Billy Bob Thornton Biography

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 Blades 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.

Early life

Thornton was born in Hot Springs, Arkansas, the son of Virginia Roberta (née Faulkner), a psychic, and William Raymond "Billy Ray" Thornton (November 1929"August 1974), a high school history teacher and basketball coach who died when Thornton was 18. Billy Bob was one of three brothers with Jimmy Don (April 1958"October 1988) who died of a heart attack at 30, and John David (born 1969), who resides in California. Jimmy Don Thornton wrote a number of songs, two of which—"Island Avenue" and "Emily"—Thornton has recorded on his solo albums. During his childhood, Thornton lived in both Alpine, Arkansas, and Malvern, Arkansas. He was raised a Methodist, in an extended family in a shack that had neither electricity nor plumbing. Thornton graduated from high school in 1973. A good high school baseball player, he tried out for the Kansas City Royals, but was let go after an injury. After a short period laying asphalt for the Arkansas State Transportation Department, he attended Henderson State University to pursue studies in psychology, but he dropped out after two semesters.

In the mid-1980s, Thornton settled in Los Angeles, to pursue his career as an actor, with future writing partner Tom Epperson. Thornton initially had a difficult time succeeding as an actor, and worked in telemarketing, offshore wind farming, and fast food management between auditioning for acting jobs. He also played drums and sang with South African rock band Jack Hammer. While Thornton worked as a waiter for an industry event, he served film director and screenwriter Billy Wilder, who is famous for films such as Double Indemnity and Sunset Boulevard. Thornton struck up a conversation with Wilder, who advised Thornton to consider a career as a screenwriter.

Career

Film

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 sitcom Hearts 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. 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. 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. 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.

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, starring Matt 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". 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," 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." In 2004 he played David Crockett in The 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. 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 gym teacher. 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, 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

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) and Beautiful Door (2007). Thornton's manager, David Spero, helped his Edge of the World album get off the ground with a summer tour. 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. 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

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 host Jian Ghomeshi. Thornton eventually explained he had "instructed" the show's producers to not ask questions about his movie career. Ghomeshi had mentioned Thornton's acting in the introduction. Thornton had also complained Canadian audiences were like "mashed potatoes without the gravy." 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. The Boxmasters did not continue the tour in Canada as, according to Thornton, some of the crew and band had the flu.

Personal life

Relationships and children

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. 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.

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). 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. 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. 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, specifying that he believes marriage "doesn't work" for him.

Health issues

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.

Thornton has obsessive-compulsive disorder. 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. Additionally, he has stated that he has a fear of certain types of silverware, a trait assumed by his character Hank Grotowski in 2001's Monster's Ball, in which Grotowski insists on a plastic spoon for his daily bowl of chocolate ice cream. 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."

Other

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.

Thornton is the cousin of professional wrestling legends Terry Funk and Dory Funk, Jr.

Filmography

List of film appearances

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
'	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
'	1996	Jack
'	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)
'	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
'	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
'	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
'	2004	Davy Crockett
Chrystal	2004	Joe
'	2005	Vic Cavanaugh
Bad News Bears	2005	Morris Buttermaker
School for Scoundrels	2006	Dr. P/Dennis Sherman
'	2007	Charles Farmer
Mr. Woodcock	2007	Jasper Woodcock
Eagle Eye	2008	Thomas Morgan
'	2009	William
My Run	2009	Narrator
'	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	2013		Post-production also known as Red Machine
The Judge	2014		Filming
Cut Bank	2014		Filming

Other screen credits

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
'	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

Solo

• Private Radio (2001)
• The Edge of the World (2003)
• Hobo (2005)
• Beautiful Door (2007)

The Boxmasters

• The Boxmasters (Vanguard, 2008)
• Christmas Cheer (Vanguard, 2008)
• Modbilly (Vanguard, 2009)
• Keys to the Kingdom (TBA)
• Bellflower (TBA)