Woodrow Tracy Harrelson (born July 23, 1961) is an American actor and playwright. He first became known for his role as bartender Woody Boyd on the NBC sitcom Cheers (1985–1993), for which he won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series from a total of five nominations. He has also received three Academy Award nominations: Best Actor for The People vs. Larry Flynt (1996) and Best Supporting Actor for The Messenger (2009), and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017).