It’s Always Sunny Star Purposely Intimidated Woody Harrelson
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia star Caitlin Olson tried hard to intimidate Woody Harrelson wile filming Champions, bonding with the star over a shared warped sense of humor.
Celebrity friendships can take a variety of forms. Some, like Leonardo DiCaprio and Tobey Mcguire, are longstanding from childhood, while others, like that between Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Kevin Hart, seem to sprout up after working together. According to a recent Collider article, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia star Kaitlin Olson sparked the on-set chemistry between herself and her Champions co-star Woody Harrelson by having fun poking at the ego of the Emmy Award-winning actor.
In the Collider interview, which featured the two co-stars, Olson proclaimed: “I intimidated him [Harrelson] right away,” before revealing, “And then I just kept belittling him throughout the shoot, and that made me feel better about myself.”
For his part, Woody Harrelson admitted that it was “daunting” working with the It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia star. He recalled that in the first scene they shot together, he knew he was in for something special: “She just brought her A-game. I was like, ‘Oh boy, I gotta step up here.’” He then heaped praise upon Olson with his coy spin: “She’s such a great actress, and not just a great actress and emotionally available, but then when you’re in the fun, funny scenes like this – that first scene – no one delivers better than her. I mean other than me, but I probably shouldn’t have said that.”
Harrelson is a powerhouse actor in his own right, and it’s impressive that the It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia actress was able to give the impression that she did. Both actors are critically acclaimed and have each received several accolades for their respective bodies of work. Harrelson has a great deal of respect for his co-star Olson and her abilities as an actress.
The two actors star opposite each other in the Bob Farrelly-directed film Champions, a sports comedy that finds a down-on-his-luck former minor-league basketball coach (Harrelson) forced to coach a team of adults with intellectual disabilities after he causes a car accident. This leads to him developing a bond with his players and training to get his team to the Special Olympics. Farrelly is known for movies like There’s Something About Mary, Shallow Hal, and Dumb & Dumber.
Kaitlin Olson may best be known for her comedic work as Dee “Sweet Dee” Reynolds in the comedy series It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Olson plays the brash, egotistical, and honestly unlikeable bar co-owner to great effect, and her character is an integral part of balancing the chemistry between the show’s leads.
Outside of her performance in It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Olson had a starring role in the comedy series The Mick, Flipped, and Hacks, the latter two of which earned her Emmy nominations. Olson has also appeared in films, including Leap Year, The Heat, Vacation, Finding Dory, and Arizona.
Compared to the It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia star, Woody Harrelson is no slouch either. Harrelson’s television work has received praise: he earned an Emmy Award for his role as bartender Woody Boyd in the comedy series Cheers which he reprised in the spinoff series Frasier, and further Emmy Award nominations for his portrayal of Steve Schmidt in the HBO film Game Change, and his role as Marty Hart in the HBO crime anthology series True Detective. Harrelson has been featured in numerous films, including The People vs. Larry Flynt, The Messenger, Zombieland, White Men Can’t Jump, No Country for Old Men, Zombieland, and recently 2022’s Triangle of Sadness.
The film finds the It’s Always Sunny in Philadephia and Cheers actors co-starring as love interests, with Olson playing the sister of one of the players on Harrelson’s character’s team. The comedic chemistry between the two actors is palpable; both bring their talent and expertise into the role. Champions was released in theaters on March 10th, 2023.
