Billy Bob Thornton Biography

BILLY BOB THORNTON

Date of Birth: August 4, 1955

No one knew who the heck the Hot Springs, Arkansas native with the good-ole-boy name was before his stunning directorial debut with Sling Blade, a film he also starred in. But Billy Bob Thornton had been kicking around in Hollywood and had paid his dues for some time before Sling Blade hit the screen.

Following a stint as a singer and drummer in a rock band, Billy Bob came to Hollywood in 1983 and became a regular on the TV series Hearts Afire with John Ritter (who plays a supporting role as a gay man in Sling Blade). Billy Bob also showed up regularly on Burt Reynolds' series Evening Shade and was getting a lot of small roles in features films such as Indecent Proposal and The Stars Fell on Henrietta.

In 1996, he struck gold with Sling Blade. The drama was warmly received and for his work in the film, Billy Bob won an Oscar in the Best Adapted Screenplay category. He also earned a Best Actor nomination.

In the late '90s, he appeared in U Turn, The Apostle, Primary Colors, Armageddon, A Simple Plan and Pushing Tin.

He stayed busy throughout the 2000s, acting in The Man Who Wasn't There, Bandits, Intolerable Cruelty, Love Actually, Bad Santa and Friday Night Lights.

In 2014, he began working on the FX series Fargo, based on the 1996 film of the same name. For his efforts, he picked up a Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Mini-Series or Made for TV Movie in 2015.

His most recent credits include 2015's Our Brand is Crisis with Sandra Bullock, the 2016 Tina Fey comedy Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, the drama series Goliath and the raunchy comedy Bad Santa 2.

In 2000, Billy Bob married his fifth wife, Oscar-winning actress Angelina Jolie, but they were divorced in 2003 after adopting a child. In September 2004, his fourth child was born. The mother is his current wife, Connie Angland. They wed in 2014.

His other children are Amanda (from his first marriage to Melissa Lee Gatlin), and William and Harry James from his marriage to Pietra Dawn Cherniak, who obtained a restraining order in 1997 against Billy Bob to keep him away from her and their children.

Filmography:

London Fields (2016)
Bad Santa 2 (2016)
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot (2016)
Our Brand Is Crisis (2015)
Entourage (2015)
Cut Bank (2015)
Fargo: The Complete First Season (2014)
The Judge (2014)
Parkland (2013)
Jayne Mansfield's Car (2012)
Puss in Boots (2011)
Faster (2010)
Peace Like a River (2009)
Tulia (2009)
Manure (2009)
Duplicity (2009)
The Informers (2008)
Eagle Eye (2008)
Mr. Woodcock (2007)
The Astronaut Farmer (2007)
School for Scoundrels (2006)
Bad News Bears (2005)
The Swedish Job (2005)
Ice Harvest (2005)
Friday Night Lights (2004)
Chrystal (2004)
The Alamo (2003)
Bad Santa (2003)
Intolerable Cruelty (2003)
Levity (2003)
Waking Up in Reno (2002)
Monster's Ball (2001)
The Man Who Wasn't There (2001)
Bandits (2001)
South of Heaven, West of Hell (2000)
Daddy and Them (2000)
Pushing Tin (1999)
Franky Goes to Hollywood (1999)
A Simple Plan (1998)
Armageddon (1998)
Homegrown (1998)
Primary Colors (1998)
A Gun, a Car, a Blonde (1998)
U Turn (1997)
An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn (1997)
The Apostle (1997)
Sling Blade (1996) [Also Writer and Director]
The Winner (1996)
The Stars Fell on Henrietta (1995)
Dead Man (1995)
On Deadly Ground (1994)
Floundering (1994)
Tombstone (1993)
Indecent Proposal (1993)
Bound by Honor (1993)
The Killing Box (1993)
Chopper Chicks in Zombietown (1992)
Trouble Bound (1992)
For the Boys (1991)
One False Move (1991)
Going Overboard (1989)
South of Reno (1988)
Hunter's Blood (1987)