Billy Bob Thornton admits he’s ‘glad’ he didn’t make it in his 20s

Billy Bob Thornton reflected on finding massive success later in life after struggling in his early Hollywood years.

During an interview with Fox News Digital, the 69-year-old actor, who stars in Taylor Sheridan’s new series “Landman,” explained that he believed that becoming famous later in his career ultimately benefited him and contributed for his lifetime. in his profession.

“I’m glad I became famous or successful — whatever you want to call it — in my 30s,” Thornton said.

“I think if it had happened when I was 18 or 21, who knows if I’d even be here now because I was a little looser then,” he continued with a smile.

BILLY BOB THORNTON SAYS THERE IS A ‘SOUTHERN PREJUDICE’ IN HOLLYWOOD

“And yeah, I’m kind of glad because I grew up in the music business, so I was already familiar with being in the entertainment business, but not to that degree. And I think that helped me prepare , that I grew up as a musician. for some of it, because we could be local heroes, sometimes as musicians or regionally, but it was a big blast.”

“And I think if I had been nominated for an Oscar when I was 21, who knows what I would have done with it?”

WATCH: ‘Landman’ star Billy Bob Thornton admits he’s glad he didn’t find success earlier in life

Born in Hot Springs, Arkansas, Thornton and his family moved around the state several times before settling in the town of Malvern. In an August interview with The Houston Chronicle, Thorton recalled working with brothers Nick and Mike Shipp in their father’s equipment rental business. While in Arkansas, Thornton, Nick and Mike formed a rock trio called Nothin’ Doin’ and moved to Houston, Texas in the 1970s when the company was relocated.

After moving to Houston, Nothin’ Doin’ played a gig at the club Cardi’s, where a promoter heard them and noted that the trio had a similar sound to the rock band ZZ Top. At the promoter’s suggestion, Nothin’ Doin’ became ZZ Top cover band Tres Hombres, named after the legendary group’s 1973 hit album.

“I think if I had been nominated for an Oscar when I was 21, who knows what I would have done with it?”

—Billy Bob Thornton

Tres Hombres featured Mike on guitar and vocals, Nick on bass and vocals, with Thornton on drums. They found success playing local Houston clubs.

“We did very well playing their songs in the Houston area,” Thornton told the Houston Chronicle. “We’d play parties and places that I guess aren’t there anymore.”

While performing together, Tres Hombres released one album, 1983’s “Gunslinger,” which featured nine original songs.

Around 1985, Thornton moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career as an actor. For the first few years he struggled to get roles and supported himself by working as a telemarketer, offshore wind turbine operator and fast food manager between auditions.

Thorton joined the West Coast Theater Ensemble and made his acting debut in the one-man play “Beethoven Symphonies”. He played small roles in a handful of movies and TV shows and became a cast member on the CBS sitcom “Hearts Afire,” which ran from 1992 to 1995.

During an appearance in “Charlie Rose,” Thornton recalled working a side gig as a waiter at a Hollywood party when he met legendary director Billy Wilder. The two struck up a conversation, with Wilder guessing that Thornton wanted to be an actor.

Wilder told Thornton that he was “too damn ugly to be a movie star” and suggested that he become a screenwriter to create his own acting opportunities.

“‘That’s your ticket,'” Thornton recalled Wilder telling him. “‘That’s the only way to make it. So write your own stuff, play your own stuff, make your own way. You know, nobody’s going to wait for you.’

Thornton went on to write the 1991 independent film One False Move with frequent collaborator Tom Epperson and also starred in the film as murderous thug Ray Malcolm. The low-budget crime thriller was met with critical acclaim and launched the then 36-year-old’s career in the entertainment industry.

The actor took on small roles in the films “Indecent Proposal”, “Bound by Honor”, “Tombstone”, “On Deadly Ground”, “The Stars Fell on Henrietta” and “Dead Man” in the mid-1990s, before he got his breakthrough with his own independent project.

At the age of 41, Thornton directed, wrote and starred in the 1996 independent film “Sling Blade.” The crime thriller followed Karl Childers (Thornton), a mentally disabled man who is discharged from the psychiatric hospital where he spent most of his of his life after murdering his mother and her lover. Childers sets out to start a new life in a small town and befriends a young boy and his mother.

