Billy Bob Thornton

Billy Bob Thornton is an American actor, screenwriter, director, and singer-songwriter. He gained international prominence after writing, directing, and starring in the 1996 independent drama film Sling Blade. Over his career, he has built a prolific body of work in feature films, television, and music.

Born on August 4, 1955, in Hot Springs, Arkansas, Thornton spent his childhood in several towns across the state, including Alpine, Malvern, and Mount Holly. He experienced academic difficulties in school due to dyslexia. After graduating from high school in 1973, he worked various jobs, including positions as a roadie, drill press operator, bulldozer operator, and sawmill worker. Following an injury that derailed his tryout with the Kansas City Royals baseball team, he briefly attended Henderson State University before moving to Los Angeles in the mid-1980s to pursue music.

While working odd jobs in Los Angeles, Thornton was advised by director Billy Wilder to pursue screenwriting. He began taking on small acting roles on stage and screen, including a regular role on the sitcom Hearts Afire. He gained initial recognition as a writer and actor with the 1992 crime film One False Move, followed by roles in films such as Tombstone, Dead Man, and On Deadly Ground.

Thornton achieved a major career breakthrough with Sling Blade (1996), which earned him the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay and an Oscar nomination for Best Actor. He subsequently received a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination for his role in A Simple Plan (1998). Throughout the late 1990s and 2000s, he starred in numerous high-profile films, including Primary Colors, Armageddon, Monster's Ball, The Man Who Wasn't There, Intolerable Cruelty, Bad Santa, and Friday Night Lights. He also directed films such as All the Pretty Horses, Daddy and Them, and Jayne Mansfield's Car, while co-writing screenplays for projects like The Gift.

In television, Thornton starred as Lorne Malvo in the first season of the anthology series Fargo in 2014, winning a Golden Globe Award and receiving an Emmy Award nomination. From 2016 to 2021, he portrayed lawyer Billy McBride in the drama series Goliath, earning a Golden Globe Award for his performance. In 2024, he assumed the lead role of Tommy Norris in the series Landman.

Beside his screen career, Thornton has pursued music as a solo artist, releasing four solo albums, and as the lead singer of the rock band The Boxmasters, which he co-founded in 2007. Thornton has been married six times, including to actress Angelina Jolie, and has four children. He is known for preferring to stay out of the public eye and avoiding celebrity culture.