The Pool Game That Cost Woody Harrelson a Role in Dumb and Dumber

While some critics blasted it for its low-brow, gross-out brand of humor, the general consensus regards it positively (68%/84% critics/audience score on Rotten Tomatoes).

So, while Woody Harrelson's career is already quite remarkable, he probably regretted missing his chance to star in Dumb and Dumber. And, in a strange twist of fate, he missed it due to being too good at pool.

As he recounted in his interview on Late Night with Seth Meyers, back in the day, he was roommates with Peter Farrelly, who, alongside with his brother Bobby, directed and wrote Dumb and Dumber.

A couple years later Woody starred in the next comedy by Farrelly brothers, Kingpin, but that movie performed rather poorly and barely recouped its budget.

So, Peter Farrelly offered Woody Harrelson a role in the movie project that became Dumb and Dumber. But Woody was hesitant about its prospects.

And that was not surprising, as Dumb and Dumber was the first significant movie project of Farrelly brothers, and the one which brought them recognition as comedy directors, so enlisting on it would have involved considerable risk.

Therefore, he made a wager: "Let's play a game of pool, and if I win, I'm not gonna do it. If you win, I'll do it."

Fittingly, for a high-stakes wager which could define careers, Harrelson said "it came down to the eight ball." But ultimately Harrelson won that game of pool, and lost his role.

Instead, Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels played the main duo in Dumb and Dumber, with Carrey cementing his status as a comedy star, and Daniels achieving notable success in playing against the type (he was and is primarily a dramatic actor).

Then again, getting a role in Dumb and Dumber might have left Harrelson without enough free time to play Mickey in Natural Born Killers, which released the same year – and that role became one of the most famous in his career.

So, lose some, win some.