Thornton has released four solo albums and is the vocalist of therock bandthe Boxmasters. Thornton has been vocal about his distaste forcelebrity culture, choosing to avoid the public eye. He has been married six times, including toAngelina Jolie from 2000 to 2003.[4]
Thornton was born on August 4, 1955,[5] inHot Springs, Arkansas,[6][7][8] the son of Virginia Roberta (née Faulkner; 1934–2017), a self-proclaimedpsychic, and William Raymond "Billy Ray" Thornton (1929–1974), a high school history teacher and basketball coach.[6] 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.[9] He is ofEnglish and partIrish descent.[10] He has two other siblings.[11]
In the mid-1980s Thornton settled in Los Angeles to pursue his career as an actor with future writing partnerTom Epperson.[6] He had a difficult time succeeding as an actor and worked intelemarketing, offshorewind farming,[15] andfast food management between auditioning for acting jobs. He also played the drums and sang with South African rock bandJack Hammer. While working as a waiter for an industry event, he served film director and screenwriterBilly Wilder. He struck up a conversation with Wilder, who advised Thornton to consider a career as a screenwriter.[6]
In September 1987, Thornton appeared on stage in aone-act play,Beethoven Symphonies, as part of the West Coast Theatre Ensemble in Los Angeles.[17] His first on-screen role was playing a character named Billy Bob in the thrillerHunter's Blood. He was astand-in on that film for the whole production, and then appeared in two scenes.[18]
Thornton played a malicious mallSanta in 2003'sBad Santa, ablack comedy on the set of which he has admitted to getting drunk,[28] and in the same year, portrayed an oil millionaire in the comedy filmIntolerable Cruelty,[29] and a womanizing President of the United States in the Britishromantic comedy filmLove Actually.[30] He stated that, following the success ofBad Santa, audiences "like to watch him play that kind of guy" and that "casting directors call him up when they need an asshole".[23] He referred to this when he said that "it's kinda that simple... you know how narrow the imagination in this business can be".[31] In 2004, Thornton starred asDavid Crockett inThe Alamo, and played CoachGary Gaines in thefootball drama filmFriday Night Lights.[32] Also that year, he received a star on theHollywood Walk of Fame on October 7.[33]
In 2014, he starred associopathichitmanLorne Malvo in the FX miniseriesFargo, inspired by the 1996film of the same name, for which he won a Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Mini-Series.[41] Thornton made a guest appearance onThe Big Bang Theory in 2014, where he played a middle-agedurologist who gets excited about every woman who touches him.[42] That same year, he played a prosecutor in thelegal dramaThe Judge.[43] In 2015, Thornton appeared inEntourage, the film adaptation of thetelevision series.[44]
Goliath, a television series by Amazon Studios, featured Thornton as a formerly brilliant and personable lawyer, who is now washed up and alcoholic. It premiered on October 13, 2016, on Amazon Prime Video.Goliath was renewed for two additional seasons, with the final season released on September 24, 2021. Also in 2016, he reprised his role as a bad mall Santa inBad Santa 2.[45]
In 2017, Thornton starred in the music video "Stand Down"[46] byKario Salem (musically known as K.O.). It received the Best Music Video award from the Toronto Shorts International Film Festival.[47]
In the 1970s, Thornton was the drummer of ablues rock band named Tres Hombres. GuitaristBilly Gibbons, whose bandZZ Top released an album titledTres Hombres in 1973, referred to the band as "the best littlecover band in Texas", and Thornton bears a tattoo with the band's name on it.[48] In 1983, the band released their onlystudio album,Gunslinger on Trigger Records.
