The Harrelson Coincidence
Following the passing of Coach (after 4 seasons), Woody Boyd was brought on. Still, it was a coincidence that Woody Harrelson won that role. Perhaps this would be best explained by Woody’s own words:
“I was 23, and I kind of had an idea that I didn’t want to do television because I generally didn’t like the quality. But eventually I went in and I read for [the Cheers casting director]. I was really carefree because I knew I was going back to New York, and they’d pretty much decided on this one guy, but they were just doing a few more auditions, so I went in and I could tell right away — she was like, ‘Aha! Hang on.’ She says, ‘I want you to come in and do this for the boys,’ right? Well, it turned out she was taking me in to meet the writers. I didn’t know this. I’m following behind her, and I needed to blow my nose. I’m going down the hallway, through a door, into where everybody is, and I just happened to be blowing my nose, and then everybody laughed before I said a word. And as [director] Jimmy Burrows said, ‘You had the part right then.”
