Billy Bob Thornton

About Billy Bob Thornton

Billy Bob Thornton (born August 4, 1955) is an Academy Award-winning American screenwriter, actor and occasional director, playwright and singer. He came to fame in the mid 1990s, after writing, directing, and starring in the film Sling Blade, and has since established a career as a Hollywood leading actor, having appeared in several successful films, including 2003's Bad Santa. Thornton has been described in media reports as "Hollywood's go-to alpha male".

Thornton was born in Hot Springs, Arkansas, the son of Virginia Roberta (née Faulkner), an alleged psychic, and Billy Ray Thornton, a high school history teacher and basketball coach. Thornton has three younger brothers, Jimmy Don, born in 1958 and now deceased, Jim Bean, and John David, born in 1969. Thornton lived in both Alpine, Arkansas and Malvern, Arkansas during his childhood, and also spent time with his grandfather, Otis Thornton, a forest ranger, in a small shack in the woods. Thornton is the cousin of noted professional wrestlers Dory Funk, Jr. and Terry Funk.

Thornton was raised Methodist. A good high school baseball player, he tried out for the Kansas City Royals, but was let go after an injury. After a short period laying asphalt for the Arkansas State Transportation Dept., he attended Henderson State University in Arkadelphia, Arkansas, where he studied psychology but dropped out after two semesters.