Credit: Alamy & Miramax
Woody Harrelson Fans Left Baffled After Realizing Who His Dad Is
Woody Harrelson fans have been left shocked after discovering the identity of his dad.
The actor has a more colorful family history than people imagined, and the truth has left many fans amazed.
Harrelson is a pretty recognizable face and name in Hollywood and has been on the big screen for well over 20 years at this point.
The actor is beloved for his roles in Cheers, True Detective, Zombieland, and The Hunger Games franchise.
So, just like with most celebrities, most fans thought they knew all the notable tidbits of information tied to them, but with Harrelson, a lot of fans were sorely mistaken.
The story has long popped up on social media, with many users admitting they never knew the actor had such a ‘dark’ story tied to him.
Recently, an Instagram account called historyfeels reminded followers about the shocking truth behind Woody’s family background.
Social media users were utterly baffled by this revelation, with many sharing their surprise in the comments. Shocked fans took to the comments to share their disbelief.
“I was today years old when I learned this,” exclaimed one follower.
“Well alrighty then… Holy cow! I never heard this story before!” wrote another.
“Wow. Had no idea… Never knew this… Interesting. Glad to know his son turned the family legacy around,” commented a third user.
Another praised the star for his career despite his family history, writing: “Hats off to Woody Harrelson for not letting his past personal life dictate his own life and, ultimately, his career as an actor. Brilliant actor.”
One user wrote: “That’s quite a shocking and bizarre piece of history. It’s fascinating how some individuals have such intriguing and dark backgrounds.”
Woody has been open about his complicated relationship with his father, who abandoned the family when the actor was just seven years old in 1968.
“My father is one of the most articulate, well-read, charming people I’ve ever known. Still, I’m just now gauging whether he merits my loyalty or friendship. I look at him as someone who could be a friend more than someone who was a father,” Woody once said of his father, per Hello Magazine.
The actor didn’t speak to his father for 13 years until 1981, when shocking news broke that would change everything.
Woody first learned of his dad’s dubious profession at age 12, telling The Guardian in 2012: “I’m sitting there thinking there can’t be another Charles V. Harrelson. I mean, that’s my dad! It was a wild realization.”
Despite his father’s absence and criminal background, the pair eventually reconciled. When his father died of poor health aged 69 in prison in 2007, Woody was said to be ‘devastated.’
In the interview with the Guardian, Harrelson was asked if he ‘saw much of his father’ in himself.
“Quite a bit… I was born on his birthday. They have a thing in Japan where they say if you’re born on your father’s birthday, you’re not like your father, you are your father, and it’s so weird when I would sit and talk with him.
“It was just mind-blowing to see all the things he did just like me,” he said, before adding: “Idiosyncratic things. The way he laughed. The face, very similar.”
Reflecting on his relationship with his dad, who passed away in prison in 2007, Harrelson admitted: “We got along pretty good. When you can’t hang out and go to a pub, you know what I mean, it’s hard.”
Before his death, he said in a TV interview per Mail Online: “How do I feel about him? Well, I love him. I definitely love him. Very fond of him. I mean, there are probably a lot of people who should be behind bars. I don’t necessarily think he’s one of them.”
Harrelson has long insisted on his father’s innocence and previously argued that he was a CIA operative. In an interview over 20 years ago, he said per the Telegraph: “I think that it was not a fair trial… I’m not saying my father’s a saint, but I think he’s innocent of that.”
When pressed about whether he truly believed his father worked for the CIA, the actor answered rather cryptically: “I shouldn’t get into this right now. This is where we’re going to get into trouble… I know it’s true.”
The devoted son spent considerable resources trying to help his father. “I tried for years to get him out. To get him a new trial…just being a son trying to help his dad. Then I spent a couple of million beating my head against the wall. Lawyers upon lawyers,” he revealed.
So, who is this mysterious figure?
The 63-year-old’s father’s name was Charles Voyde Harrelson and while the name might not be familiar, he caused quite a stir in his time.
One post on Instagram discussing Charles’ story read: “In 1979, he was charged with the assassination of U.S. District Judge John H. Wood Jr., the first federal judge to be murdered in the 20th century.”
“Harrelson carried out the hit for $250,000 on behalf of a drug dealer awaiting trial. He was captured after a six-hour standoff with police, during which he confessed to multiple killings, including JFK’s, though that claim was widely dismissed. In 1982, Harrelson was convicted and sentenced to two consecutive life terms.
“He spent the rest of his life in federal prison, where he died in 2007.”
Charles Voyde Harrelson was a mobster and contract killer with deep ties to organized crime.
Before the judge’s assassination, he had been tried for multiple murders, including that of Alan Harry Berg in 1968 and Sam Degelia Jr. in a murder-for-hire killing for which he reportedly received $2,000.
Strangely enough, there are rumors that Matthew McConaughey could be Harrelson’s half-brother.
During a podcast appearance, McConaughey revealed his mother once admitted she “knew” Harrelson’s father, Charles Harrelson, a convicted hitman, during a time that aligns with her separation from McConaughey’s father.
The actors have not taken a DNA test yet. McConaughey is hesitant, stating it’s difficult to consider that the man he believed was his father for 53 years might not be.
Maury Povich, the retired talk show host, has offered to return to TV for a primetime DNA reveal, but McConaughey hasn’t committed.
Their families and appearances also blur the lines, with both sides often confusing photos of the two, and their children calling each other ‘Uncle.’
Related Article: Tom Holland Fans Speechless After Finding Out About Actor’s Famous Dad
Related Article: Gary Oldman Fans Gobsmacked After Finding Out His Sister Is A Famous TV Star
Want more stuff like this?
Get the best viral stories straight into your inbox!
