Woody Harrelson Had Four Peculiar Conditions To Star In Zombieland

Released in 2009, "Zombieland" stands out as one of the best horror comedy films out there. Directed by Ruben Fleischer from a script written by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, the film featured Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone, and Abigail Breslin as four survivors of a zombie apocalypse who embark on a perilous, hilarious, and surprisingly heartfelt road trip that includes a few notable sequences, including a surprise run-in with comedy icon Bill Murray.

Although Jesse Eisenberg's Columbus serves as the narrator of "Zombieland," Woody Harrelson's Tallahassee is undoubtedly the film's breakout character. The Twinkie-obsessed survivor who finds glee in fending off zombies stands out as one of the most memorable characters in Harrelson's decorated career, and this includes his Emmy-winning turn as Woody Boyd in "Cheers" and three Academy Award-nominated performances. Interestingly enough, Harrelson had four conditions when it came to signing on for the film. While the first two of those conditions were related to casting and crew, the other two are reflective of the actor's convictions.

Woody Harrelson enjoyed the Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick script, but wanted to make sure his terms were agreed to for his involvement. One of the major conditions for Harrelson to accept the "Zombieland" was that the film would have an environmentally conscious set. This condition reflects Harrelson's activism, which also plays into the fourth, and perhaps most peculiar, condition of them all. For Harrelson to bring Tallahassee to life, director Ruben Fleischer must agree not to consume dairy products for a week. Fleischer reflected on Harrelson's conditions in an interview with Reuters:

"The first two were fairly reasonable about casting and crew. The third was that we have an environmentally conscious set. And the fourth was that I don't eat dairy for a week."

Although Ruben Fleischer agreed to Woody Harrelson's conditions, he acknowledged that the fourth condition regarding avoiding dairy was particularly difficult for him. Fleischer shared his experiences on the set of "Zombieland," following such conditions, and revealing that he actually went above and beyond the initial expectations:

"For me to not eat cheese is like for an alcoholic not to drink. I had a hard time, especially since it was Memorial Day when he asked me and there were all the summer barbecues. But I ended up being a vegetarian for 11 months as a result."

At the time of its release, the biggest star of the "Zombieland" core quartet was undoubtedly Woody Harrelson. Abigail Breslin, who played the 12-year-old girl Little Rock, was most recognized at the time for her Academy Award-nominated performance in "Little Miss Sunshine." As for Jesse Eisenberg, his most notable credits were in "The Squid and the Whale" and "Adventureland," the latter of which came out months before "Zombieland." And with Emma Stone, who played Little Rock's older sister Wichita, her most notable role at the time was in "Superbad."

Given that "Zombieland" came out at the tail-end of the 2000s, the 2010s would serve as an exciting decade for Jesse Eisenberg and Emma Stone. Eisenberg would lead "The Social Network," playing Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg in an acclaimed performance that earned him his first Oscar nomination. Eisenberg would receive his second nomination at the 97th Academy Awards in the category of Best Original Screenplay for his heartfelt sophomore effort as a writer/director, "A Real Pain." As for Stone, she went on to receive five Oscar nominations: two for Best Supporting Actress for her performances in "Birdman" and "The Favourite," and two for Best Actress in "La La Land" and "Poor Things," winning both of these categories while also receiving a nomination as a producer on the latter.

After years of demands from fans of the original film, the long-awaited sequel "Zombieland: Double Tap" was released in theaters in 2019, a whole decade after the original. Although "Double Tap" follows many of the standard tropes of typical comedy sequels, it is still an enjoyable experience thanks to the camaraderie of the film's leads, which is a testament to their chemistry. Whether or not we see a "Zombieland 3" is up in the air, but it would be fitting if the third film were to release in 2029, to follow the decade-long gap between sequels for the sake of consistency.