Biography

An Academy Award®-winning writer, and an accomplished actor and director, Thornton has a long career in film, television and stage. To top it all off, he has a great personality, and tells great stories.

Thornton and future writing partner Tom Epperson met as children in Arkansas. Billy Bob began acting in high school and after studying psychology decided he really wanted to pursue an entertainment career. He and Epperson eventually made it to L.A. in the late '70s and they started writing scripts in earnest. They tried for several years to sell them, while Thornton also sought work as a drummer, singer, and actor. In 1986, he appeared in the direct-to-video Hunter's Blood. In '91 he had a small role in For the Boys, but in 1992 he received critical acclaim for his performance in One False Move, which he co-wrote with Epperson. He then appeared in a string of films including Taylor Hackford's Bound By Honor, Steven Seagal's On Deadly Ground and Jim Jarmusch's Dead Man.

Another critically-acclaimed project for the childhood friends was A Family Thing, a project brought to them by Robert Duvall. The film, which co-starred James Earl Jones, was about a white man who discovers he has a black half-brother.

Working by himself on his next project, Thornton wrote and directed Sling Blade, which was based on stage work and a short that Thornton had done in the past. The film, about a mentally-challenged murderer, won Thornton an Oscar® for Best Adapted Screenplay and earned him a nomination as Best Actor.

Billy Bob has kept himself busy in films since Sling Blade. His filmography since then includes Rosewood, Robert Duvall's The Apostle, Homegrown, An Alan Smithee Film, Oliver Stone's U-Turn, Primary Colors and Armageddon, a film he cheerfully admits he did for the money.

He's also starred in A Simple Plan, Pushing Tin (which co-starred future wife Angelina Jolie), The Man Who Wasn't There, Bandits (which teamed him again with Pushing Tin co-star Cate Blanchett and Armageddon co-star Bruce Willis), and Monsters Ball. He also found time to write The Gift and direct All the Pretty Horses.

His film work has been so strong that people often forget he was in our living rooms in three TV series, The Outsiders, Evening Shade, and Hearts Afire.

Billy Bob married Angelina Jolie on May 5th, 2000. She filed for divorce from Thornton on July 18, 2002.

Filmography

Alamo, The (2004) .... Davy Crockett
Bad Santa (2003) .... Willie T. Soke
Intolerable Cruelty (2003) .... Howard Doyle
Levity (2003) .... Emanuel Jordan
John Wayne Made Me Cry: Our Western Heroes (2002) (TV) .... Himself
Waking Up in Reno (2002) .... Lonnie Earl Dodd
Badge, The (2002) (TV) .... Darl
CatDog: The Great Parent Mystery (2001) (TV) .... Hound Dog McDog/CatDog's step-father
Inside Bandits (2001) (V) .... Himself
Monster's Ball (2001) .... Hank Grotowski
Bandits (2001) .... Terry Collins
Daddy and Them (2001) .... Claude Montgomery
Man Who Wasn't There, The (2001) .... Ed
Down From the Mountain (2000) .... Audience Member
Last Real Cowboys, The (2000) .... Tar
South of Heaven, West of Hell (2000) .... Brig. Smalls
AFI's 100 Years... 100 Stars (1999) (TV) .... Himself
Film Preservation Classics with Billy Bob Thornton (1999) (TV) .... Host
... aka AMC's Film Preservation Classics with Billy Bob Thornton (1999) (TV) (USA: complete title)
Franky Goes to Hollywood (1999)
Intimate Portrait: Kelly Preston (1999) (TV) .... Himself
Pushing Tin (1999) .... Russell Bell
... aka Turbulenzen - und andere Katastrophen (2000) (Germany)
Gun, a Car, a Blonde, A (1998) .... Syd/Monk
Simple Plan, A (1998) .... Jacob Mitchell
... aka Einfacher Plan, Ein (1999) (Germany)
... aka Un plan simple (1999) (France)
Armageddon (1998) .... Dan Truman, NASA Administrator
Homegrown (1998) .... Jack Marsden
Primary Colors (1998) .... Richard Jemmons
... aka Mit aller Macht (1998) (Germany)
... aka Perfect Couple (1999) (Japan: English title)
... aka Primary Colors (1998) (France)
Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn, An (1997) .... Himself
Apostle, The (1997) .... Troublemaker
U Turn (1997) .... Darrell
... aka U Turn - Ici commence l'enfer (1998) (France)
Mononoke Hime (1997)(voice) .... Jigo
... aka Princess Mononoke (1999) (USA: US version)
American Film Institute Salute to Martin Scorsese, The (1997) (TV) .... Himself
Winner, The (1996) .... Jack
Sling Blade (1996) .... Karl Childers
... aka Reckoning (1996)
Don't Look Back (1996) (TV) .... Marshall
Out There (1995) (TV) .... Jailbird
Stars Fell on Henrietta, The (1995) .... Roy
Dead Man (1995) .... Big George Drakoulious
... aka Dead Man (1995) (Germany)
... aka Jim Jarmusch's Dead Man (1996) (USA)
Floundering (1994) .... Gun Clerk
On Deadly Ground (1994) .... Homer Carlton
Some Folks Call It a Sling Blade (1994) .... Karl Childers
Killing Box, The (1993) .... Langston
... aka Ghost Brigade (1993)
... aka Ghost Brigade: The Killing Box (1993)
... aka Grey Knight (1993)
... aka Grey Night (1993) (director's cut)
Living and Working in Space: The Countdown Has Begun (1993) (V) .... Rowdy Udall
Tombstone (1993) .... Johnny Tyler, Faro Dealer at Oriental
Bound by Honor (1993) .... Lightning
... aka Blood In, Blood Out... Bound by Honor (1993)
Indecent Proposal (1993) .... Day Tripper
Trouble Bound (1992) .... Coldface
"Hearts Afire" (1992) TV Series .... Billy Bob Davis
One False Move (1992) .... Ray Malcolm
For the Boys (1991) .... Marine Sergeant, Korea
"Outsiders, The" (1990) TV Series .... Buck Merrill
Chopper Chicks in Zombietown (1989) .... Donny
Going Overboard (1989) .... Dave
... aka Babes Ahoy (1989)
South of Reno (1988) .... Counterman
Circus (1988) (TV)
Hunter's Blood (1987) .... Billy Bob
Man Who Broke 1,000 Chains, The (1987) (TV)