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Billy Bob Thornton is an American actor, screenwriter, director and musician. Thornton gained early recognition as a cast member on the CBS sitcom Hearts Afire and in several early 1990s films, including On Deadly Ground and Tombstone. In the mid-1990s, after writing, directing, and starring in the independent film Sling Blade, he won an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. He appeared in several major film roles following Sling Blade's success, including 1998's Armageddon, A Simple Plan, and Bad Santa. During the late 1990s, Thornton began a career as a singer-songwriter. He has released four albums and was the singer in a blues rock band
Billy Bob Thornton (born August 4, 1955) is an American actor, screenwriter, director and musician. Thornton gained early recognition as a cast member on the CBS sitcom Hearts Afire and in several early 1990s films including On Deadly Ground and Tombstone. In the mid-1990s, after writing, directing, and starring in the independent film Sling Blade, he won an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. He appeared in several major film roles following Sling Blade 's success, including 1998's Armageddon and A Simple Plan. During the late 1990s, Thornton began a career as a singer-songwriter. He has released three albums and was the singer of a blues rock band. Thornton was born in Hot Springs, Arkansas, the son of Virginia Roberta (née...
Billy Bob's first screen role was in 1980s South of Reno, where he played a small role as a counter man in a restaurant. Billy Bob also made an appearance in a 1987 episode of Andy Griffith's popular show Matlock titled "The Photographer" as a pawn store clerk. Another one of Thornton's early screen roles was as a cast member on the CBS sitcomHearts Afire with John Ritter and Markie Post. His role as the villain in 1992's One False Move, which he also co-wrote, brought him to the attention of critics.[2] He also had small roles in the early 1990s films Indecent Proposal, On Deadly Ground, Bound by Honor, Grey Knight, and Tombstone. Thornton put Wilder's advice to good use, and went on to write, direct and star in the independent film Sling Blade, which was released in 1996.[2] The film, an expansion of a short film titled Some Folks Call It a Sling Blade, introduced the story of Karl Childers, a mentally handicapped man imprisoned for a gruesome and seemingly inexplicable murder. Sling Blade garnered international acclaim.[2] Thornton's screenplay earned him an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, a Writers Guild of America Award, and an Edgar Award, while his performance received Oscar and Screen Actors Guild nominations for Best Actor.[2]
In 1998, he portrayed the James-Carville-like Richard Jemmons in Primary Colors. Thornton adapted the book All the Pretty Horses into a 2000 film with the same name, starringMatt Damon and Penélope Cruz. The negative experience (he was forced to cut more than an hour) led to his decision to never direct another film (a subsequent release, Daddy and Them, had been filmed earlier). Also in 2000, an early script which he and Tom Epperson wrote together was made into The Gift which starred Cate Blanchett, Hilary Swank,Keanu Reeves, Katie Holmes, Greg Kinnear, and Giovanni Ribisi. In 2000, he also appeared in Travis Tritt's music video for the song "Modern Day Bonnie and Clyde".
Thornton's screen persona has been described by the press as that of a "tattooed, hirsute man's man".[9] He appeared in several major film roles following Sling Blade 's success, including 1998's Armageddon with Ben Affleck and Bruce Willis, and A Simple Plan. In 2001, he directed Daddy and Them, while also securing starring roles in three Hollywood pictures, Monster's Ball, Bandits and The Man Who Wasn't There, for which he received many awards. He played a malicious mall Santa Claus in 2003's Bad Santa, a black comedy that performed well at the box office and established Thornton as a leading comic actor, and in the same year, portrayed a womanizing President of the United States in the British romantic comedy Love Actually. Thornton has stated that, following Bad Santa's success, audiences "like to watch [him] play that kind of guy,"[9] and "they [casting directors] call [him] up when they need an asshole. It's kinda that simple... you know how narrow the imagination in this business can be."[10] In 2004 he played David Crockett inThe Alamo.
