Woody Harrelson names one song he’d listen to for the rest of his life

Actor messed with fans before revealing the true answer

Roisin O'Connor
Wednesday 09 April 2025 10:18 BST
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Woody Harrelson has named the one song he would choose to listen to for the rest of his life – but only after pranking his fans.

The Hollywood actor appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert this week, where he took part in the host’s Colbert Questionert, which sees guests posed with questions that “cover the full spectrum of human experience”.

On Tuesday (8 April), Colbert told the Cheers star, who narrowly missed out on a role in the latest season of The White Lotus: “You only get one song to listen to for the rest of your life. What is the song, Woody Harrelson?”

Sensing the opportunity for a joke, Harrelson, 63, comedically declared: “I guess it’s time I reveal I’m a Swiftie!”, which prompted shock from the audience who appeared to think he was about to name a Taylor Swift song.

However, Harrelson the began to sing the opening lyrics of his actual choice – Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” – and was joined by the show’s band and Colbert himself.

“That’s a good one,” Colbert said.

The actor has a number of projects out this year, including the survival thriller film Last Breath, also starring Simu Liu and Finn Cole, and he recently appeared in The Electric State, a science-fiction action-adventure movie with Millie Bobby Brown, Chris Pratt, Ke Huy Quan, Brian Cox and Stanley Tucci.

The latter, directed by the Russo brothers, is one of the most expensive movies ever made, with a reported budget of $320m, but received scathing reviews from critics who branded it a “turgid eyesore” and “dismally soulless”.

“The Electric State is somehow both punishingly obvious and completely incoherent,” The Independent’s Clarisse Loughrey wrote in her one-star review.

The film has also received a painful 15 per cent Rotten Tomatoes score, but this didn’t stop it from shooting to the top spot on Netflix’s chart after its release last Friday.

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Millie Bobby Brown and the CGI robot Cosmo (Alan Tudyk) in 'The Electric State'
Millie Bobby Brown and the CGI robot Cosmo (Alan Tudyk) in 'The Electric State' (Netflix)

Harrelson recently said having to turn down a role in the third season of The White Lotus was an “extremely hard decision”.

The show, created by Mike White, has a fixed salary in place, meaning all cast members, including Parker Posey, Michelle Monaghan, Jason Isaacs, Carrie Coon and Aimee Lou Wood, received the same amount for their performances.

Harrelson has since debunked the narrative that he declined the opportunity due to money, stating that he actually had signed up to play the role of Frank, but had to drop out due to scheduling conflicts.

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