The Messenger Movie Marquee

Woody Harrelson says that he’s a changed man from his portrayal of Captain Stone, a veteran officer who returns from combat and gets assigned to the notification service with a young sergeant, Ben Foster. The movie, aptly titled “The Messenger,” shows how Harrelson‘s character maintains stiff military discipline, while he attempts to mentor the young Foster, who struggles with the tumultuous emotions of the families as they learn of their dead children.

But this self-proclaimed hippie does’t appear as a very likely candidate for the role of a soldier. Perhaps that is why he found it necessary to travel to the Walter Reed Army Medical Center and converse with wounded soldiers and true-life notifications officers. Many fans and staff members, including screenwriter Alessandro Camon, agreed that the role was rather divergent from who Harrelson actually is in real life. But, in the end, the experience has helped him separate the wars from the people who fight them, and he has come out of it with a new perspective on soldiers: they are just people, who don’t make very much money as they join a national effort out of a profound love for their country.

Thanks to this veteran’s artistic dedication, Harrelson has been nominated for an Oscar for his work as Captain Tony Stone in the film, “The Messenger.”

The Hippie from Maui, Woody Harrelson