He appeared in the comic film School for Scoundrels, which was released on September 29, 2006. In the film, he plays a self-help doctor; the role was written specifically for Thornton.[9] More recent films include The Astronaut Farmer, a drama released on February 23, 2007, and the comedy, Mr. Woodcock, in which Thornton plays a sadistic gymteacher. In September 2008, Thornton starred in the big brother action movie Eagle Eye alongside Shia LaBeouf and Michelle Monaghan. He will next star in the drama Peace Like a River. Thornton has also expressed an interest in directing another film, possibly a period piece about cave explorer Floyd Collins,[11] based on the book Trapped! The Story of Floyd Collins by Robert K. Murray and Roger Brucker. Thornton received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on October 7, 2004.
Music[edit]
During the late 1990s, Thornton, who has had a life-long love for music, began a hobby as a singer-songwriter. He released a roots rock album titled Private Radio in 2001, and three more albums, The Edge of the World (2003), Hobo (2005) andBeautiful Door (2007). Thornton's manager, David Spero, helped his Edge of the World album get off the ground with a summer tour.[12] Thornton was the singer of a blues rock band named Tres Hombres. Guitarist Billy Gibbons referred to the band as "The best little cover band in Texas", and Thornton bears a tattoo with the band's name on it.[13] He performed the Warren Zevon song The Wind on the tribute album Enjoy Every Sandwich: Songs of Warren Zevon. Thornton recorded a cover of the Johnny Cash classic "Ring of Fire" for the Oxford American magazine's Southern Music CD in 2001.
CBC incident[edit]
On April 8, 2009, Thornton and his musical group The Boxmasters appeared on CBC Radio One program Q which was widely criticized and received international attention after Thornton was persistently unintelligible and discourteous to hostJian Ghomeshi.[14][15] Thornton eventually explained he had "instructed" the show's producers to not ask questions about his movie career.[16][17] Ghomeshi had mentioned Thornton’s acting in the introduction. Thornton had also complained Canadian audiences were like “mashed potatoes without the gravy."[18][19] The following night, opening for Willie Nelson at Toronto's Massey Hall, Thornton said mid-set he liked Canadians but not Ghomeshi, which was greeted with boos and catcalls of "Here Comes The Gravy!".[20] The Boxmasters did not continue the tour in Canada as, according to Thornton, some of the crew and band had the flu.[21]
Personal life[edit]
Relationships and children[edit]
Thornton has been married five times, with each marriage ending in divorce, and he has four children by three women. From 1978 to 1980, he was married to Melissa Lee Gatlin, with whom he had a daughter, Amanda.[22] Thornton married actress Toni Lawrence in 1986; they separated the following year and divorced in 1988. From 1990 to 1992, he was married to actress Cynda Williams, whom he cast in his writing debut, One False Move (1992). In 1993, Thornton married Playboy model Pietra Dawn Cherniak, with whom he had two sons, Harry James and William; the marriage ended in 1997, with Cherniak accusing Thornton of spousal abuse.[23]
Thornton was engaged to be married to actress Laura Dern, whom he dated from 1997 to 1999, but in 2000, he married actress Angelina Jolie, with whom he starred in Pushing Tin (1999) and who is 20 years his junior. The marriage became known for the couple's eccentric displays of affection, which reportedly included wearing vials of each other's blood around their necks; Thornton later clarified that the "vials" were, instead, two small lockets, each containing only a single drop of blood.[9][24] Thornton and Jolie announced the adoption of a child from Cambodia in March 2002, but it was later revealed that Jolie had adopted the child as a single parent.[25][26] They separated in June 2002 and divorced the following year.
