Friday, March 26, 1999
Younger Harrelson making up for selfish years
BY MARGARET A. McGURK
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Building a career as an actor is no easy chore for anyone. Not even for the once-troubled brother of a famous movie star.
Still, Brett Harrelson takes satisfaction in how far he has come in the four years since he was cast alongside his brother Woody in the People vs. Larry Flynt.
Before that film, in which he played brother Jimmy Flynt to Woody's Larry, Brett had appeared only briefly in a few films. (One was A Mom For Christmas, the 1990 TV movie shot near where the Harrelson brothers grew up in Lebanon.)
Back to school
When Flynt was over, Brett buckled down, went back to acting class and took any reasonable job he could get. Though he is still looking forward to his next big-screen appearance, he is featured in two movies that hit the video shelves this month.
Strangeland, the brainchild of former Twisted Sister lead singer Dee Snider, played briefly in theaters to generally dismal reviews.
Of that film, Brett insists, “The less said the better.”
On the other hand, he is glad to have worked on From Dusk till Dawn 2: Texas Blood Money, the sequel to the 1996 cult hit from Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez.
None of the original stars — George Clooney, Harvey Keitel, Salma Hayek and Mr. Tarantino — returned for the project, which was always intended as a video feature. Headlining the sequel is Robert Patrick, best known as the shape-shifting killing machine from Terminator 2: Judgment Day.
“I really enjoyed working with Robert Patrick,” Brett said. “I learned so much from from him.” The chance to see South Africa, where the movie was shot, was another bonus, he said.
His next job is in a Jean-Claude Van Damme film called Inferno, directed by John Avildsen (Rocky).
Though he said, “Good Will Hunting, that's my kind of movie,” Brett credited the action films with giving him a chance to hone his skills. Now, he said, he looks back on his performance in Larry Flynt and thinks, “I wish I wasn't so stiff. I wish I could have relaxed more. That's really what acting is about — relaxing in the role.”
Not proud of past
His acting ambitions did not emerge until he had lived through a tumultuous adolescence marred by brushes with the law. He dropped out of college and joined the Army, but was caught smoking marijuana and wound up doing time in Leavenworth.
While he speaks of his past frankly, he is not proud of it.
“I don't like the old Brett,” he said. “He was very selfish. He didn't have an appreciation for others.”
Still, he said of his time on the wrong side of the law, “In the long run, it was a blessing. First off, it made me question the government.”
That's a habit he shares with his brother, along with a commitment to environmental causes, a determination to legalize industrial marijuana and dedication to yoga and strict vegetarianism.
Brett also supports Woody's legal efforts on behalf of their father, who is seeking release from prison after serving 20 years on his conviction for the slaying of a federal judge in Texas.
Clashed with Woody
Now 35, Brett said his childhood relationship with Woody, now 37, was bad. Brett, a self-described “hellion,” clashed routinely with his church-going older brother.
“Growing up, we hated each other's guts,” Brett said. “He hated me . . . I despised him. I planned his murder many times.”
As they matured, however, “I guess we let go of a lot of that kid stuff. . . . We kinda grew up and became really great friends.” Now, he said the brotherly bond is strong. “It's really wonderful . . . making up for what we didn't have then. We missed out on half a childhood.”
After Brett left the army, he raced motorcycles professionally for several years. Then, around 1988, he began acting on stage in community and regional theater productions.
“That's when I started to realize this is something I could do, and I can be good at it,” he said.
His experiences in movies have reinforced his conviction that he has chosen the right path, he said, even though he is still an avid fan of racing, particularly Formula One.
Once, he even dreamed of racing Indy cars. Nowadays, though, he looks at it differently. “I don't think it's healthy for the human psyche to compete against others. . . . If we really played for fun, we wouldn't even keep score.”
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