20 Things You Didn't Know About No Country For Old Men
9. Hitman Harrelson
Although the Coen brothers’ adaptation of No Country For Old men does stay true to the source material, there are elements of Cormac McCarthy’s novel that were not featured in the film.
Most notably, numerous narrations from Sheriff Ed Tom Bell were kept out of the movie. One such narration referred to a case of a hitman killing a federal judge in San Antonio, this story bares multiple similarities to a real-life case that took place in 1979.
With the events of No Country For Old Men set in 1980, it is likely that the novel is referring to this actual case to add some colour to the narrative. The victim of the case in question was U.S. District Judge John H. Wood Jr., who was shot dead outside his house.
The man convicted of the shooting was a known hitman by the name of Charles Harrelson. Interestingly, Charles Harrelson is the father of actor Woody Harrelson, who played the part of Carson Wells in the Coen brothers’ movie.