Best Known As: The writer, director and star of Sling Blade
Billy Bob Thornton was a character actor and sometime screenwriter who took Hollywood by storm in 1996 with Sling Blade, a movie he wrote, directed and starred in. Thornton had appeared in several television shows and low budget movies in the 1980s, and in 1991 earned critical praise for the script of the movie One False Move (co-written with his partner, Tom Epperson). After the success of Sling Blade Thornton moved into bigger budget movies such as Primary Colors (1998, with John Travolta) and Armageddon (1998, with Bruce Willis), and stayed busy on both sides of the camera. He was nominated for an Oscar for his role in A Simple Plan (1998, directed by Sam Raimi), he co-wrote the screenplay for The Gift (2000, with Cate Blanchett) and he directed Matt Damon and Penelope Cruz in the 2000 feature All The Pretty Horses. In 2001 he teamed again with Willis and Blanchett in the comedy Bandits.
Thornton was married to Angelina Jolie from 2000 to 2003.
Happy 50th birthday to actor Billy Bob Thornton! Now on the big screen in the remake of Bad News Bears, Thornton won an Oscar for his screenplay of the film Sling Blade, which he also directed and starred in. He won Oscar nominations for acting both for Sling Blade and for A Simple Plan. Thornton has written screenplays for several other movies, and has cut two CDs, singing songs most of which he wrote himself.
One of Hollywood's few celebrators of the "Southern bad boy" image, country musician turned actor-screenwriter-director Billy Bob Thornton consistently engenders a reputation -- via chosen onscreen parts and fervent tabloid reports of his allegedly wild off-camera life -- as an iconoclastic American hellraiser with lightning in his veins. But appearances can deceive, for Thornton also reveals depth and complexity as one Hollywood's most articulate interviewees, graced with intelligent, sensitive observations, cultural allusions, and poignant reflections on his experiences as a thespian and film artist. Moreover, this acute insight evidences itself equally in Thornton's craftsmanship as a screenwriter and director. Though his behind-the-camera projects have become increasingly rare over time, his few directorial outings evince surprising control, refinement, insight, and taste.
Born in Hot Springs, AR, on August 4, 1955, Thornton grew up dirt poor in the nearby backwoods community of Alpine. Despite his father's gainful employment as a history teacher, Thornton was forced to live with his parents and grandparents in a house without electricity or indoor plumbing. After high-school graduation, Thornton landed a steady job and got married; neither the job nor the marriage lasted, as Thornton divorced two years later and returned to college to study psychology; however, that didn't last, either -- he decided that his heart lay in rock & roll, and tried and failed to make it in New York. So Thornton returned to his job for awhile until he and Epperson renewed their dedication to a music career. Eventually, he would travel to California to write screenplays. It was a difficult time for Thornton who, in addition to living in poverty, also suffered a near-fatal heart attack.
Thornton eventually turned to acting, making his screen debut in the straight-to-video Hunter's Blood in 1987. Subsequent roles in many forgettable movies followed (including Troma's Chopper Chicks in Zombietown), as did an appearance on the Burt Reynolds sitcom Evening Shade; the actor simultaneously weathered several marriages through the '80s and '90s, to Toni Lawrence, Cynda Williams, and Pietra Dawn Cherniak. Then, in 1990, Thornton caught the attention of critics when he wrote and appeared in Carl Franklin's critically acclaimed directorial debut, One False Move (1991). A dark crime drama set in a small Arkansas town, the film provided a suitable antecedent to Some Folks Call It a Sling Blade, a 1993 short that Thornton scripted. The George Hickenlooper-directed piece stars Thornton as Karl Childers, a mentally retarded, soft-spoken man, institutionalized for murder, who delivers a reflective monologue to a reporter (Molly Ringwald) just prior to his release from the psychiatric institution where he resides. (Thornton allegedly invented the Childers character years prior, while shaving and talking to himself in the mirror.) The effort won a number of positive notices and Thornton subsequently appeared in Jim Jarmusch's Dead Man in 1995 and (with Epperson), co-authored the screenplay for A Family Thing (1996), a gentle Southern drama starring Robert Duvall as a Caucasian man who discovers that he is half black.
