Woody Harrelson doesn’t embrace modern technology.
His new podcast, SiriusXM’sWhere everyone knows your nameOn “The Celebrities” with Ted Danson, Harrelson told guest Kristen Bell that he doesn’t own a cell phone.
“Let me describe Woody,” Danson said. “He doesn’t have a cell phone. He’s one of those bullies in life who makes other people have cell phones.”
Woody explained that that’s “not exactly true,” but that he enjoys limiting access to himself.
“Well, I don’t like being available to anybody all the time,” Harrelson said, with Bell chiming in: “I know that. It doesn’t feel good.”
Woody added: “That’s not the reason. In a way, I like human contact, but I don’t like what’s on my hands and feet.”
The actor continued, “You know, I decided, ‘Okay, I’m going to put a two-hour limit on my phone.’ I’ve been off my phone for three, three-and-a-half years now, but at the time, I was like, ‘Okay, I’m going to put a limit on it. Two hours.’ It was like 9:30. By 9:30, I’d already hit my limit, so I’d wake up and I’d already been on my phone for two hours. Because you just keep on using your phone.”
Danson asked whether the “restrictions” Harrelson imposed on himself when he owned a cell phone were limited to just making calls, or to using apps and texting loved ones.
“Texting, well, I don’t know about the app, but texting, and, well, anyway, I wanted it to end up like, let’s say, I’m out to dinner with you, and the conversation cuts off,” he said. “Oh, I’m on the phone. ‘Oh, yeah, yeah.’ And then I look, I go back to my device, and this is it.”
Bell, who has two daughters with husband Dax Shepard, admitted that her children have scolded her for being on her phone.
“But once you realize that, I think, at least for me, it changes my whole perspective. And I think my kids have a lot to do with it. I realize they’re talking to me, and they’re very articulate about their emotions,” Bell said.
“So if I’m checking up on something, even if it’s something legitimate like, ‘Her jiu jitsu class is changing tomorrow. I need to let the other moms know.’ Whatever. Even if it’s something legitimate, and one of the kids looks at me and says, ‘Mommy doesn’t seem to be paying attention. Mommy isn’t paying attention to me,’ I’m like, ‘Oh my God,'” she continued.
Bell said she’s “over the hump” of cellphone addiction now that her daughters Lincoln, 10, and Delta, 8, are old enough to make her realize how much time they’re spending on their phones.
“When the kids come home from school, I put the TV down. I put it upstairs,” she says. “At night, when I’m jumping around the house, the TV’s on my mind and I really enjoy being disassociated from it. It’s a great trick.”
Danson added, “Yeah, by the way, Woody, it’s amazing what you do with your cell phone. I need to do that more.”
Danson and Harrelson reunited 30 years after the end of their hit sitcom “Cheers” to release a podcast that premieres every Wednesday on the SiriusXM app or wherever you get your podcasts.
Each week, the actors host a celebrity guest and take an in-depth look into their lives, revealing information that fans may not know.
