Woody Harrelson talks about Kristen and 'Full Phil' with Deadline

 

Extract from the full interview

Not many American actors make the transition from TV to movies, but even fewer cross over from Hollywood to Europe. Four years ago, while still a bankable name in commercial studio franchises, Woody Harrelson swanned effortlessly into the international arthouse, playing the Marxist captain of a doomed cruise liner in Swedish auteur Ruben Östlund’s second Palme d’Or winner Triangle of Sadness. This year Harrelson returns to Cannes in Full Phil, the latest by Quentin Dupieux, France’s wizard of odd, acting with Kristen Stewart in a film the director describes as “Emily in Paris in hell.”

DEADLINE: How did you get involved with Quentin Dupieux?

WOODY HARRELSON: There’s a lady who works with me, Ilya [Bronchtein]. She was my assistant, and then she became a producer. Within two weeks of starting producing, she was telling me, “You have to watch this guy’s movies.” I finally watched his [2023] film Yannick and I was like, “Oh my god, this guy is amazing.” Then I watched The Second Act [2024] and I’m like, “Holy sh*t.” Because you never know. The first one, well, maybe that’s just luck. But not when you see another one that’s also brilliant. I was super interested. And she says, “Why don’t I arrange a meeting?”

Well, I wasn’t planning on going to Paris, but we arranged a meeting with Quentin and Hugo [Sélignac], his producer, and it was great. I said, “What are you doing next?” and Quentin says, “Oh, I’m doing this movie, Full Phil. I’m trying to get Jim Carrey, but he hasn’t read it, and I can’t get him to read it.” I’m like, “I know Jim! I’ll get Jim to …” And then I feel a kick under the table and it’s Ilya. [Laughs.] She’d already read the script, and it was in her mind that she wanted me to be able to do it. Luckily, after that meeting, he was like, “Well, I think Woody might be good for this too.” And that’s how it all went down.

DEADLINE: How long did it all take?

HARRELSON: Oh, from that meeting to the end of shooting? I think all took place within two months. Maybe two and a half. I mean, it was amazing. He’s like no one else. He writes it, he directs it, he shoots it, he edits it. So, if you have a question, you got every department right there. It was amazing, because he shoots so fast. The first day, I think we did maybe nine pages, just me and Kristen in a hotel room, and then we came back the next day and did another eight or nine pages. You’ve got to be on your game with him, because he’s ready to go.

DEADLINE: What can you reveal about the plot of the film?

HARRELSON: Well, I can tell you that it’s a father and daughter who are in a very often combative situation. They decide to take a trip to Paris to try to get the relationship on a better footing, and things don’t go to plan, necessarily. I don’t think I should say too much.

DEADLINE: Did you know Kristen before?

HARRELSON: Oh, yeah. I met Kristen when she first started out and there was this project that I did, which we wanted her to do and she agreed to do it, but then she ended up dropping out of it. But I’d heard about her from Sean Penn, who was saying, “This girl’s really got it.” And of course, that’s proven true. She was fantastic in this [Full Phil]. I haven’t seen it yet, but I hear it’s very good, so I’m excited to see it.

DEADLINE: What kind of performance is it from you?

HARRELSON: Well, it’s kind of theatrical, in the sense that Quentin doesn’t do a lot of different sets, so it’s very much like doing a play. It’s the two of us going back and forth. And even when we do go to another place, we go to a restaurant, you know what I mean? But it’s got his signature sense of humor, and also his intensity. It’s pretty cool.

DEADLINE: People thought you’d be coming to Cannes with Ruben Östlund’s new film, The Entertainment System Is Down. Did that reunion happen in the end? Because you said you were going to be in that film — whether he wanted you to be in it or not.

HARRELSON: Oh, I was determined to be in it. [Laughs.] But no, it didn’t work out, because the part I wanted to play, he ended up cutting that part out. I mean, he’s got so many people in that film, because it’s about an airplane full of people. So, yeah, I get it. It wasn’t important to the story, but it would’ve been a fun part.

DEADLINE: Does Östlund have a similar personality to Dupieux?

HARRELSON: They’re much different people. I look at Quentin as more like a Fellini. I don’t know why, but that’s how I imagine Fellini would be. He’s a big personality. Ruben is also super fun, an interesting guy, but they don’t seem similar to me. They seem very different.

DEADLINE: Why did you want to do Triangle of Sadness?

HARRELSON: I saw The Square and Force Majeure, and I was like, “Oh, man.” But what was funny was that my agent, Jeremy [Plager], was the one that wanted me to watch them. I think I watched The Square first. And you know how Ruben has such a unique vision, and how he’ll frame a scene, and the camera will stay on it for too long? And so, I watched the first 10 minutes and I turned it off. I’m like, “Jeremy, are you out of your mind?” And he says, “Watch the rest of the film.” So, I watched the rest of it and then I saw what he saw: “Oh my god, this guy is a real unique talent. He’s brilliant.”

DEADLINE: Full Phil is in the Official Selection at Cannes. How many times have you been there?

HARRELSON: I don’t know. Half a dozen, maybe? But the greatest experience was, for sure, with Triangle of Sadness. I mean, it was incredible. The reaction of the audience to that film, I couldn’t believe it. I thought it would be good, but I didn’t know it would be like that. At the time I was doing a hundred days of no drinking. I remember going afterward to the party on the beach, and I met literally the greatest sommelier in Europe. This guy! He could guess the region, the year and all that, with just his sense of smell. It was a big night already, and he says, “I’ve got a special bottle for you.” I was like, “Oh, I’m on my 98th day of no drinking.” [Laughs.] Oh, my f*cking god! I realized later, that was so stupid — I should have taken a mulligan. But I wouldn’t do it. I didn’t drink that night.

DEADLINE: Are you planning a renaissance in European cinema?

HARRELSON: I’m really interested in doing European films, particularly French. I’ve got to meet a few great French directors. You’re not necessarily going to get paid [big money] in Europe, but you’ve got to overlook that. The Europeans make great movies. They do. They make great movies here in America but, per capita, I’d say they’ve made more great movies over there.

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