# The 2009 co-star Woody Harrelson called the second coming of James Dean: “His talent is that big”

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/the-2009-co-star-woody-harrelson-called-the-second-coming-of-james-dean-his-talent-is-that-big/
- Published: 2026-10-31T22:45:00+00:00
- Updated: 2026-10-31T23:12:49+00:00
- Original publisher: Far Out
- Original article: https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/2009-co-star-woody-harrelson-called-next-james-dean/
- Topics: Celebrity, Entertainment

## Key points

- Harrelson compared Ben Foster’s talent to James Dean’s.
- Foster starred alongside him in 2009’s *The Messenger*.
- Harrelson later joined the hugely successful *Hunger Games* films.

## Summary

Woody Harrelson praised Ben Foster as a talent on the scale of James Dean while they worked together on the 2009 Iraq War drama *The Messenger*. The comparison drew attention to Foster’s performance, though his career developed steadily rather than through a rapid rise to stardom.

Harrelson said Foster’s talent was “that big”, but *The Messenger* lost about $7 million at the box office. Harrelson received Oscar and Golden Globe nominations for the film, while Foster later appeared in *Hell or High Water* and *Lone Survivor*. Harrelson subsequently played Haymitch in the *Hunger Games* films, which have earned $3.3 billion.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.