This Day In History

23 July: Woody Harrelson born

Or perhaps he can? We wouldn't know. Some of us are so short the very idea of slam dunking a ball makes us curl up and cry for our mummies (ok, that's just me). Woody got his first breakout role starring alongside Ted Danson and Kelsey Grammer as bartender Woody Boyd, in the oddly depressing sitcom 'Cheers'. He then went on to star in such pictures as White Men Can't Jump, Kingpin, Natural Born Killers, The People vs. Larry Flynt, A Prairie Home Companion, No Country for Old Men, Zombieland, Seven Pounds, 2012, Defendor and The Messenger.

Two rather interesting facts that we just found out about Mr Harrelson. One, is that he shared his birthday with his father; Charles Harrelson, the other being that Charles was, at one point, a freelance hitman and ended up being convicted of the murder of two seperate people and died in jail. He was also suspected as being involved the J.F.K. assassination, but that's one hell of a can of worms that we're not gonna open here.

Harrelson joins the likes of Joe Rogan as an enthusiast and supporter for the legalisation of marijuana and hemp, however he does not consider himself to be an activist for that cause. On June 1, 1996, he was arrested in Lee County, Kentucky, after he symbolically planted four hemp seeds to challenge the state law which did not distinguish between industrial hemp and marijuana. Harrelson won the case. Since 2003, Harrelson serves as a member on NORML's advisory board. He is also an environmental activist.

In June 2010, Harrelson took part in Soccer Aid at Old Trafford to raise money for UNICEF. Harrelson played for the "Rest of the World" team, playing in the last 15 minutes, and scored the winning goal in the penalty shootout following a 2-2 draw during normal time.

So he can't jump but he can kick? We guess that'll have to do...