Billy Bob Thornton (born August 4, 1955) is an American actor, director, musician, playwright and screenwriter. Thornton gained early recognition as a cast member on the CBS sitcom Hearts Afire and in various early 1990s films including On Deadly Ground and Tombstone.
From the mid-1990s, after writing, directing, and starring inside independent film Sling Blade, he won an Academy Award for Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay). He appeared in a number of major film roles following Sling Blade ‘s success, which includes 1998′s Armageddon and A Easy Plan. Throughout the late 1990s, Thornton, who has had a life-long love for music, began a career as a singer-songwriter. He has released three albums and was the singer of a blues rock band.

Early life

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. He may be the oldest of 3 brothers, the others are Jimmy Don Thornton (April 1958 – October 1988)and John David Thornton (born 1969). Thornton lived in both Alpine, Arkansas and Malvern, Arkansas throughout his childhood. He was raised a Methodist, in an extended family in a shack that had neither electricity nor plumbing. Thornton graduated high college in 1973. A good large college baseball player, he tried out for the Kansas City Royals, but was let go immediately after an injury.Soon after a short period laying asphalt for the Arkansas State Transportation Department, he attended Henderson State University, in Arkadelphia, Arkansas, to pursue studies in psychology, and graduated as an Arkansas Scholar immediately after two semesters.

Inside the late 1980s, Thornton settled in Los Angeles, to pursue his career as an actor, with future writing partner Tom Epperson.Thornton initially had a tough time succeeding as an actor, and worked in telemarketing, offshore wind farming,and quick 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 business event, he served film director and screenwriter Billy Wilder, who’s famous for films for instance Double Indemnity and Sunset Boulevard. Thornton struck up a conversation with Wilder, who advised Thornton to take into account a career as a screenwriter, for which he eventually won an Oscar within the category of ideal screenplay.

Career

1 of Thornton’s early screen roles was being a cast member on the CBS sitcom Hearts Afire with John Ritter and Markie Post. His role as the villain in 1992′s A single False Move, which he also co-wrote, brought him towards the attention of critics. He also had little roles in the early 1990s films Indecent Proposal, On Deadly Ground, Bound by Honor, Grey Knight, and Tombstone. Thornton put Wilder’s advice to excellent use, and went on to write, direct and star within the independent movie Sling Blade, which was released in 1996.The film, an expansion of a short movie 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 Finest Adapted Screenplay, a Writers Guild of America Award, and an Edgar Award, even though 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 using the very same name, starring Matt Damon and Penélope Cruz. The negative experience (he was forced to cut far more than an hour) led to his decision to never direct an additional movie (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.

Throughout the late 1990s, Thornton, who has had a life-long adore for music, began a career like a singer-songwriter. He released a roots rock album titled Private Radio in 2001, and two a lot more albums, The Edge in the World (2003) and Hobo (2005). Thornton’s manager, David Spero, helped his Edge of the Planet 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 towards the band as “The best little cover band in Texas”, and Thornton bears a tattoo using the band’s name on it.He performed the Warren Zevon song The Wind for the tribute album Enjoy Each and every Sandwich: Songs of Warren Zevon. Thornton recorded a cover from the Johnny Cash classic “Ring of Fire” for the Oxford American magazine’s Southern Music CD in 2001.

Thornton’s screen persona has been described by the press as that of the “tattooed, hirsute man’s man”. He appeared in various major movie roles following Sling Blade ‘s success, including 1998′s Armageddon with Ben Affleck and Bruce Willis, and A Uncomplicated Plan. In 2001, he directed Daddy and Them, while also securing starring roles in three hollywood pictures, Monster’s Ball, Bandits and also the Man Who Wasn’t There, for which he received many awards. He played a malicious mall Santa Claus in 2003′s Poor Santa, a black comedy that performed well at the box office and established Thornton being a leading comic actor, and within the exact same year, portrayed a womanizing President on the United States inside British romantic comedy Adore Really. Thornton has stated that, following Poor Santa’s achievement, audiences “like to watch [him] play that kind of guy,”and “they [casting directors] call [him] up when they require an asshole. It’s kinda that straightforward. you know how narrow the imagination in this company may be.”In 2004 he played Davy Crockett within the Alamo.

