Woody Harrelson reveals he pulled a prank by carrying extra weights for a scene where White House plumber costar Justin Theroux had to carry him
Woody Harrelson shared a hilarious anecdote about filming his new HBO miniseries White House Plumbers with his costar Justin Theroux while performing on Good morning America on Tuesday.
In the clip, from an interview recorded on Monday, the 61-year-old Natural Born Killers star said he played a prank on the 51-year-old star of The Leftovers.
During a scene from the show, which follows the exploits and disgrace of Watergate masterminds E. Howard Hunt (Harrelson) and G. Gordon Liddy (Theroux), the two had to act out a scene that takes place after they were convicted and sent to prison. were sent to prison. .
After Woody’s character passed out, Justin had to get him to safety.
However, that turned out to be a major ordeal, as Woody had – unbeknownst to him – attached a series of weights and sandbags under his costume to make him extremely heavy.
Laughter: Woody Harrelson admitted to covering his body with extra weights for a scene in his HBO miniseries White House Plumbers where Justin Theroux has to carry him
True Story: Harrelson played E. Howard Hunt, while Theroux plays G. Gordon Liddy, two of the masterminds of the Watergate burglary. Both went to prison for their crimes; still from Plumbers of the White House
‘We had a lot of pleasure. We had too much fun to get paid for,” Justin said as he set up the story.
“But we had a great thing: I get sick and he picks me up and carries me,” Woody chimed in. “People say, ‘He’s going to die!’ And he says, “Not on my watch!” It’s when we’re in jail, so I had all these – what do you call them?’
Justin took over: “He does the scene, and he actually does it beautifully. He falls to the floor, and I have to crouch and pick him up and kind of march him out of the jail, kind of Shawshank style.
“And I’m literally bleeding from my ears and veins [are standing out on my head]. And everyone laughs at me, and then I realize – he stares as he unbuttons his shirt – he’s got weights placed all over his body…”
Justin added that Woody probably weighed over 200 pounds with the added weights.
Woody couldn’t contain his laughter when he clarified that he had covered “every part” of his body, even with weights on his wrists and knees.
George Stephanopoulos joked that Justin had done his “workout” for the day, while the American Psycho actor added through his laugh that he “had a hernia.”
Earlier in the interview, Woody joked that their interactions on set were “boisterous” at times, and they pretended to hit each other while saying they sometimes “wrestled” on set.
Justin joked that he was “bleeding from my ears and veins” after trying to pick up Woody, after which the whole crew started laughing at him.
Heavy hitter: “And then I realize — he stars unbuttoning his shirt — he’s got weights placed all over his body…” Justin added that Woody probably weighed over 200 pounds with the added weights
Going all in: Woody couldn’t contain his laughter when he clarified that he had covered ‘every part’ of his body, even with weights on his wrists and knees
Both actors added that they were drawn to the show’s use of humor and great writing, which they attributed to the history of screenwriters Alex Gregory and Peter Huyck working on HBO’s Veep.
Woody added that he found his character Hunt “horrible” in real life, but liked the “satirical way” he was portrayed for the show.
He said he was mostly a fan of the Liddy character, and Justin admitted that they had to reverse some of the real-life figure’s eccentricities.
White House Plumbers will premiere on HBO on May 1, 2023.