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Billy Bob Thornton Biography
Billy Bob Thornton is an American actor, filmmaker, singer, songwriter, and musician. He had his first break when he co-wrote and starred in the 1992 thriller One False Move.
Billy received international attention after writing, directing, and starring in the independent drama film Sling Blade (1996). For the same film he won an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor.
In 1990 billy appeared in several major film roles following Sling Blade, including Oliver Stone’s neo-noir U Turn (1997), political drama Primary Colors (1998), science fiction disaster film Armageddon (1998), the highest-grossing film of that year, and the crime drama A Simple Plan (1998), which earned him his third Oscar nomination.
Billy achieved further success in starring dramas in the 2000s, they include; Monster’s Ball (2001), The Man Who Wasn’t There (2001), and Friday Night Lights (2004); comedies Bandits (2001), Intolerable Cruelty (2003), and Bad Santa (2003); and action films Eagle Eye (2008) and Faster (2010).
In the first season of the anthology series Fargo Billy starred as Lorne Malvo, earning a nomination for the Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or TV Movie at the Emmy Awards and won Best Actor in a Miniseries or TV Film at the 72nd Golden Globe Awards. He starred in an Amazon original series, Goliath in 2016, which earned him a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama.
He has been vocal about his distaste for celebrity culture, choosing to keep his life out of the public eye. However, the attention of the media has proven unavoidable in certain cases, his marriage to Angelina Jolie being a notable example.
Thornton has written a variety of films, usually set in the Southern United States and mainly co-written with Tom Epperson, including A Family Thing (1996) and The Gift (2000). After Sling Blade, he directed several other films, including Daddy and Them (2001), All the Pretty Horses (2000), and Jayne Mansfield’s Car (2012).
Thornton has received the President’s Award from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, a Special Achievement Award from the National Board of Review, and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He has also been nominated for an Emmy Award, four Golden Globes, and three Screen Actors Guild Awards.
In addition to film work, Billy started a career as a singer-songwriter. So far he has released four solo albums. Billy is also the vocalist of the blues rock band The Boxmasters.
Billy Bob Thornton Age | How Old Is Billy Bob Thornton
Billy was born on October 15, 1954 in Hot Springs, Arkansas. He is 68 years old as of Sept 2023.
Billy Bob Thornton Height | How Tall Is Billy Bob Thornton
Billy stands at a height of 1.78 m.
Billy Bob Thornton Family
Billy was born in Hot Springs, Arkansas. He is 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. He has two brothers. One of his brother, Jimmy Don (April 1958 – October 1988), wrote a number of songs, two of which (“Island Avenue” and “Emily”) Billy has recorded on his solo albums. He is of part Irish descent. His other brother is John David Thornton.
Billy Bob Thornton Young
During his childhood Billy lived in numerous places in Arkansas during , including Alpine, Malvern, and Mount Holly. He was brought up Methodist in an extended family in a shack that had no electricity or plumbing.
In 1973 he graduated from Malvern High School. Billy was 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 went to Henderson State University to pursue studies in psychology, but dropped out after two semesters.
He settled in Los Angeles, California in the mid-1980s, to pursue his career as an actor, with future writing partner Tom Epperson. Billy had a difficult time succeeding as an actor and worked in telemarketing, offshore wind farming, and fast food management between auditioning for acting jobs. Billy also played the drums and sang with South African rock band Jack Hammer. While working as a waiter for an industry event, he served Billy Wilder film director and screenwriter. He had a conversation with Wilder, who advised Thornton to consider a career as a screenwriter.
Billy Bob Thornton Wife
Thornton has been married six times, with the first five marriages ending in divorce. His fourth marriage which is current. He began a relationship with makeup effects crew member Connie Angland in 2003. The couple has a daughter named Bella. The family reside in Los Angeles, California. Although Billy once said that he likely would not marry again, saying that he believes marriage “doesn’t work” for him, his representatives confirmed that he and Angland were married on October 22, 2014, in Los Angeles.
He was married to Melissa Lee Gatlin from 1978 to 1980, with whom he had a daughter, Amanda. In 1986 he married actress Toni Lawrencethey separated the following year and divorced in 1988. He was married to actress Cynda Williams from 1990 to 1992, whom he cast in his writing debut, One False Move (1992). Billy married Playboy model Pietra Dawn Cherniak in 1993, with whom he had two sons, Harry James and William; the marriage ended in 1997, with Cherniak accusing Thornton of spousal abuse.
Billy was engaged to be married to actress Laura Dern. He had dated her from 1997 to 1999, but in 2000 he married actress Angelina Jolie, with whom he starred in Pushing Tin (1999) and who was 20 years his junior. 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 actually 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.
Billy began a relationship with makeup effects crew member Connie Angland in 2003, with whom he has a daughter named Bella. They reside in Los Angeles, California. Though he once said that he likely would not marry again, saying that he believes marriage “doesn’t work” for him, his representatives confirmed that he and Angland were married on October 22, 2014, in Los Angeles.
Billy Bob Thornton Children
Billy has four children by three womenWith Melissa Lee he had one child a daughter named Amanda. With model Pietra Dawn Cherniak he had two sons, Harry James and William. With Connie Angland he has a daughter named Bella.
Angelina Jolie Billy Bob Thornton
Billy married actress Angelina Jolie, with whom he starred in Pushing Tin (1999) and who is 20 years his junior. Their marriage became known for the couple’s eccentric displays of affection, which reportedly included wearing vials of each other’s blood around their necks; Billy later clarified that the “vials” were actually two small lockets, each containing only a single drop of blood.
The couple 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. In 2002 the couple separated and divorced the following year.
