The following is an exchange in an interview with Barbara Walters:
Walters quotes from a magazine article: "Now with his advocacy of industrial hemp and his embrace of new age spiritualism, there is a good chance he will inherit the title of ultimate Hollywood flake."
Harrelson: (laughs) Why I don't know how I can inherit a title that's already mine-- rightfully so.
Walters:(laughs) You think you're a flake?
Harrelson: Well no, but I understand that to be the perception.  Woody, a flake? (Real audio) More sounds in the Movies & Sounds section.

What they said about Woody-- Complex? ill-understood? Woody's environmental activism, acts of civil disobediance, dark family history, controversial films and unconventional beliefs together make Woody a fascinating, enigmatic figure, as well as an easy target of sensationalist journalism. He is perhaps best judged from his own words (listen to the interviews in "Movies & Sounds",) but here are some interesting quotes from others who have worked with Woody.

Cheers costar Kirstie Alley at the recent premiere of Welcome to Sarajevo---'I know Woody really well, and I know that he really believes in helping people, you know, and I think that this is probably the way he's doing it, through his art. If you knew Woody, you would know that Woody is a fighter, you know. I mean, he fights for what he believes in. He's definitely-- he's a freedom fighter kind of a guy.'

Director Michael Cimino on why he chose Woody to play the wealthy doctor in Sunchaser .---' For one thing, Woody`s studied chemistry. Unlike a lot of people, he can actually pronounce deoxyribonucleic acid. And he has absolute physical courage. We were on a mountain top at 14,000 feet, and I found him doing a handstand on a narrow ledge. I said, "Wood! You could`ve gotten killed." He just smiled and said, "It's not my time, man." '

Political consultant James Carville, who has a cameo as a prosecutor in Larry FlyntÝ on Woody's activism---'It's unusual if an actor doesn't have a cause, but Woody's passionate and studied about this hemp thing.'

KingpinÝ co-star Vanessa Angel on what it was like working with Woody--- He's a very interesting guy, actually. He's like two different people in a way. He has this really light-hearted, fun, quick-witted side, and he's also quite moody and deep. He has very strong convictions about things. You don't want to eat a bacon sandwich around him, (laughs) he'll give you a 20 minute lecture about how you shouldn't eat meat. So he's very interesting. He's hard to get close to.' 'But he's also great to work with and he works very spontaneously.'
[  Listen to the rest of this--on working on Kingpin].

Natural Born KillersÝ director Oliver Stone on casting Woody as Mickey Knox ---'I love Woody, but he's a little crazy, and you need that in a Mickey.'

FlyntÝ costar Edward Norton on how Woody works creatively--- 'Woody has a willingness to stay fluid and let a scene take unexpected shape.'

FlyntÝ director Milos Forman on how Woody and Courtney Love improvised scenes between them--- 'During the rehearsals, before we started shooting, I discovered that I was so lucky that both of these people - Woody and Courtney - have this rare talent to improvise, not as Woody and Courtney, but as Larry and Althea. I would have been stupid not to encourage that, because that way you can get these unrepeatable moments of truth.'
(Forman gave as examples the marriage proposal scene and the hottub scene in which Althea tries to convince Flynt that he should not be baptised.)

Forman on the casting of Woody as Larry Flynt. "I got five names and Woody Harrelson was on the list, but I didn't know Woody. I never saw him on television, and the only film I saw him in, "Indecent Proposal", was not very convincing to me. So I agreed to send the script to the two first names on the list, Tom Hanks and Bill Murray. Fortunately, they turned it down. Then I asked for a meeting with Woody. We had dinner together, and I was sold on Woody from the first meeting. I liked him enormously."

Brother Brett Harrelson, watching Woody scale the Golden Gate Bridge with other environmental activists to protest the logging of the Headwaters Complex, said this was far from a publicity stunt. "[Woody] doesn't put on a fake mask. He's up there for exactly what he's promoting. There's not a trick up his sleeve."

Letter from Woody appearing in the commentary page of the Lexington Herald-Leader, following his visit with other industrial hemp colleagues to Simpsonville Elementary in May '96. A complaint by D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse and Resistance Education) officer Deputy Audry Yaeger led to the scrutiny of teacher Donna Cockrel by the school board.
"I am concerned that my visit has generated a good deal of controversy...I came away from my time with [Cockrel] wishing that I had had a teacher with as much energy, passion and dedication ... To have her job on the line because she took the time to educate her students [about industrial hemp] is absurd."
"... I feel it is very important to tell Deputy Yaeger that I do not consider her and the people she represents my enemy. Many times I have wished for a person like Yaeger, who stands up for what she believes in and fights for her children's future, to be a part of the industrial hemp renaissance....Should we contribute to this sea of enmity, this taking sides and name-calling? Or should we perhaps sit down together over a meal and try to forge an understanding..."

From CNN article on filming "Flynt": '... acting is no bowl of cherries for Harrelson, regardless of the results. "I've never been able to understand the distinction between 'you're gonna cry in this scene' and 'cut, well that's it.'" "I'm still like, 'Oh my God, everything is dark and mad and violent'; it doesn't leave my head." '