William Robert Thornton was born on August 4, 1955, in Hot Springs, Arkansas, in a cabin with neither electricity or running water, and where as many as 15 family members lived at a time. From the age of 8 he wanted to be a musician, a dream he pursued all through school and beyond, playing in a variety of bands, including a Credence Clearwater Revival cover band in the ‘70s and a ZZ Top cover band in the ‘80s.
Billy Bob Thornton gets advice from a legend
In the ‘80s he and childhood friend Tom Epperson headed for Hollywood and struggled to make it as actors. Thornton was working as a waiter when he met legendary filmmaker Billy Wilder (Double Indemnity, Some Like It Hot), who gave him one piece of advice: forget acting and become a screenwriter.
Taking Wilder’s advice, Thornton and childhood friend Epperson wrote One False Move in 1992, a low-budget crime drama that became a film-festival hit and critical favorite. Roger Ebert called the screenplay “extraordinary”, and ranked the film in the same group as violent classics In Cold Blood and The Executioner’s Song, while Gene Siskel called it his favorite film from that year.
Billy Bob Thornton makes sling blade
In 1994, Thornton starred in the short film Some Folks Call it a Sling Blade, which told the story of a mentally handicapped man released from prison after serving a sentence for murdering two people. Thornton adapted the screenplay into the feature film Sling Blade in 1996, and the film was a massive success, making Thornton a household name. All told, the film earned 20 award nominations, including nods from the Oscars, the Writers Guild and the Screen Actors Guild. Thornton’s script won an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay, and he was nominated for Best Actor.
Critics also lauded Thornton’s heartbreaking performance in Sam Raimi’s A Simple Plan in 1998, calling it “striking”, “outstanding” and “flawless”. It rightfully earned him his third Oscar nomination, this time for Best Actor in a Supporting Role.
Billy Bob Thornton in monster’s ball
After Sling Blade and A Simple Plan, Thornton worked on or appeared in about two dozen films. Notably, in 2000, he and Epperson wrote The Gift, which was directed by Sam Raimi and was — to some degree –memorable for Katie Holmes’ topless scene.
In 2001, he co-starred with Halle Berry in Monster’s Ball, a complex drama about love, racism, family, and personal loss. Berry won an Oscar for her role, and both she and Thornton won Best Actor and Actress awards from the National Board of Review. That same year, Thornton starred as an unassuming barber tried for murder in the Coen brothers’ acclaimed neo-noir The Man Who Wasn’t There. Two years later, he played a nasty, unforgettable alcoholic thief with part-time work as a mall Santa Claus in the Coen brothers-produced Bad Santa. The hilariously sick role earned him a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor in a Comedy.
In 2007, Thornton starred in the comedy Mr. Woodcock along with Sean William Scott and Susan Sarandon. In the film, Thornton played the kind of jackass audiences love to see from him; specifically, Thorton assumed the role of a sadistic gym teacher intent on marrying the widowed mother of a former student he once terrorized.
Billy Bob Thornton continues to rock out
Thornton’s been a musician much longer than he’s been an actor, and has played in various bands since his early teens. His success in Hollywood has allowed him to pursue his primary passion to the fullest, and in 2001 he released his first CD, Private Radio, and has put out another CD every two years since, including 2007’s Beautiful Door. Stylistically, Thornton’s music is based in rock, folk and blues — a bit in the vein of Tom Petty and Warren Zevon — featuring honest, slightly oddball but highly personal lyrics, basic chord progressions and smart, catchy choruses.
Billy Bob Thornton made recent headlines after he appeared on a Canadian radio station to promote his band. Studio Q host Jian Ghomeshi referred to Billy Bob Thornton as an “Oscar-winning screenwriter-actor-director,” which upset Thornton who was only there to discuss his musical career. The interview went sour, with an unimpressed Billy Bob Thornton giving short and sometimes unclear answers to the host’s question. We know, Billy Bob — life can be so unfair.
To buy a cigarette is the perfect type of a perfect pleasure. It is exquisite, and it leaves one unsatisfied. What more can one want?