He appeared inside comic movie School for Scoundrels, which was introduced on September 29, 2006. Inside movie, he plays a self-help doctor; the role was written specifically for Thornton.[8] Additional recent films consist of The Astronaut Farmer, a drama introduced on February 23, 2007, along with the comedy, Mr. Woodcock, in which Thornton plays a sadistic gym teacher. In September 2008, Thornton starred inside the huge brother action movie Eagle Eye along side Shia LaBeouf and Michelle Monaghan. He will next star inside drama Peace Like a River. Thornton has also expressed an interest in directing yet another movie, possibly a period piece about cave explorer Floyd Collins,[based for the book Trapped! The Story of Floyd Collins by Robert K. Murray and Roger Brucker. Thornton received a star around the Hollywood Walk of Fame on October 7, 2004.

On April 8, 2009, Thornton and his musical group The Boxmasters appeared on CBC Radio One particular program Q, interviewed by Jian Ghomeshi by which Thornton's responses were either incomprehensible or discourteous. Eventually, Thornton explained he had "instructed" the show's producers to not ask questions about his movie career.Ghomeshi had mentioned Thornton’s acting from the introduction. Thornton also complained that Canadian audiences had been like “mashed potatoes without the gravy".The widely criticized interview received international media attention and on YouTube.The following night, opening for Willie Nelson at Toronto's Massey Hall, Thornton stated mid-set he liked Canadians but not the CBC radio host, resulting in boos and catcalls. On April 10 Thornton announced The Boxmasters would not continue with Nelson in Canada due to some on the crew and band having the flu.

Personal life

Billy Bob Thornton at the South By Southwest 2008 music festival.
Thornton has frequently disclosed that he has obsessive–compulsive disorder. He and rock singer Warren Zevon became close friends after sharing their typical experiences while using disorder. A variety of idiosyncratic behaviors have been well-documented in interviews with all the actor; among these is really a phobia of antique furniture — a disorder shared by Dwight Yoakam's character Doyle Hargraves within the Thornton-penned Sling Blade, and by Thornton's own character within the 2001 film Bandits. Additionally, he has stated that he has a fear of specific types of silverware, a trait assumed by his character, Hank Grotowski, in񎧑'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 massive, old, heavy-ass forks and knives, I can't do that. It's the same thing as the antique furniture. I just do not 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 is mostly French — you know, like the massive, old, gold-carved chairs while using the velvet cushions. The Louis XIV kind. That's what creeps me out. I can spot the imitation antiques a mile off. They have a diverse vibe. Not as much dust."In addition to his aversion to silver cutlery, velvet, and "creepy, castle-y stuff," Thornton confesses that "pieces from 1700 and񎤈 France and England definitely freak me out, especially harpsichords."

Thornton has been married five times, most notably to actress Angelina Jolie. Each and every of Thornton's marriages ended in divorce. Thornton and Jolie were known for their eccentric behavior, which reportedly included wearing vials of each others' blood around their necks; Thornton later clarified that the "vials" had been, instead, two small lockets, each and every containing only a single drop of blood.Thornton and Jolie adopted a kid from Cambodia whom they named Maddox. Jolie's divorce petition defined the child as both her and Thornton's, and requested the Court grant her custody and Thornton reasonable visitation.

Thornton lives in Los Angeles, and he may be the father of four kids. His very first marriage, to Melissa Gatlin, produced Amanda Spence Brumfield on June 30, 1979; his fourth wife, Pietra Cherniak, bore William Langston on June 27, 1993 and Harry James on June 19, 1ᚢ and Thornton and his current girlfriend Connie Angland bore Bella on September 22, 2004. Thornton has stated that he will likely not marry again, specifying that he believes marriage "doesn't work" for him. He has two younger brothers, Jimmy Don, who died abruptly of a heart attack in 1988, and John David, who resides in Arkansas. Jimmy Don Thornton wrote a number of songs, two of which--"Island Avenue" and "Emily"--Thornton has recorded on his solo albums. A baseball fan, his favorite team could be the St. Louis Cardinals. He has said his childhood dream was to play for the Cardinals. Thornton narrated "The 2006 World Series Film," the year-end retrospective DVD chronicling the Cardinals' championship season.

Filmography

[edit]Other screen credits

Tags: American movie star, Billy Bob Thornton