Woody Harrelson is well-known for his love of a certain herb, so I can only imagine that someone set fire to his hemp trousers and he inhaled the fumes before announcing his latest plan. He intends to have himself transported to a deserted island and stay there alone for
40 days without food, a bit like a more cheerful
David Blaine).
And what's the movie he's making that requires such dramatic weight loss (perhaps a follow-up to 'The Machinist' where Christian Bale ended up looking like a xylophone with a lollipop for a head)?
There isn't a movie. Woody is doing this to see what it feels like. To see what it feels like! That must have been some Camberwell Carrot he consumed before making this plan public.
"I know it's going to be really hard. But can you imagine it? Eating nothing for 40 days? Swimming and surfing every day in a remote place? Where does the mind go?"
Insane? Good luck, but think it through, Woody. The minute you get the munchies you can't just wander down to the all night garage for a tube of Pringles and a load of Kit Kats. And God forbid he runs out of Rizlas... You'll be able to hear his screams from here.
Woody Harrelson has always fancied himself an eco-warrior. He's been arrested twice, once in Kentucky for planting industrial hemp seeds and then later in San Francisco for
scaling the Golden Gate bridge to protest the logging of redwoods! He's vegan and eats "raw as much as I can." His car runs on biodiesel. He only uses paper made from non-wood, post-consumer waste. Woody even lives with "all biodynamic farmers and just really cool people" on a remote Hawaiian island with his wife and three kids where there are no power lines and everyone uses solar energy. Which is all rather commendable, really—at least the guy isn't preaching one thing while taking a Hummer to his private jet, like certain other
notable Hollywood types. (We're looking at you,
Travolta.) But Woody's latest plan is a tad extreme, even for him: it seems Woody now wants to
move to a remote tropical island where he'll do nothing but drink water and swim and surf.
And by nothing but "drink water and swim and surf," we mean
nothing: Woody's master plan doesn't actually entail putting any food into his mouth. "I know it's going to be really hard," the
Kingpin actor says. "But can you imagine it? Eating nothing for 40 days? Swimming and surfing every day in a remote place? Where does the mind go?"
Sounds great in theory, if that's your cup of tea, but probably easier said than done: According to
Slate, your body literally starts to eat its own muscle and vital organs after three weeks without food. (Even Gandhi never fasted for more than 21 days.) The occasional tablespoon of salt can help you last a little longer, but 60 days is seen as the absolute max.
Given that Woody plans on frolicking about in his tropical playground instead of turning into a literal bag of bones while in extreme physical and mental discomfort, we're suggesting that he may want to re-think that time frame. Or at least bring some organic granola bars.
