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 is starring in Taylor Sheridan’s new series “Landman,” explained he believed rising to fame when he was further along in his career ultimately benefited him and contributed to his longevity in his profession.
“I’m happy that I became well known 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 bit looser back in those days,” he continued with a smile.
BILLY BOB THORNTON SAYS THERE IS A ‘PREJUDICE AGAINST THE SOUTH’ IN HOLLYWOOD
“And yeah, I’m kind of happy about that 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 growing up as a musician helped me prepare for some of it because we could be local heroes, sometimes as musicians or regional. But this was a big blast.”
“And I think if I had been nominated for an Academy Award when I was 21, who knows what I would have done with it?”
WATCH: ‘Landman’ star Billy Bob Thornton admits he’s happy he didn’t become successful earlier in life
Born in Hot Springs, Arkansas, Thornton moved with his family around the state several times before they settled in the city of Malvern. In an August interview with The Houston Chronicle, Thorton recalled working alongside brothers Nick and Mike Shipp at 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 business 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 the ZZ Top cover band Tres Hombres, named after the legendary group’s hit 1973 album.
Tres Hombres featured Mike on guitar and vocals, Nick on bass and vocals, with Thornton as the drummer. 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.”
During their time 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 in acting. For the first few years, he struggled to land roles and supported himself by working as a telemarketer, offshore wind farmer and fast-food manager in between auditions.
Thorton joined the West Coast Theatre Ensemble and made his acting debut in the one-man play “Beethoven Symphonies.” He played small roles in a handful of films and TV shows and became a cast member in the CBS sitcom “Hearts Afire,” which ran from 1992 to 1995.
During an appearance on “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 during which Wilder guessed that Thornton wanted to be an actor.
Wilder told Thornton that he was “too damned 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 things, make your own way. You know, nobody’s going to wait for you.'”
Thornton went on to co-write the 1991 independent film “One False Move” with his frequent collaborator Tom Epperson and also starred in the movie as the murderous thug Ray Malcolm. The low-budget crime thriller was met with critical acclaim and jumpstarted the then-36-year-old’s career in the entertainment industry.
The actor took on small roles in the mid-1990s movies “Indecent Proposal,””Bound by Honor,” “Tombstone, “On Deadly Ground,” “The Stars Fell on Henrietta” and “Dead Man” before making his breakthrough with his own independent project.
At the age of 41, Thornton directed, wrote and starred in the 1996 independent movie “Sling Blade.” The crime thriller followed Karl Childers (Thornton), a mentally disabled man who is released from the psychiatric hospital where he spent most 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 Oscar nomination for his performance. He went on to earn a best supporting actor Academy Award nomination for his performance in the 1998 neo-noir crime thriller “A Simple Plan.”
The “Bad Santa” actor has also earned numerous accolades for his work in television. He won a Golden Globe Award for his starring 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 the Amazon legal drama series “Goliath,” in which he starred for four seasons from 2016 to 2021.
In addition to acting, Thornton has also continued with 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 of the rock band The Boxmasters, which he formed in 2007 with recording engineer J.D. Andrew. The Boxmasters have released 17 albums and debuted their latest record “Love & Hate In Desperate Places” in June.
Thornton is now returning 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 synopsis reads, “Set in the proverbial boomtowns of West Texas, ‘Landman’ is a modern-day tale of fortune seeking in the world of oil rigs.”
Based on the notable 11-part podcast “Boomtown,” the series is an “upstairs/downstairs story of roughnecks and wildcat 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 TO STAR IN TAYLOR SHERIDAN’S NEW SHOW ‘LANDMAN’
Thornton, who leads the cast of “Landman,” plays Tommy Norris, a crisis executive at an oil company. During his interview with Fox News Digital, Thornton recalled that Sheridan approached him about the show after the actor made an appearance in the “Yellowstone” prequel series “1883.”
“I did a cameo in ‘1883’ for Taylor and at the after-gathering for that, I sat next to him, and he said, ‘Listen, I’m glad I got to be 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 that’s called “Landman.” He told me [about] the world that it takes place in which I knew some about, but I thought, ‘Well, that’s interesting. 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’m going to write this for you. He goes, ‘This part is going to be you if you were a landman.’”
WATCH: BILLY BOB THORNTON ON WHETHER HE FEELS PRESSURE TO MAKE NEW SHOW ‘LANDMAN’ A HIT
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Sheridan found enormous 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 was feeling pressure to make “Landman” a hit after Sheridan’s previous successes.
“For sure,” Thornton said. “Any time that 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 that bombs it,” Thornton said with a laugh.
He continued, “So, yeah, there is a lot of pressure because of the successes he’s had with the other shows. But, you know, there’s always an audience for every kind of thing.”
“And I know Taylor loves this one for sure, and we all love it,” Thornton added. “All the people who participated in this love it.”
