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Billy Bob Thornton (Actor)

Though he spent almost a decade struggling to make a name for himself, actor Billy Bob Thornton took... (Learn more)

Top Projects: Movies Rock, Armageddon, Bad Santa (View All)

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Billy Bob Thornton’s Milestones

	Began acting as a high school student
	Began performing career as a rock singer and drummer
	Had featured role of Billy Bob Davis on the CBS comedy series "Hearts Afire", produced by Thomason; first collaboration with John Ritter
	Raised in Malvern, Arkansas
1963	Met writing partner Tom Epperson at age eight (date approximate)
1977	Briefly moved to NYC with Epperson
1977	Moved to L.A. with Epperson
1983	Began taking acting classes
1984	Suffered heart failure brought on by malnutrition; Thornton's diet had consisted only of eating potatoes
1986	Film acting debut in "Hunter's Blood"
1987 - 1995	Appeared onstage in various productions as Karl Childers, refining the monologues and story (dates approximate)
1987	Early TV credits, an episode of "Matlock" and the TV-movies "Circus" (CBS) and "The Man Who Broke 1,000 Chains" (HBO)
1987	First created character of Karl Childers, the protagonist of "Sling Blade", during the filming of "The Man Who Broke 1,000 Chains"
1989	TV series debut as actor, "The Outsiders" (Fox); played Buck Merrill
1990	Began making guest appearances on "Evening Shade", produced by Harry Thomason
1992	First produced script, "One False Move"; co-wrote with Epperson; also co-starred with Bill Paxton
1994	Wrote and starred in short film "Some Folks Call It a Sling Blade", the forerunner of the feature "Sling Blade"
1995	First asociation with Robert Duvall, "The Stars Fell on Henrietta"
1996	Feature directorial debut, "Sling Blade"; also wrote and starred
1996	Second script co-written with Epperson produced, "A Family Thing", starring James Earl Jones and Duvall
1996	TV debut as screenwriter, the HBO film "Don't Look Back"; also acted
1997	Played a psychotic mechanic in Oliver Stone's "U-Turn" and a reluctant religious convert in Duvall's "The Apostle"
1998	Portrayed a wily political advisor in "Primary Colors", the Mission Control leader in "Armageddon" and a would-be marijuana magnate in "Homegrown"
1998	Reteamed with Bill Paxton to play brothers in "A Simple Plan"; earned Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination
2000	Directed "All the Pretty Horses", starring Matt Damon
2000	With Epperson, scripted the Southern Gothic thriller "The Gift", starring Cate Blanchett; character played by Blanchett was loosely based on Thornton's mother
2001	Had lead role in the Coen brothers' film noir "The Man Who Wasn't There"; screened at Cannes
2001	Helmed feature "Daddy and Them" (filmed in 1998); also scripted and starred; screened at Montreal Film Festival
2001	Released first solo record "Private Radio"
2001	Starred in the drama "Monster's Ball" as a racist prison guard who falls in love with the widow of a black man whom he put to death
2002	Starred in comedy "Waking Up in Reno" about a pair of couples who travel to see a Monster Truck Show
2003	Played a chain smoking, criminal minded santa clause in "Bad Santa"; received a golden globe nomination for best actor in a comedy or musical
2003	Starred as a parolee who returns back to the town for which he committed his crime in "Levity"
2004	Portrayed Coach Gaines in "Friday Night Lights" based on the book by Pulitzer Prize winning H.G. Buzz Bissinger
2004	Starred as Davy Crockett in the film "The Alamo," based on true events
2005	Cast in the Walter Matthau role in Richard Linklater's remake of "The Bad News Bears"
2005	Cast opposite John Cusack in the "Ice Harvest," a dark comedy directed by Harold Ramis
2006	Played a teacher of a confidence-building class in Todd Phillips' "School For Scoundrels"
2007	Played a NASA astronaut who gives up his dream job to try and save his family farm in "The Astronaut Farmer"
2007	Played the title character in "Mr. Woodcock," the titular evil high school gym teacher who is dating the mother of one of his former students