Billy Bob Thornton

Billy Bob Thornton (born August 4, 1955) is an American film actor, writer and director.

Thornton was born on August 4, 1955, in Hot Springs, Arkansas, the son of Virginia Roberta (née Faulkner; died July 29, 2017), a self-proclaimed psychic, and William Raymond "Billy Ray" Thornton (November 1929 – August 1974), a high school history teacher and basketball coach.

His brother Jimmy Don (April 1958 – October 1988) wrote a number of songs; Thornton recorded two of them ("Island Avenue" and "Emily") on his solo albums.

He is of English and part Irish descent.

He has another brother, John David.

Thornton lived in numerous places in Arkansas during his childhood, including Alpine, Malvern, and Mount Holly.

He was raised Methodist in an extended family in a shack that had no electricity or plumbing.

He graduated from Malvern High School in 1973.

A good high school baseball player, he tried out for the Kansas City Royals, but was released 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 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.

He 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 the drums and sang with South African rock band Jack Hammer.

While working as a waiter for an industry event, he served film director and screenwriter Billy Wilder.

He struck up a conversation with Wilder, who advised Thornton to consider a career as a screenwriter.

In September 1987, Thornton appeared on stage in a one-act play, "Beethoven Symphonies," as part of the West Coast Theatre Ensemble in Los Angeles.

His first on-screen role was playing a character named Billy Bob in the thriller Hunter's Blood.

He was a stand-in on that film for the whole production, and then appeared in two scenes.

He subsequently appeared in minor roles in the film South of Reno and the 1987 Matlock episode "The Photographer".

Another one of his early screen roles was as a cast member on the CBS sitcom Hearts Afire and in 1989 he appeared as an angry heckler in Adam Sandler's debut film Going Overboard.

He also had small roles in the 1990s films Indecent Proposal, On Deadly Ground, Bound by Honor, and Tombstone.

He is also known for his film roles in One False Move (1992), Dead Man (1995), U Turn (1997), Primary Colors (1998), Armageddon (1998), Monster's Ball (2001), The Man Who Wasn't There (2001), Intolerable Cruelty (2003), Bad Santa (2003), and Friday Night Lights (2004).

Thornton is also known for his roles on television acting in the CBS sitcom Hearts Afire from 1992 to 1995.

His role as the villain in 1992's One False Move, which he also co-wrote, brought him to the attention of critics.

He received international attention after writing, directing, and starring in the independent drama film Sling Blade (1996), for which he won an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor.

He has written a variety of films including A Family Thing (1996) and The Gift (2000) and has directed films such as Daddy and Them (2001), All the Pretty Horses (2000), and Jayne Mansfield's Car (2012).

He went on to write, direct, and star in the 1996 independent film Sling Blade.

The film, an expansion of the short film Some Folks Call It a Sling Blade, introduced the story of a mentally disabled 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.

For his role in A Simple Plan (1998) he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

In 1998, Thornton portrayed the James Carville-like Richard Jemmons in Primary Colors.

He has been married six times, including to Angelina Jolie from 2000 to 2003 which received significant media attention.

He adapted the book All the Pretty Horses into a 2000 film of the same name.

The negative experience (he was forced to cut more than an hour of footage) led to his decision to never direct another film; a subsequent release, Daddy and Them, had been filmed earlier.

In 2014, he starred as Lorne Malvo in the first season of the FX anthology series Fargo, earning a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Movie and won Best Actor in a Miniseries or Television Film.

From 2016–2021 he played Billy McBride in the Amazon legal drama series, Goliath, which earned him a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama.

In addition to film work, Thornton began a career as a singer-songwriter.

He has released four solo albums and is the vocalist of the rock band the Boxmasters.

Thornton has been vocal about his distaste for celebrity culture, choosing to keep out of the public eye.