After years of relative obscurity as an actor and screenwriter, Thornton made a great cultural impact with the low-budget, independent drama Sling Blade. A feature-length expansion of the Hickenlooper short, and a sequel of sorts to that work, the picture finds Karl Childers returning to the outside world for the first occasion in decades, and attempting to begin a new, quiet life in a small Southern town. In the story, Karl befriends a local woman, her little boy, and a gay storekeeper (John Ritter), and finds lodging and steady income, but runs headfirst into Doyle Hargraves (Dwight Yoakam), a psychotically abusive lout who turns life for the mother and son into a waking nightmare. Bit by bit, Karl's old demons awaken and he feels himself being drawn back into the sphere of retributive violence. When Sling Blade premiered during the late 1996 holiday season, it swept away the hearts of audiences and critics worldwide and heralded the arrival of a major new talent. Journalists waxed rhapsodic in their praise. For Thornton's work on the film, he won a Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar, as well as a Best Actor Oscar nomination.
The 1996 triumph of Sling Blade brought Thornton a whirlwind of opportunities. He followed his success with a key supporting role in Robert Duvall's The Apostle (1998) as a hardened racist, a turn in Primary Colors (1998) as a James Carville-like campaign manager with a penchant for exhibitionism, and a role in Armageddon as NASA's executive director. Also in 1998, he received another Best Actor nomination for his work in Sam Raimi's A Simple Plan, the story of two brothers (Thornton and Bill Paxton) who descend into the depths of distrust and paranoia after stumbling upon four million dollars in the woods; it allowed Thornton to plumb the darker areas of the backwoods psyche as only he could do so well. The following year, Thornton starred in Mike Newell's Pushing Tin (1999), a comedy about two dueling air traffic controllers (Thornton and John Cusack). He also returned to his duties behind the camera, directing, writing, and starring in Daddy and Them, a comedy drama about the ups and downs of an eccentric Alabama family. In addition to Daddy and Them, Thornton signed on to act in a number of projects during 2000, including Wakin' Up in Reno, a romantic comedy about two white-trash couples; and South of Heaven, West of Hell, an ensemble Western that marked the directorial debut of country singer Dwight Yoakam. Thornton then delivered a pair of impressive dramatic performances in the first year of the new millennium. Agreeing to appear in Joel and Ethan Coen's neo noir The Man Who Wasn't There without so much as looking at the script (Thornton immediately accepted the role based on his creative respect for the Coens), the gangly actor earned a Golden Globe nomination for his turn as a barber who gets in over his head while attempting to execute a seemingly simple blackmail scheme. Subsequently cast alongside Bruce Willis in Barry Levinson's summer 2001 crime comedy Bandits, that film fared only marginally better than Thornton's sophomore directorial effort Daddy and Them.
Thornton's performance in the redemption-themed drama Monster's Ball more than redeemed him in the eyes of the public and press. In that picture, Thornton offers a sensitive portrayal of a conflicted soul who attempts to come to terms with his love for an African-American woman in the face of his racist father's hateful teachings. After once again chasing redemption in the Sundance premiere Levity, Thornton joined the Coen brothers for the disappointing romantic comedy Intolerable Cruelty. In December of that same year, Thornton appeared in a role that only the gutsiest actors would take: the title character in Terry Zwigoff's (jet) black comedy, Bad Santa. Though gleefully, deliberately offensive, the picture never sacrifices its sharp sense of humor or its acid insight, and (perhaps as a result) became a massive runaway hit -- the definitive sleeper of 2003. At about the same time, Thornton cameoed as a slimy, philandering U.S. president who attempts to thwart the amorous conquest of Hugh Grant's prime minister, in the British romantic comedy Love Actually (2003).