Thornton skyrocketed to fame after “Sling Blade” became a surprise hit at the box office and received rave reviews from critics. The Arkansas native won the Academy Award for Best Screenplay and earned an Academy Award nomination for his performance. He received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the 1998 neo-noir crime thriller “A Simple Plan.”

The “Bad Santa” actor has also garnered numerous awards for his work in television. He won a Golden Globe Award for his lead role in the first season of the FX anthology series “Fargo” and was also nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Movie. Thornton won his second Golden Globe for his performance in Amazon’s legal drama series “Goliath,” in which he starred for four seasons from 2016 to 2021.

In addition to acting, Thornton has also continued his music career. In 2001, the country singer released his debut solo album “Private Radio”, which he followed up with 2003’s “The Edge of the World”, 2005’s “Hobo” and 2007’s “Beautiful Door”. Thornton is also the frontman for the rock band The Boxmasters, which he formed in 2007 with recording engineer JD Andrew. The Boxmasters have released 17 albums and debuted their latest record “Love & Hate In Desperate Places” in June.

Thornton now returns to the small screen with Sheridan’s new series “Landman”. The show marks the on-screen reunion of Thornton and his “Indecent Proposal” co-star Demi Moore and also stars Ali Larter and Jon Hamm, with guest appearances from Michael Peña and Andy Garcia.

A plot summary reads: “Landman is set in the familiar boomtowns of West Texas and is a modern-day tale of finding fortune in the oil rig world.”

Based on the remarkable 11-part podcast “Boomtown,” the series is an “upstairs/downstairs story of roughnecks and wild billionaires fueling a boom so big it’s reshaping our climate, our economy and our geopolitics.”

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“Boomtown” host Christian Wallace teamed up with Sheridan to create the 10-episode Paramount+ show, which premiered its first season on Nov. 17.

WATCH: BILLY BOB THORNTON SHARES HOW HE CAME ON TAYLOR SHERIDAN’S NEW SHOW ‘LANDMAN’

Thornton, who leads the cast of “Landman,” plays Tommy Norris, an oil company crisis manager. During his interview with Fox News Digital, Thornton recalled that Sheridan approached him about the show after the actor appeared in the “Yellowstone” prequel series “1883.”

“I did a cameo in ‘1883’ for Taylor, and at the reunion for that I was sitting next to him and he said, ‘Listen, I’m glad I’ve been around you and stuff because I have this project and I wanted to do this with you. He said, ‘I’m writing something for you called “Landman.” Well, I haven’t really seen anything about this since the movie “Giant.”

Thornton noted that he loved “Giant,” the 1956 epic Western drama starring Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson and Dean Martin.

“And I thought this could be the streaming version of ‘Giant,’ only even more dangerous and crazy,” Thornton said. “So it was kind of a no-brainer. Plus, Taylor basically said, “Look, I know your voice. I will write this for you. He says, “This part will be you if you were a farmer.”

WATCH: BILLY BOB THORNTON ON WHETHER HE FEELS PRESSURE TO MAKE NEW SHOW ‘LANDMAN’ A HIT

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Sheridan found huge success with the epic Western drama “Yellowstone” and its hit spinoffs “1883” and “1923.” He is also the creator of the hit crime series “Tulsa King”, starring Sylvester Stallone, and “Mayor of Kingstown”, headlined by Jeremy Renner.

While speaking with Fox News Digital, Thornton shared his thoughts on whether he felt pressured to make “Landman” a hit after Sheridan’s previous successes.

“Sure,” Thornton said. “Any time someone has had a success — let’s say a director has directed 12 giant movies that everybody loves — you don’t want to be the guy who bombs it,” Thornton said with a laugh.

He continued: “So, yeah, there’s a lot of pressure because of the successes he’s had with the other shows. But you know, there’s always an audience for all kinds of things.”

“And I know Taylor definitely loves this one and we all love it,” Thornton added. “All the people who participated in this love it.”

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