Woody Harrelson had someone beside him at the premiere of Brothers who is rarely part of his Hollywood red carpet routine, his wife, Laura Louie.
Harrelson, 65, and Louie, 61, attended the September 17th world premiere of his new Apple TV comedy at the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles. The longtime couple posed together at the event, making a relatively uncommon joint red carpet appearance, according to PEOPLE.
Louie has been part of Harrelson’s life since his Cheers years, but she generally stays outside the publicity cycle surrounding his movies and television work. The two met in 1987, became a couple about three years later and married in Hawaii in 2008 after nearly two decades together.
Matthew McConaughey arrived with wife Camila Alves McConaughey, children Levi and Vida, and his mother Kay, while Harrelson’s three daughters, Deni, Zoe and Makani, were not part of the red carpet photographs highlighted from the event.
Laura Louie Joined Harrelson for His Big ‘Brothers’ Night
Harrelson and Louie made their appearance as Apple celebrated the world premiere of Brothers, an eight-episode comedy built around Harrelson’s decades-long friendship with McConaughey. Entertainment Weekly also characterized the outing as a rare red carpet appearance for the couple despite their more than 35 years together.
Apple’s premiere brought out cast members Holland Taylor, Natalie Martinez, Brittany Ishibashi, Nolan Almeida, Ella Grace Helton, Noah Carganilla, Highdee Kuan and Oona Yaffe. Harrelson and McConaughey attended as both the stars and executive producers of the series.
Louie and Harrelson share three adult daughters. Deni is 32, Zoe is 29 and turns 30 on September 22nd, and Makani is 20. McConaughey turned his side of the premiere into a larger family outing. His wife Camila attended with their 18-year-old son Levi and 16-year-old daughter Vida, while McConaughey’s mother Kay “MaMac” McConaughey also walked the carpet.
Their Relationship Started With a Job on ‘Cheers’
Harrelson met Louie in 1987 while he was working on Cheers. She was attending a taping as part of a media workshop when Harrelson asked the group whether anyone had secretarial skills because he needed an assistant. Louie raised her hand.
Harrelson later recalled that the two had such a strong first conversation that he hired her, and she remained his assistant for the next three years.
Their professional relationship eventually became more complicated for Harrelson. He has said he tried to push away his attraction because Louie worked for him, but eventually wrote a song that made his feelings clear. When he played it for her, Louie told him she had already been in love with him for two and a half years.
The two began their romantic relationship around 1990. By 1995, they were appearing publicly together at the Money Train premiere in Century City, one of their earliest documented red carpet outings as a couple. They eventually married in Hawaii in 2008.
‘Brothers’ Turns Another Harrelson Relationship Into Fiction
He and McConaughey play fictionalized versions of themselves whose friendship is thrown into chaos by the possibility that their connection may be biological as well as personal.
After Woody’s fictional daughter’s wedding plans fall apart, he takes his family to Matthew’s Austin ranch for what is supposed to be an extended healing stay. The situation changes when Matthew’s mother, played by Holland Taylor, lets slip a decades-old secret suggesting the two men could actually be brothers. Woody begins searching for answers while Matthew faces another plotline involving a potential run for governor of Texas.
The premise draws directly from something Harrelson and McConaughey have discussed publicly for years. In 2023, McConaughey said his mother had once told Harrelson that she “knew” his father, Charles Harrelson, with an implication that prompted the two actors to compare dates and family history. McConaughey said they determined Harrelson’s father had been on furlough around a period when his own parents were separated.
Harrelson subsequently said there was enough plausibility to the story that he wanted a DNA test. More than three years later, the question remains unresolved. Asked again around the Brothers premiere whether they would finally take one, McConaughey remained hesitant, while Harrelson said he believes the possibility “100 percent,” according to E! News.
Apple TV will premiere the first two episodes of Brothers on September 23rd, followed by one new episode each Wednesday through November 4th.