Woody Harrelson to play LSD guru Timothy Leary, a Springfield native and Holy Cross alum

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Woody Harrelson will star as Timothy Leary in an adaptation of Bill Minutaglio and Steven L. Davis’ book, "The Most Dangerous Man in America." (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)Getty Images

Woody Harrelson, who gained fame playing a Boston bartender on Cheers, will portray Springfield native and LSD guru Timothy Leary in a new series.

Harrelson will star in an adaptation of Bill Minutaglio and Steven L. Davis’s book, The Most Dangerous Man in America, which looks at the Holy Cross alum’s years as a fugitive, according to Deadline.

The miniseries follows Leary’s prison escape in 1970 and subsequent 28-month run. He had received a 10-year sentence for possession of two marijuana roaches.

Aided by the Weather Underground, his prison break found him the focus of a global manhunt, which involved members of the Black Panthers and stays in Algeria, Switzerland and Afghanistan.

President Richard Nixon once described Leary as “the most dangerous man in America.”

The project is scripted by Luke Davies, who penned Hulu’s recent Catch-22 adaptation.

Leary’s early years in Massachusetts gave no hint of the drama that would follow.

A popular student at the former Classical High School in Springfield, Leary attended College of the Holy Cross in Worcester before accepting as appointment as a cadet in the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York.

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