James Woods is many things: Emmy Award-winning actor, famed conspiracy theorist, and frequent Family Guy guest star. Ever since his first appearance in season 4's "Peter's Got Woods", which served as a homage to the actor, Woods has featured 8 times on the long-running animated series. Through the years, there have been numerous celeb cameos on Family Guy, most of which are of the blink and you'll miss it variety, but James Woods has become a fixture on the show. Well, at least that was the case up until a few years ago.
These days, Woods has been noticeably absent from the series. His complicated and colorful history with the show's producers sheds some light on his rise and fall within the Family Guy animated universe. Keep reading to discover some surprising facts about James Woods' role in Family Guy.
9 James Woods Has A Special Connection To Rhode Island
Although he was born in Utah, James Woods was actually raised in Rhode Island, which is where Family Guy is set. This elucidates the producers' move to recruit Woods for the show, since celebs who hail from Rhode Island are few and far between. One of the smallest states in the U.S., Rhode Island has a population of just over 1 million.
8 This Is How He Got His Role On 'Family Guy'
As for how James Woods actually got cast on Family Guy? It all started with Seth MacFarlane's decision to name Quahog's high school James Woods High. Rather than get irked when he saw that the animated school had been named after him, Woods asked if he could be on the show.
"James Woods is playing himself. The school on the show is called James Woods High, and he got wind of that and thought it was funny and wanted to do the show. We were obviously thrilled, so we wrote an episode around him," Seth MacFarlane told the AV Club.
7 He Enjoys Making Fun Of Himself
In a backstage interview with Whitney Ullman during Woods' appearance at Poker Night in America in 2015, Woods spoke about how much he enjoys guest starring on Family Guy. The truth is, Woods loves making fun of himself. "Well, I have to say, Family Guy is a funny thing because I just really enjoy making fun of myself," he joked.
6 He Doesn't Get Paid For The Role
During his interview at the Poker Night in America event, Woods made a rather surprising revelation. While he usually commands a multimillion dollar fee for his talents, Woods actually doesn't get paid to appear in Family Guy.
"I do it for free, like, basically. I just do it for fun," he said, before adding that he and MacFarlane enjoy improvising barbs about other celebs in the recording booth, suggesting that if their comments ever became public they would get "sued."
5 'Family Guy' Hints At His Problematic Past With Women
James Woods is notorious for his alleged problematic interactions with teens and relationships with much younger women. "James Woods tried to pick me and my friend up at a restaurant once. He wanted to take us to Vegas. 'I'm 16' I said. 'Even better' he said," Tweeted Amber Tamblyn.
Subsequently, Family Guy has referenced his sexist attitudes towards women. In the season 6 episode "Back to the Woods", Chris asks the actor how he can get a girl to like him, which results in extremely vulgar advice from Woods.
4 A Republican, Woods Refused To Star In This Episode
Frequently taking to Twitter to share his political ideology with his 13.7 million followers, Seth MacFarlane is well known for his left-wing views. James Woods, on the other hand, is not. The actor is one of the few openly Republican stars in Hollywood. As such, he refused to lend his voice to an anti-conservative episode of Family Guy, though he did not specify which episode it was.
"I was recently offered another #FamilyGuy episode and reluctantly turned it down for similar reasons," he Tweeted. "It was so mean-spirited, so totally political, and (worst crime of all) simply not funny. The rabid hatred of conservative values has ruined comedy."
3 This Is The Tragic Story Behind Why He Was Still On 'Family Guy' Despite His Views
Many fans may be wondering why the left-leaning MacFarlane continued to cast Woods on his show in spite of the actor's outspoken conservative views. Accordingly, Woods has shed some insight into his relationship with the Family Guy creator.
"I know Seth is a very liberal person, but we get along great. We both lost our Moms around the same time and were very supportive of each other during that awful period of shock and sadness.
@SethMacFarlane is a genuinely fantastic guy and I consider him a dear friend," Woods Tweeted.
2 The Shady Reason They Renamed James Woods High School
In the season 17 episode “Adam West High”, the local school is renamed in honor of the late Mayor Adam West, having previously been named James Woods High.
"We thought it was fitting to pay tribute to him, not only as a character but a person in our lives," executive producer Steve Callaghan explained at the San Diego Comic-Con, before Alex Borstein exclaimed, "And stick it to James Woods!" in reference to his alt-right views.
1 The Show Threw Further Shade At Woods
When the aforementioned episode “Adam West High” aired, the show used it as an opportunity to finally distance themselves from James Woods.
"James Woods is an embarrassment to Quahog. He's a political troll and a maniac on Twitter," says Brian, who is often thought of as a canine Seth MacFarlane. It now seems apparent that James Woods won't be returning to Quahog any time soon.
