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Watch Woody Harrelson tell Seth Meyers how he lost out on 'Dumb and Dumber' over a game of pool
The actor would team up with the Farellys two years later on Kingpin.
It's hard to imagine anyone other than Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels playing the bumbling buffoons of Peter and Bobby Farrelly's Dumb and Dumber. But if fate had taken a slightly different turn, it would have been Woody Harrelson riding shotgun in the Mutt Cutts van.
Appearing on Monday's episode of Late Night with Seth Meyers, Harrelson (fresh off his fifth time as host of Saturday Night Live) recounted the story of how he lost out on the seminal 1994 comedy film over a game of pool with Peter, who wanted the Cheers alum to star in the project — described by the actor himself as "one of the great comedies of all time." However, it's unclear which of the two characters Harrelson would have portrayed.
"I said, 'Petey, I'll tell you what. I'm kind of torn, let's play a game of pool. And if I win, I'm not gonna do it. If you win, I'll do it,'" he recalled, sounding only slightly bitter about the fact that he bet against himself. "So it came down to the eight ball and it's a shot that's an insane slice shot into the pocket that most people, even Willie Mosconi, would've have trouble [with]. Me? I sinked that damn ball!"
Watch the full interview below:
Luckily, that friendly wager didn't sour the relationship in the slightest. Not long after, Harrelson joined forces with the Farrelly siblings — whom the actor had known since first moving to Los Angeles (he and Peter were also roommates for a time) — on another beloved comedy: 1996's Kingpin. Now, almost three decades later, he and Bobby have re-teamed for Champions (in theaters March 10), the story of a former minor-league basketball coach managing a team of of players with intellectual disabilities.
Kaitlin Olson (It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia), Ernie Hudson (Quantum Leap), Cheech Marin (Shotgun Wedding), and Matt Cook (The Greatest Beer Run Ever) co-star. Harrelson is an executive producer alongside Brad Kessell, Alexander Jooss, Álvaro Longoria, Javier Fesser, and Luis Manso. Paul Brooks, Scott Niemeyer, Jeremy Plager are producers. Mark Rizzo penned the screenplay.
Late Night with Seth Meyers airs on NBC every weeknight at 12:35 a.m. ET.
Seasons 9 and 10 of the talk show series are currently streaming on Peacock.
