10 Incredible Casting Coincidences You Won't Believe

9. Woody Harrelson's Assassin Father Is Referenced In The Novel Of No Country for Old Men

No Country for Old Men Woody Harrelson Woody Harrelson plays assassin Carson Wells in the Coen Brothers' Oscar-winning thriller No Country for Old Men. There's nothing strange about that, right? Harrelson is one of our finest actors, and is known for playing both psychopaths and steely anti-heroes; the guy has great range. However, did you know that his estranged father was Charles Harrelson, a freelance Texan assassin for hire? His biggest claim to fame is that, in 1979, he shot and killed Federal Judge John Howland Wood, and surreal enough though that might be, it gets weirder. In Cormac McCarthy's original novel No Country for Old Men, Sheriff Bell (played by Tommy Lee Jones in the movie) says, "Here a while back in San Antonio they shot and killed a federal judge", a direct reference to Wood's murder at the hands of Harrelson's father. Though the line was elided from the movie - likely for a lack of context with modern audiences - it's nevertheless a baffling coincidence, and a fascinating bit of trivia concerning one of Hollywood's true greats.
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Frequently sleep-deprived film addict and video game obsessive who spends more time than is healthy in darkened London screening rooms. Follow his twitter on @ShaunMunroFilm or e-mail him at shaneo632 [at] gmail.com.