous work.

Cormac McCarthy's 2005 novel of the same name served as the source material for "No Country for Old Men." The border between Texas and Mexico in the 1980s is the setting for this suspenseful crime thriller where criminals, investigators, and average people all get wrapped up in the violent pursuit of a case loaded with millions of dollars. Woody Harrelson plays Carson Wells, a man who comes close to coming out on top over the force of nature that is Anton Chigurh—played brilliantly by Javier Bardem, who won an Oscar for the role—but ultimately falls short. Josh Brolin, Tommy Lee Jones, and Kelly Macdonald fill out the rest of the main cast.

The Coen Brothers wrote the adapted screenplay for "No Country for Old Men," directed the film, and even edited the movie under the pseudonym Roderick Jaynes. The fictional editor received an Oscar nomination for his work on the film, as did Roger Deakins for Best Achievement in Cinematography, and the entire post-production sound team for the sound mixing and editing Oscars. The Coen Brothers won Oscars in the adapted screenplay, directing, and Best Picture categories.

Woody Harrelson's highest-rated movie on Rotten Tomatoes is "War for the Planet of the Apes." This was the third entry in the modern "Planet of the Apes" trilogy, which pulled inspiration from Pierre Boulle's original novel and the 1968 Charlton Heston film. Woody Harrelson plays The Colonel, a ruthless new character introduced in the third film who leads the human army in the war against the apes. Some have said it is one of the "best, most nuanced" performances of his career. Andy Serkis reprises his motion-captured role as Caesar alongside other returning cast members like Karin Konoval, Toby Kebbell, Judy Greer, and Terry Notary. Steve Zahn as Bad Ape is another notable new addition to the cast alongside Harrelson.

The groundbreaking special effects that defined the modern take on "Planet of the Apes" were pushed even further in the climactic entry in the trilogy (via The Verge.) Director Matt Reeves returned after making "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes" in 2014. His take on the Caped Crusader in "The Batman" is releasing later this year.