Since 2003, Thornton has been in a relationship with makeup effects crew member Connie Angland, with whom he has a daughter, Bella. The family resides in Los Angeles, California. Thornton has stated that he likely will not marry again,[27] specifying that he believes marriage "doesn't work" for him.[28]
Health issues[edit]
According to movie legend, during his early years in Los Angeles, Thornton couldn't afford to eat properly and lived on a diet of potatoes. When his health began to suffer, he was admitted to a hospital and diagnosed with myocarditis, a heart condition brought on by malnutrition.[29]
Thornton has obsessive–compulsive disorder.[30] Various idiosyncratic behaviors have been well documented in interviews with Thornton; among these is a phobia of antique furniture—a disorder shared by Dwight Yoakam's character Doyle Hargraves in the Thornton-penned Sling Blade, and by Thornton's own character in the 2001 film Bandits.[31] Additionally, he has stated that he has a fear of certain types of silverware, a trait assumed by his character Hank Grotowski in 2001'sMonster's Ball, in which Grotowski insists on a plastic spoon for his daily bowl of chocolate ice cream.[31][32] In a 2004 interview with The Independent, Thornton explained: "It's just that I won't use real silver. You know, like the big, old, heavy-ass forks and knives, I can't do that. It's the same thing as the antique furniture. I just don't like old stuff. I'm creeped out by it, and I have no explanation why...I don't have a phobia about American antiques, it's mostly French—you know, like the big, old, gold-carved chairs with the velvet cushions. The Louis XIV type. That's what creeps me out. I can spot the imitation antiques a mile off. They have a different vibe. Not as much dust."[33]
Other[edit]
A baseball fan, Thornton's favorite team is the St. Louis Cardinals. He has said that his childhood dream was to play for the Cardinals. He narrated The 2006 World Series Film, the year-end retrospective DVD chronicling the Cardinals' championship season. Thornton is also a professed fan of the Indianapolis Colts football team.[34]
Thornton is the cousin of professional wrestling legends Terry Funk and Dory Funk, Jr.[35]
Filmography[edit]
| Title | Year | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hunter's Blood | 1986 | Billy Bob | |
| South of Reno | 1988 | Counterman | |
| Going Overboard | 1989 | Dave | |
| Chopper Chicks in Zombietown | 1989 | Tommy | |
| The Dark Backward | 1991 | Patron at Sloppy's | Uncredited |
| For the Boys | 1991 | Marine Sergeant, Korea | |
| One False Move | 1992 | Ray Malcolm | Also Writer |
| Tombstone | 1993 | Johnny Tyler | |
| Blood in Blood Out | 1993 | Lightning | |
| Indecent Proposal | 1993 | Day Tripper | |
| The Killing Box | 1993 | Langston | |
| Trouble Bound | 1993 | Coldface | |
| On Deadly Ground | 1994 | Homer Carlton | |
| Floundering | 1994 | Gun Clerk | |
| Some Folks Call it a Sling Blade | 1994 | Karl Childers | Short Film Also Writer |
| Dead Man | 1995 | Big George Drakoulious | |
| The Stars Fell on Henrietta | 1995 | Roy | |
| Sling Blade | 1996 | Karl Childers | Also Writer/Director Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor Chlotrudis Award for Best Actor Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor Nominated—Academy Award for Best Actor Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture |
| Don't Look Back | 1996 | Marshall | Also Writer |
| The Winner | 1996 | Jack | |
| The Apostle | 1997 | Troublemaker | |
| U Turn | 1997 | Darrell | |
| Princess Mononoke | 1997 | Jigo | Voice Only (English Language Version) |
| An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn | 1997 | Himself | Nominated—Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Screen Couple (with any combination of two actors playing themselves) |
| A Simple Plan | 1998 | Jacob Mitchell | Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actor Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor Chlotrudis Award for Best Supporting Actor Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actor San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actor Nominated—Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor Nominated—Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role |
