Hollywood movie star Woody Harrelson is known for playing diverse characters including naive bartender Woody Boyd on Cheers, Hustler magazine publisher Lynn Flynt, Haymitch Abernathy in The Hunger Games film franchise, and streetball hustler Billy Hoyle in White Men Can’t Jump, among others.
The 63-year-old recently endeared himself to many when he took on the role of Marcus Marakovich in the 2023 sports comedy Champions, which was Bobby Farrelly’s solo directorial debut.
As seen in the trailer above, Marcus is a temperamental minor-league basketball coach in Iowa who, after an arrest, must coach a team of players with disabilities as community service.
This week, as seen below at a special event, surrounded by four of his Champions co-stars, Harrelson told them, “Please know that you have enriched my life and have made me a better person by allowing me to be your friend.”
@matthewvonderaheofficial @Woody Harrelson ANNOUNCED CHAMPIONS 2! Wokring on Champions was the highlight of my life. The cast and crew are my family, and I can’t wait to see what the future holds. Love you, Woody. #champions #championsmovie #champions2 #woodyharrelson ♬ original sound – matthewvonderaheofficial
He added: “I’d like to make an announcement tonight, that we are making a Champions 2.” Based on the reaction of his co-stars who were comforting him on stage, the announcement was a big surprise.
Fans are going wild over the video, as one replied: “I’m sobbing. So freaking sweet.” Another replied with a comment about Harrelson’s co-star Madison Tevlin (Cosentino): “She held his hand as soon as he started choking up. You rarely see that kind of pure empathy these days.”
Get ready to see more of Harrelson: he will appear next on the big screen in the upcoming drama Last Breath which is based on a true story of a group of deep-sea divers who rage against a storm to rescue their crew mate who is trapped hundreds of feet below the ocean’s surface.
Last Breath, which co-stars Simu Liu and Finn Cole, will be released in theaters only on February 28.