Woody Harrelson is sitting on a gorgeous rooftop patio in Cannes, where he’s just finished lunch with some friends and a little white dog named Toto. The picturesque setting, a dime a dozen here in the South of France, serves as an ironic reminder of the message of the film he’s here to promote, Ruben Östlund’s Triangle of Sadness.
The latest in Östlund’s films that serve as sharp social satires digs into the life and worth of the wealthiest. It starts off following a pair of models/influencers (played by Harris Dickinson and Charlbi Dean) who take a trip on a luxury yacht, where they’re surrounded by wealthy patrons who seem to have more money than they know what to do with. Harrelson plays the captain of the ship, a drunk Marxist who gets into a battle of wits with one of the Russian passengers as the ship is overtaken by stormy waters, seasickness, and pirates—resulting in some of the passengers becoming shipwrecked on a deserted island.
Harrelson seems to have at least one thing in common with his character: He’s a fan of some Marxist beliefs, though he says he’s more of an anarchist. And it doesn’t take long for our conversation about the film to veer toward some of his other controversial beliefs: namely, that masks don’t really work to prevent the spread of COVID-19 (there is significant evidence that they do).
Early in the pandemic, in an Instagram post that was later deleted, Harrelson shared a conspiracy theory that linked 5G cellular networks to the spread of the coronavirus; he is a longtime vegan who, in our interview, credited his immune system being “internally clean” for keeping him free of illness for the past seven-plus years. But even with beliefs that come into conflict with many of Hollywood’s strict on-set COVID protocols, Harrelson stays busy—in 2020 he also filmed the action thriller The Man From Toronto, set for release later this year.
What was it like to watch this film, especially with its message about the disparity of wealth, in that theater, with this tuxedo and diamond-clad audience.
Woody Harrelson: It was just such an incredible experience. I just love the way he pulled this off to be so funny and so engaging and so meaningful, all at the same time.
How did the project first come to you?
My agent told me about it, so [Ruben] must have gotten to him. In fact, I was talking to someone yesterday who told me that he showed her this picture of me and said, “I think he's the captain.” So my agent told me to watch The Square, and I start watching it and I'm like, “what is this?” I don’t know how far I got but maybe 10 minutes I turn it off, and I sent a message to my agent: “I’m not interested.” He sends a message back: “You didn't watch the whole thing, did you?” And I said, “well, no” and he says keep watching it. You know, it’s actually a little bit jarring in terms of the way he locks frame and he does things that you've never seen before, in a way. So I had trouble, but then of course I watched the whole thing and I was like, “wow. Yeah. Oh my God.” And then I watched Force Majeure and I was like,”I would love to work with this fellow.” Sometimes you gotta be pushed to do the obvious thing.
So what did you think of the script and this character?
I liked it. I mean, I'm not a Marxist Marxist, I’m more of an anarchist, but there's a lot of the Marxist ideas that I love. So the thought of playing a Marxist captain of a $250 million luxury guy was appealing. The script was amazing. He lets people try stuff and everything, but the script even if you just shoot it exactly as it was when I first read it was incredible. You rarely see that kind of talent. He’s just brilliant the way he gets you in a situation, it makes you uncomfortable. He’s the master of That tension, that discomfort.
Your character shows up for only part of the film, when they’re on this yacht together. But was there ever a possibility of him going to the island?
There was an idea to do that, but I just schedule-wise couldn't make it work. The idea was I get on the island and we're sitting there in a circle in the group and I start laughing hysterically and then a coconut falls, hits me on the head and kills me.
How long did you end up shooting your part of this?
A couple of weeks. I loved doing it. I was supposed to be there like literally March or April 2020 right at the start [of the COVID 19 outbreak] and I was just like, “I'm gonna bail.” I thought, I guess we'll kiss this one goodbye. And they said, we'll wait for you, so I didn't get there till June, but things were still, you know, crazy, but it was an incredible experience. I just think that the way he works is so interesting — he's always shaping things and moving things. And if I try to do something funny, he doesn't like that. He likes humor to come from just social interaction. That's, that's why you don't see me going over the top, which I probably would have.
Since it was the early days of COVID, what did it feel like for you on set?
It wasn't quite as extreme as subsequently when I worked after that on bigger projects. That’s a bigger, bigger hassle, where everybody's got people walking around yelling “Red zone! Masks! Put your masks on!” Mask and goggles, even a face shield. And I think it's not very conducive to good work. As one who doesn't believe in the germ theory, I find it rather absurd.
So it made it difficult to work for you?
Yeah, it makes it difficult. And they're still keeping these absurd protocols. You know, the American economic forum did a study and they studied all these different aspects of what went on in the pandemic, and they all the states in the U.S. that didn't do the protocols fared better by far than the states that did. I'm sick of like, you're wearing a mask., and you think it contains your breath. — but if it did you’d die, you’d be breathing in your own carbon monoxide.
Well, there was a lot unknown during those early days of the pandemic, but much more is known now. For example, we know surface exposure isn’t as much of a risk so we aren’t spraying our groceries anymore.
That came from these top medical officials in the U.S., like Fauci — that idiocy came from that. Like nobody saying, “maybe eat less sugar, maybe there’s a connection between all of these things that we’re putting into our bodies." I just think that would be a better thing to focus proactively on how do we not get sick? Luckily, knock on wood, it’s been seven and a half years since I got sick.
So you haven’t gotten COVID?
No, nothing for seven and a half years, and that’s because my immune system's strong. Why is my immune system? Because I'm internally clean. Anyway, I know I'm getting on my soap boxes.
So how does a self-proclaimed anarchist function in Hollywood?
I don't know if I'm a pure anarchist, maybe I'm anarchist-light. I just don't ever see good government. Like our government, what do they do? Do they help the people? Where do they help the people? They do begrudgingly sometimes do these social programs and they minimally fund these social programs, but most of the money is going to the big corporations.
So how much thought do you have to put in to the message of a film when you’re deciding if it’s something you want to participate in?
I did this movie Man from Toronto, it's just an action comedy, a fun movie. I think there's a value to just entertainment or laughter. Not every movie has to have some deep philosophical meaning, but it sure is a great thing when you can sit through this and really just rock yourself, laughing and still get some great meaning and it's just so beautifully done. I think those actors, though, all of the actors were phenomenal. I think Harris and Charlbi, they're so good.
Did any of these younger actors ask you for any advice?
No, not that I remember. My advice would've been to ask someone else, someone who knows [laughs].
What’s next for you? During the press conference, you mentioned working with Ruben again, is that official?
I don't know if it's official with him, but it better be, cause I'll be there, ready to go.
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