Billy Bob Thornton

Also known as Bud Thornton, William Robert Thornton

Billy Bob Thornton is an American actor, filmmaker, screenwriter, and singer-songwriter. He received international attention after writing, directing and starring in the independent drama film Sling Blade (1996), for which he won an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor. For his role in A Simple Plan (1998), he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

OverviewAI-generated

Billy Bob Thornton is an American actor, film director, and screenwriter. Born William Robert Thornton in Hot Springs, he began his work period in 1986. He is educated at Henderson State University and resides in Los Angeles. Thornton speaks English and has four children. His notable works include films directed by him, and he is recognized in the Hollywood Walk Of Fame collection.

Thornton has received several awards, including the Writers Guild of America Award, the Academy Award for Best Writing for Adapted Screenplay, Edgar Awards, and the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama. He has also been nominated for Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actor, Best Actor, and Best Writing for Adapted Screenplay. His musical career involves the genres of country rock and blues rock, performed on voice and released through Vanguard Records.

He has been married to Cynda Williams and Angelina Jolie. His unmarried partner is Laura Dern. Thornton is a male citizen of the United States. His family name is Thornton, and his name in his native language is Billy Bob Thornton.

Synthesized by Vinony from 26 facts across 3 sources: Wikidata, MusicBrainz, Vinony collections. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.

Film & TV

Hot Springs, Arkansas, USA

Billy Bob Thornton (born August 4, 1955) is an American actor, screenwriter, director and musician. Thornton gained early recognition as a cast member on the CBS sitcom Hearts Afire and in several early 1990s films including On Deadly Ground and Tombstone. In the mid-1990s, after writing, directing, and starring in the independent film Sling Blade, he won an Academy Award for Best Adapted…

Known for

Dernsie: The Amazing Life of Bruce Dern2026
If These Walls Could Rock2025
The Electric State — Voice (uncredited)2025
Standing on the Shoulders of Kitties — Self2024
Landman — Tommy Norris2024
Devil's Peak — Charlie McNeely2023
Immediate Family — Self2022
Walk, Don't Run: The Story of The Ventures2022
The Gray Man — Fitzroy2022
Hollywood.Con — Boxmaster2021

via TMDB

Music · MusicBrainz

Type: Person
Gender: Male
Country: United States
Active from: 1955

Discography

Member of

The Boxmasterssince 2007

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Wikidata facts

Instance of: human
Family name: Thornton
Gender: male
Citizenship: United States
Place of birth: Hot Springs
Occupation: director
Educated at: Henderson State University
Languages spoken: English language
Native language: English language
Award: Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama
Genre: blues rock
Instrument: voice
Record label: Vanguard Records
Official website: billybobthornton.net
Image: Billy Bob Thornton 2017 (cropped).jpg
Number of children: 4
Work location: United States
Residence: Los Angeles

Show 10 more facts

Commons category: Billy Bob Thornton
date of birth: 1955-08-04
nominated for: Academy Award for Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay
unmarried partner: Laura Dern
start of work period: 1986-00-00
birth name: William Robert Thornton
name in native language: Billy Bob Thornton
related category: Category:Films directed by Billy Bob Thornton
writing language: English language
member of: Writers Guild of America West

Sources (11)

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Encyclopedic overview

Billy Bob Thornton (born August 4, 1955) is an American actor, filmmaker, screenwriter, and singer-songwriter. He received international attention after writing, directing and starring in the independent drama film Sling Blade (1996), for which he won an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor. For his role in A Simple Plan (1998), he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

Thornton is known for his film roles in One False Move (1992), Tombstone (1993), Dead Man (1995), U Turn (1997), Primary Colors (1998), Armageddon (1998), Monster's Ball (2001), The Man Who Wasn't There (2001), Intolerable Cruelty (2003), Bad Santa (2003), and Friday Night Lights (2004). He has written a variety of films, including A Family Thing (1996) and The Gift (2000) and has directed films such as All the Pretty Horses (2000), Daddy and Them (2001) and Jayne Mansfield's Car (2012).

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Billy Bob Thornton” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.