Billy Bob Thornton Movies
Movies From Year 2011 to 2018
- 2018 – London Fields as Samson Young
- 2018 – A Million Little Pieces as Leonard
- 2016 – Whiskey Tango Foxtrot as Gen Hollanek
- 2016 – Bad Santa 2 as Willie Soke
- 2015 – Into the Grizzly Maze as Douglas
- 2015 – Entourage as Larsen McCredle
- 2015 – Our Brand Is Crisis as Pat Candy
- 2014 – Cut Bank as Stan Steeley
- 2014 – The Judge as Dwight Dickham
- 2013 – Jayne Mansfield’s Car as Skip Caldwell
- 2013 – The Baytown Outlaws as Carlos
- 2013 – Parkland as Forrest Sorrels
- 2011 – The King of Luck
- 2011 – Nashville Rises as Narrator
- 2011 – Puss in Boots as Jack
Movies From Year 2000 to 2010
- 2010 – Faster as Cop
- 2009 – My Run as Narrator
- 2009 – The Smell of Success as Patrick
- 2008 – Eagle Eye as Thomas Morgan
- 2008 – The Informers as William
- 2007 – The Astronaut Farmer as Charles Farmer
- 2007 – Mr. Woodcock as Jasper Woodcock
- 2006 – School for Scoundrels as Dr. P / Dennis Sherman
- 2005 – The Ice Harvest as Vic Cavanaugh
- 2005 – Bad News Bears as Morris Buttermaker
- 2004 – Friday Night Lights as Gary Gaines
- 2004 – The Alamo as Davy Crockett
- 2004 – Chrystal as Joe
- 2003 – Bad Santa as Willie Soke
- 2003 – Love Actually as President of the U.S.
- 2003 – Intolerable Cruelty as Howard D. Doyle
- 2003 – Levity as Manuel Jordan
- 2002 – Waking Up in Reno as Lonnie Earl Dodd
- 2002 – The Badge as Sheriff Darl Hardwick
- 2001 – South of Heaven, West of Hell as Brigadier Smalls
- 2001 – Daddy and Them as Claude Montgomery
- 2001 – Monster’s Ball as Hank Grotowski
- 2001 – Bandits as Terry Lee Collins
- 2001 – The Man Who Wasn’t There as Ed Crane
- 2001 – Camouflage
- 2000 – The Gift
- 2000 – The Last Real Cowboys as Tar
- 2000 – All the Pretty Horses
Movies From Year 1986 to 1999
- 1999 – Pushing Tin as Russell Bell
- 1998 – A Simple Plan as Jacob Mitchell
- 1998 – Armageddon as Dan Truman
- 1998 – Homegrown as Jack Marsden
- 1998 – Primary Colors as Richard Jemmons
- 1997 – The Apostle as Troublemaker
- 1997 – U Turn as Darrell
- 1997 – Princess Mononoke as Jigo
- 1997 – Burn Hollywood Burn – Himself
- 1996 – Sling Blade as Karl Childers
- 1996 – The Winner as Jack
- 1996 – A Family Thing
- 1995 – Dead Man as Big George Drakoulious
- 1995 – The Stars Fell on Henrietta as Roy
- 1994 – On Deadly Ground as Homer Carlton
- 1994 – Floundering as Gun Clerk
- 1994 – Some Folks Call It a Sling Blade as Karl Childers
- 1993 – Tombstone as Johnny Tyler
- 1993 – Blood In Blood Out as Lightning
- 1993 – Indecent Proposal as Day Tripper
- 1993 – Ghost Brigade as Langston
- 1993 – Trouble Bound as Coldface
- 1992 – One False Move as Ray Malcolm
- 1991 – The Dark Backward as Patron at Sloppy’s
- 1991 – For the Boys as Marine Sergeant in Korea
- 1991 – Widespread Panic: Live from the Georgia Theatre
- 1989 – Going Overboard as Dave
- 1989 – Chopper Chicks in Zombietown as Tommy
- 1988 – South of Reno as Counterman
- 1986 – Hunter’s Blood as Billy Bob
Billy Bob Thornton Tv Series | Billy Bob Thornton Tv Show
- 2001, 2005 – CatDog as CatDog’s father (voice)
- 2017 – Fargo as Narrator
- 2016 – American Dad! – Himself (voice)
- 2016–present – Goliath as Billy McBride
- 2014 – Fargo as Lorne Malvo
- 2014 – Robot Chicken as Grandpa Shlorp (voice)
- 2014 – The Big Bang Theory as Doctor Oliver Lorvis
- 1998 – King of the Hill as Boyce Hubert (voice)
- 1997 – Ellen as The Grocer
- 1996 – Don’t Look Back as Marshall
- 1995 – Out There as Jailbird
- 1992 – Knots Landing as Timberman
- 1992–1995 – Hearts Afire as Billy Bob Davis
- 1990 – The Outsiders as Buck Merill
- 1990 – Evening Shade as Florist
- 1988 – Circus as Billy Bob
- 1987 – Matlock as Pawnshop clerk
Billy Bob Thornton Goliath
“Goliath”, a television series by Amazon Studios, features Thornton as a formerly brilliant and personable lawyer – now washed out and alcoholic. It premiered on October 13, 2016, on Amazon Video. On February 15, 2017, Amazon announced the series had been renewed for a second season.
Billy Bob Thornton Band
From the time he was 10 years old, Billy has been in bands. Billy’s first performance was on drums at a school PTA meeting where his band played “The Ballad of The Green Berets” instrumentally. Several bands followed, with Thornton’s first recording experience coming at Widget Sound in Muscle Shoals, Alabama in 1974.
Later in the 1970s, Thornton was the drummer 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.