Woody Harrelson Once Shared Why he Wouldn’t Return to ‘True Detective’

Matthew McConaughey collaborated with Woody Harrelson for the hit HBO anthology series True Detective . Although they both enjoyed their time on the show, they have vastly different opinions about reprising their roles.

Woody Harrelson wouldn’t want to tarnish his ‘True Detective’ legacy

Harrelson returned to the world of television when he played detective Martin Hart in True Detective . But doing a television show was somewhat unfamiliar territory for McConaughey. Still, the movie star was drawn to True Detective because of its script. Additionally, television was in the midst of a golden age with shows like Game of Thrones and Breaking Bad rivaling and perhaps surpassing cinema. This made the notion of doing a television series only more appealing McConaughey.

At first, McConaughey was tapped to play Martin Hart. But he grew too attached to detective Rust Cohle, who was Hart’s introspective but solemn partner.

“I understood why they wanted me for the Marty role. I think from my past work, someone would think that I would be more right for that. I said, the guy on the page who I cannot wait to hear what’s going to come out of his mouth, and who I agreed with in so many ways, or at least I understood his mind and his character, was Rustin Cohle,” McConaughey told Deadline back in 2014.

It seemed McConaughey and Harrelson were both perfect choices for their roles. The former’s work as Cohle earned him his first Emmy nomination, with both of their performances being heavily praised.

But they have different perspectives when it comes to returning to True Detective . McConaughey did the series under the impression that he’d only be locked in for the first season . He wouldn’t mind reprising his role for other seasons, though, under the right circumstances.

“I liked True Detective, the whole series and the experience of making it, so much that I’d be open to doing another one now. At the time, I was looking at six months and not beyond that. I don’t know of a feature film I’d sign for where I’m going to say, “If this works, you’ve got me whenever you want me for the next three years,” McConaughey said.

But Harrelson was skeptical that his theoretical return would live up to expectations.

“I don’t see doing that. No. Because it went very well the first time and if we come back around to it, what else are you going to hear but, ‘Not as good! Just wasn’t as good. Boy, you guys were good before, but this time…’ I don’t want to even hear that,” he told Yahoo! .

What Woody Harrelson thought of the other seasons of ‘True Detective’

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Harrelson’s opinion on the subsequent seasons of True Detective might’ve only reinforced his thoughts on ever returning to the show. He didn’t see himself returning to television in the first place, having begun his career in that space.

“It was pretty amazing because I had not thought about doing television from the time I did Cheers , and then I did like seven episodes on Will and Grace ,” he said in a 2019 interview with Entertainment Weekly .

True Detective was the exception because of its quality. He enjoyed the show so much that he even became a fan, keeping his eye on the anthology series after his departure. It seemed that he didn’t enjoy season 2 all that much, but season 3 reignited his faith in the show.

“I was not really wanting to do television. Well, it wasn’t television, it was HBO. So I feel lucky about that. I was, you know, kind of disappointed that the second season wasn’t as… but now the third season, which I’ve only seen the first four episodes because I’ve been working, but I’m really psyched about the third season. I’d like it to keep going,” he said.

During the interview, he also reiterated his reluctance to reprising his True Detective role. But he didn’t rule the possibility out entirely.

“I mean, you know, God knows, who knows how the career will keep going. Maybe they can catch me in a vulnerable moment,” he said.