In 2004, Thornton essayed the role of Davy Crockett in the historical action-epic The Alamo (2004). He was instrumental in bringing Bad Santa scribes John Requa and Glenn Ficarra on board for exhaustive rewrites of Richard Linklater's Bad News Bears remake (2005). Thornton then starred in director Todd Phillips' remake of Robert Hamer's 1960 comedy School for Scoundrels, which debuted in September 2006. Despite some scattered exceptions, the film received mostly negative reviews. Not long after, Thornton essayed the title role in the spectacular drama The Astronaut Farmer, issued in February 2007. This film cast the actor as Charlie Farmer, a retired NASA astronaut-cum-farmer who raises the ire of government authorities by building a spacecraft in his barn. Subsequent roles included a sadistic gym teacher in Mr. Woodcock (2007), an issue-ridden Hollywood studio head in The Informers (2008), and a manure salesman in The Smell of Success (2009). Not long after, Thornton announced his return to directing with the eagerly-anticipated drama Jayne Mansfield's Car. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, Rovi
Oscar-winning actor/director/writer/musician Billy Bob Thornton was raised in Arkansas by his high school basketball coach father and psychic mother. He began playing drums at the age of 12, eventually joining a Creedence Clearwater Revival cover band in high school. After college he spent time in local bands like Blue & the Blue Velvets, Nothin' Doin', Cottonwood, and Hot 'Lanta, playing colleges and high schools throughout Arkansas and Texas. Nothin' Doin' became Tres Hombres, a ZZ Top cover band in the early '80s. After hitting it big in Hollywood, Thornton decided to return to his first love, music, and record an album. The dark and personal Private Radio arrived in 2001 on the Universal imprint Uptown. Produced and co-written with country legend Marty Stuart, it featured session work from some of Nashville's finest. Sanctuary released Edge of the World in 2003, followed by Hobo, released on the Big Deal label in 2005, and Beautiful Door in 2007. Thornton has also appeared on albums by Earl Scruggs (Earl Scruggs and Friends), the Bastard Sons of Johnny Cash (Distance Between), and Warren Zevon (The Wind). ~ James Christopher Monger, Rovi
Melissa Lee Gatlin (1978–1980; 1 child)
Toni Lawrence (1986–1988) Cynda Williams (1990–1992)
Pietra Dawn Cherniak (1993–1997; 2 children) Angelina Jolie (2000–2003)
Partner
Connie Angland (2003–present; 1 child)
Billy Bob Thornton[1][2][3] (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 filmSling 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,[1] 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.[1] He has two younger brothers, Jimmy Don (April 1958–October 1988), who died abruptly 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.[4] During his childhood, Thornton lived in both Alpine, Arkansas, and Malvern, Arkansas. He was raised a Methodist,[5] in an extended family in a shack that had neither electricity nor plumbing. Thornton graduated from high school in 1973.[6] A good high school baseball player, he tried out for the Kansas City Royals, but was let go after an injury.[7] 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.[1] Thornton initially had a difficult time succeeding as an actor, and worked in telemarketing, offshorewind farming,[7] 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.[1]
Career
Film
Billy Bob's first screen role was in 1980's 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.[1] 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 filmSling Blade, which was released in 1996.[1] 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.[1] 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.[1]
Thornton's screen persona has been described by the press as that of a "tattooed, hirsute man's man".[8] 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,"[8] 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."[9] In 2004 he played Davy 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.[8] More recent films include The Astronaut Farmer, a drama released on February 23, 2007, and the comedy, Mr. Woodcock, in which Thornton plays a sadisticgym 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,[10] 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
Thornton at the South By Southwest music festival in 2008
During the late 1990s, Thornton, who has had a life-long love for music, began a career 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.[11] 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.[12] 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.[13][14] Thornton eventually explained he had "instructed" the show's producers to not ask questions about his movie career.[15][16] Ghomeshi had mentioned Thornton’s acting in the introduction. Thornton had also complained Canadian audiences were like “mashed potatoes without the gravy."[17][18] 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.[19]The Boxmasters did not continue the tour in Canada as, according to Thornton, some of the crew and band had the flu.[20]
Personal life
Thornton at a San Francisco concert in 2007
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.[21] 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; the marriage ended in 1997, with Cherniak accusing Thornton of spousal abuse.[22]
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.[8][23] 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.[24][25] 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 had a daughter. The family resides in Los Angeles, California. Thornton has stated that he likely will not marry again,[26] specifying that he believes marriage "doesn't work" for him.[citation needed]
Health issues
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 hospital and diagnosed with myocarditis, a heart condition brought on by malnutrition.[27]
Thornton has obsessive-compulsive disorder.[28] 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.[29] 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.[29][30] 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."[31]
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 American football team the Indianapolis Colts.[32]
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