‘Brothers’ Star Woody Harrelson Blew His Shot at a Career-Defining Role Because He Got Starstruck by Jack Nicholson

Hollywood is full of stories about near-misses, roles that almost went to a different actor before fate intervened and sent them elsewhere. Few of those stories, though, come with as candid a confession as the one Woody Harrelson has shared about the role that ultimately went to Greg Kinnear in 1997’s ‘As Good as It Gets.’

Harrelson rarely has to audition for anything these days, a privilege that comes with decades of established credibility in the industry. But one particular audition has stuck with him for nearly thirty years, and it’s not because it went well.

Reflecting back in 2020, Harrelson revealed that the last audition he can clearly remember was for director James L. Brooks, reading opposite Jack Nicholson for the role of Simon Bishop, the artist and neighbor of Nicholson’s character Melvin Udall in ‘As Good as It Gets.’ He didn’t get the part.

The role of Simon eventually went to Greg Kinnear, who ended up earning an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his performance. Harrelson has been remarkably gracious about losing the role, admitting that Kinnear was the right choice and that he understood why Brooks made the call he did.

What Harrelson couldn’t shake, though, was the sense that he’d underperformed simply because of who he was sharing the room with. He explained that plenty of other actors wanted the role too, so he doesn’t feel too bad about missing out, but he genuinely believes he could have done a better job in the audition had nerves not gotten the better of him. Being in the room auditioning alongside Nicholson, he admitted, left him completely thrown off his game.

‘As Good as It Gets’ went on to become one of the defining films of the late 1990s, sweeping the major acting categories at the Academy Awards with wins for both Nicholson and Helen Hunt, in addition to earning seven total Oscar nominations including Best Picture. Kinnear’s performance as Simon, a sensitive gay artist navigating both physical recovery and a complicated relationship with his difficult neighbor, became one of the film’s emotional anchors.

Harrelson has been open about the fact that this wasn’t just any audition he happened to forget over time. It stands out specifically because it was the last audition he can recall having to go through at all, a milestone that speaks to how far his career had already progressed by the late 1990s thanks to his years on ‘Cheers’ and his growing film résumé.

Despite acknowledging the missed opportunity, Harrelson’s reflection carries none of the bitterness that sometimes accompanies these kinds of stories from actors looking back on the ones that got away. He’s made peace with the outcome, crediting Brooks’ casting instincts and Kinnear’s ultimately Oscar-nominated turn in the role.

Still, it’s a rare and honest glimpse into how even seasoned performers can find themselves intimidated by a scene partner, regardless of how much experience they’ve already accumulated by that point in their careers.

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