| Armageddon | 1998 | Dan Truman, NASA Administrator | |
| Homegrown | 1998 | Jack Marsden | |
| Primary Colors | 1998 | Richard Jemmons | |
| Pushing Tin | 1999 | Russell Bell | |
| The Last Real Cowboys | 2000 | Tar | |
| South of Heaven, West of Hell | 2001 | Brig. Smalls | |
| Daddy and Them | 2001 | Claude Montgomery | Also Writer/Director |
| Monster's Ball | 2001 | Hank Grotowski | Florida Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor National Board of Review Award for Best Actor Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama |
| Bandits | 2001 | Terry Lee Collins | Florida Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor National Board of Review Award for Best Actor Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy Nominated—Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actor |
| The Man Who Wasn't There | 2001 | Ed Crane | Chlotrudis Audience Award for Best Actor Florida Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor London Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor National Board of Review Award for Best Actor Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor Russian Guild of Film Critics Award for Best Foreign Actor Southeastern Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor Nominated—American Film Institute Award AFI Actor of the Year Nominated—Saturn Award for Best Actor Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama Nominated—Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor |
| Waking Up in Reno | 2002 | Lonnie Earl Dodd | |
| The Badge | 2002 | Sheriff Darl Hardwick | |
| Bad Santa | 2003 | Willie T. Stokes | Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture |
| Love Actually | 2003 | The US President | |
| Intolerable Cruelty | 2003 | Howard D. Doyle | |
| Levity | 2003 | Manuel Jordan | |
| Friday Night Lights | 2004 | Coach Gary Gaines | |
| The Alamo | 2004 | Davy Crockett | |
| Chrystal | 2004 | Joe | |
| The Ice Harvest | 2005 | Vic Cavanaugh | |
| Bad News Bears | 2005 | Morris Buttermaker | |
| School for Scoundrels | 2006 | Dr. P/Dennis Sherman | |
| The Astronaut Farmer | 2007 | Charles Farmer | |
| Mr. Woodcock | 2007 | Jasper Woodcock | |
| Eagle Eye | 2008 | Thomas Morgan | |
| The Informers | 2009 | William | |
| My Run | 2009 | Narrator | |
| The Smell of Success | 2009 | Patrick | |
| Deadly Creatures | 2009 | George Struggs | Computer Game Voice Only |
| Faster | 2010 | Cop | |
| Nashville Rises | 2011 | Narrator | |
| Puss in Boots | 2011 | Jack | Voice Only |
| Jayne Mansfield's Car | 2012 | Skip Caldwell | Also Writer/Director |
| The Baytown Outlaws | 2012 | Carlos | |
| Parkland | 2013 | Forrest Sorrels | |
| Endangered | 2014 | Post-production; also known as Red Machine | |
| The Judge | 2014 | Dwight Dickman | Filming |
| London Fields | 2014 | Samson Young | Filming |
| Cut Bank | 2014 | Filming |
| Title | Year | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| One False Move | 1992 | Writer | Nominated—Independent Spirit Award for Best Screenplay |
| Some Folks Call It a Sling Blade | 1994 | Writer | |
| A Family Thing | 1996 | Writer | Humanitas Prize |
| Sling Blade | 1996 | Director/Writer | Academy Award for Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay) Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Motion Picture Screenplay National Board of Review Award for Special Achievement in Filmmaking Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature Writers Guild of America Award for Best Adapted Screenplay Nominated—Chlotrudis Award for Best Director Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Original Screenplay |
| Don't Look Back | 1996 | Story and teleplay | |
| All the Pretty Horses | 2000 | Director/Producer | |
| The Gift | 2000 | Writer | Nominated—Saturn Award for Best Writing |
| Camouflage | 2001 | Story and screenplay | as Reginald Perry |
| Daddy and Them | 2001 | Director/Writer | |
| Jayne Mansfield's Car | 2012 | Director/Writer |
Discography[edit]
Solo[edit]
- Private Radio (2001)
- The Edge of the World (2003)
- Hobo (2005)
- Beautiful Door (2007)
The Boxmasters[edit]
- The Boxmasters (Vanguard, 2008)
- Christmas Cheer (Vanguard, 2008)
- Modbilly (Vanguard, 2009)
- Keys to the Kingdom (TBA)
- Bellflower (TBA)
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