The Contenders: ‘Rampart’s’ Woody Harrelson

Yes, that’s Woody Harrelson, one of Hollywood’s true peace-and-love guys, playing misanthropic, murderous cop Dave Brown in “Rampart.” That his performance is so chillingly convincing, he credits largely to his reunion with “The Messenger” writer-director Oren Moverman. That he manages to evoke some shred of sympathy in the role, however, is all Harrelson.

What was hard to reconcile in Dave?

Some of the guy’s behavior — when I read it, I just thought, “This is a terrible guy.” I just saw an … being a racist, not afraid to kill someone who doesn’t necessarily deserve it — and the other thing is his strange behavior with his family. But I just started to see him as loving his family, that being the root of him. He has an odd way of showing it sometimes, but he loves his family, he really does. As regards killing people, [to him] he does bad things to bad people.

What was the toughest thing about taking on the role?

Starting with the fact of not knowing how to play a cop — you know, a sweet hippie playing a dirty cop — I don’t know, maybe it’s that I have authority issues or whatever; I just couldn’t see myself playing a cop. That was remedied by doing a lot of research and ride-alongs with [real policemen], who are anything but cartoon characters, who not only taught me a lot but made me respect them, and made me think, “Yeah, I could be a cop.”

The scenes with the family were very intense for me. You know, having daughters, I don’t have to use quite as much imagination. Although with my daughters, I do kind of get along great with ‘em. But that was very tough, emotional stuff. Being in a paranoid state, which the character is, and fear; I really don’t like to dwell in those emotions too much.

Did that get in your head a little?

It’s almost impossible your personality’s not going to change a bit. It may not be to the degree of a Daniel Day-Lewis, when he’s playing Hamlet and he basically has a nervous breakdown, has to quit because it’s compromising his health. It doesn’t have to be to that degree, but it still affects you. I’m becoming paranoid and doing strange things; a friend sends me a joking message about something and I ... bite his head off in no uncertain terms. He’s like, “I was joking! I can’t wait for you to be done with this role!”

You’ve certainly been bold in your work with Oren Moverman …

I saw an earlier cut of the film and I had this weird thing where I didn’t think it was good. I was just doubting his vision. Then I had to see it again in August because it was accepted to Toronto … I went with a heavy heart. But then I watched the thing, and I’m like, “Oh, my God. Not only was I wrong, this is probably the best movie I’ve ever done.” So he taught me, “Don’t ever doubt this guy.”

Have you sensed a change in industry perception of you, especially since “The Messenger”?

I can’t know that. All I know is, where things sit right now in my career, I couldn’t be much happier, what kind of roles are coming in, possibilities. Ultimately though, I would do every ... movie from now on with Oren if I could. I love working with him. You always want to be a part of, like, the Woody Allen tribe, how he uses a lot of the same actors, or Scorsese, or Tarantino. You love the idea, but I never had that. Now I have that. Me, Oren, [costar and producer] Ben Foster, [producer] Lawrence Inglee, [producer] Ken Kao. I think this is a little group that will stay together and do a lot of things. Maybe I won’t be the lead in the next one; I wasn’t the lead in the last one, but maybe I can do a cool part in it. It’s not about playing the role; it’s about being part of this group.

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