Woody Harrelson returns to film comedy

Former "Cheers" star Woody Harrelson returns to comedy this week in the new heist movie, "After the Sunset."

Harrelson played bartender Woody on the 1980s sit-com, then won raves during the mid-1990s for his performances in "White Men Can't Jump," "Natural Born Killers" and "The People vs. Larry Flynt."

After that the hemp activist entered semi-retirement, making only occasional appearances on stage and screen.

"About five years ago I was feeling upset by how some movies (were received) like 'Larry Flynt,' the demise of that movie. Also I wasn't appreciating doing movies that much," he admitted. "If you're not appreciating doing this job, you're (an) idiot, so I really needed to get my mind right. I needed to spend some time with my family. ...

"Having taken all this time off, I'm now just enjoying the hell out of it and after filming 'After the Sunset,' I worked on three other movies, so I'd say I'm back into it fully and plan to stay fully engaged and into it for at least a couple of more years -- until I get my stock back up maybe."

© Copyright 2004 by United Press International