Born on 4 August 4, 1955, in Arkansas, Billy Bob Thornton is perhaps best known for his brief 3 year marriage to Hollywood superstar Angelina Jolie. The duo became famous for their eccentric behaviour. Thornton clarified that the pair wore small lockets containing a drop of blood from each other. They also adopted a boy from Cambodia and renamed him Maddox. When the couple divorced, Jolie requested custody of the child and parenting time for Thornton.
Thornton’s father was a high school teacher and a basketball coach, while his mother was a psychic. An injury cut short his dreams of becoming a basket ball player so, in 1980, Thornton moved to LA to start his acting career. To support himself, he did all kinds of jobs – telemarketing, wind farming, working in a fast food outlet, working as a drummer and a waiter. Thornton once served film director Billy Wilder who suggested he try his hand at screenwriting.
In the early 1990s, Thornton got a small break in the sitcom Hearts Afire after which a string of small roles followed in films like Indecent Proposal, Bound By Honour, On Deadly Ground and Tombstone. During this time, he was also working on his own script and in 1996 he starred and directed Sling Blade. It was a sleeper hit and won international acclaim and awards. Thornton won an Academy Award for the Best Adapted Screenplay and an Academy Award nomination and a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination in the Best Actor category. The film also won an Edgar Award and a Writers Guild of America Award.
His other notable films include Primary Colours (1998) with John Travolta and Emma Thompson, Armageddon (1998) with Bruce Willis and Ben Affleck, Monster’s Ball (2002) with Halle Berry, and the hit dark comedy Bad Santa (2003).
In the late 1990s, Thornton’s began an average career in singing and song-writing. He set up a blues rock bank called Tres Hombres. His albums include Private Radio (2001), The Edge of the World (2005) and Hobo (2005).
Thornton says he suffers OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder) and has a phobia of antique furniture. He lives in LA and has been married five times. He is quoted as saying, “Marriage doesn’t work for me”. He was honoured with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2004.
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