In 1985, Thornton joinedPiet Botha in the South African rock band Jack Hammer, while Botha worked in Los Angeles.[49] Thornton recorded one studio album with Jack Hammer,Death of a Gypsy, which was released in September 1986.[50]
On April 8, 2009, Thornton and his musical groupThe Boxmasters appeared on theCBC Radio One programQ. The appearance was widely criticized and received international attention after Thornton was persistently unintelligible and discourteous to hostJian Ghomeshi.[54][55] Thornton eventually explained that he had instructed the show's producers to not ask questions about his movie career.[56][57] Ghomeshi had mentioned Thornton's acting in the introduction. Thornton had also complained Canadian audiences were like "mashed potatoes without the gravy."[58][59] The following night, opening forWillie Nelson at Toronto'sMassey Hall, Thornton said mid-set he liked Canadians but not Ghomeshi, which was greeted with boos and catcalls.[60] The Boxmasters did not continue the tour in Canada as, according to Thornton, some of the crew and band had the flu.[61]
Thornton has been married six times. He has four children by three women.[14][62]
From 1978 to 1980, he was married to Melissa Lee Gatlin, who in herdivorce petition cited "incompatibility and adultery on his part". They had a daughter Amanda (Brumfield),[63] who in 2008 was sentenced to 20 years in prison for the death of her friend's one-year-old daughter.[64] The Innocence Project of Florida began representing Amanda in 2015 and claims that the child's death was entirely accidental. Amanda was freed in 2020 after a deal was reached with prosecutors prior to anevidentiary hearing to provide medical and scientific evidence of her innocence.[65]
Thornton married actress Toni Lawrence in 1986; they separated the following year and divorced in 1988. From 1990 to 1992, he was married to actressCynda Williams, who was cast in his writing debutOne False Move (1992). In 1993, Thornton marriedPlayboy model Pietra Dawn Cherniak, with whom he had two sons. The marriage ended in 1997 with Cherniak accusing Thornton ofspousal abuse, sometimes in front of his children.[63][66]
Thornton datedLaura Dern from 1997 to 1999, and in 2000, he married actressAngelina Jolie, with whom he starred inPushing Tin (1999) and who was nearly 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 smalllockets, each containing only a single drop of blood.[23][67] Thornton and Jolie announced the adoption of a child fromCambodia in March 2002, but it was later revealed that Jolie had adopted the child as asingle parent.[68][69] They separated in June 2002 and divorced the following year.[70]
In 2003, Thornton began a relationship withmakeup effects crew member Connie Angland, with whom he has a daughter.[71] Although he once said that he likely would not marry again[72] since marriage "doesn't work" for him,[73] his representatives confirmed that he and Angland were married on October 22, 2014, in Los Angeles.[74]
During his early years in Los Angeles, Thornton was admitted to a hospital and diagnosed withmyocarditis, a heart condition thought to be brought on by his diet.[75] He has since said that he follows avegan diet and is "extremely healthy", eating nojunk food as he isallergic to wheat and dairy.[76]
Thornton has dyslexia[77] andobsessive–compulsive disorder.[78] Various idiosyncratic behaviors have been well documented in interviews with Thornton; among these is aphobia ofantique furniture, a disorder shared byDwight Yoakam's character Doyle Hargraves in the Thornton-pennedSling Blade and by Thornton's own character in the 2001 filmBandits.[79] Additionally, he has stated that he has a fear of certain types ofsilverware, a trait assumed by his character in 2001'sMonster's Ball, in which he insists on a plastic spoon for his daily bowl of ice cream.[79][80]
In a 2004 interview withThe Independent, Thornton explained,
It's just that I won't use real silver. You know, like the big, old, heavy-ass forks and knives, I can't do that. It's the same thing as the antique furniture. I just don't 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's mostly French—you know, like the big, old, gold-carved chairs with the velvet cushions. TheLouis XIV type. That's what creeps me out. I can spot the imitation antiques a mile off. They have a different vibe. Not as much dust.[81]
Thornton is a baseball fan, particularly theSt. Louis Cardinals. In his movie contracts, one of his conditions is a television in his trailer with a satellite dish so he can watch the Cardinals play.[82] He narratedThe 2006 World Series Film, the year-end retrospective DVD chronicling the Cardinals' championship season. He is also a professed fan of theIndianapolis Colts football team.[83]
Asked about faith, Thornton said "I'm not what you'd call a traditional religious person. We went to the Methodist church—every Sunday you put on your little creepy suit with your clip-on tie and went to church. But it wasn't like I paid any attention. Hardcore Christians and atheists—they both say they know exactly what the deal is. Anybody who says, 'I know what happens,' I don't believe them. That's kind of my religion."[77]
^Staff (September 24, 2001)."BILLY BOB THORNTON: PRIVATE RADIO".PopMatters. RetrievedJuly 19, 2023.The most appropriate description of Thornton's music is probably "alternative country"
^Vigoda, Arlene (February 7, 1997). "Thornton makes a mark with 'Sling Blade'".USA Today. p. 1D LIFE.
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