![\"Billy](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Billy-Bob-Thornton-Actor-2025-Far-Out-Magazine-1-1140x855.jpg\")
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(Credits: Far Out \/ YouTube Still)<\/p>\n
Fri 22 August 2025 1:30, UK <\/p>\n
One of the subtle differences between a great actor and an elite one is that even when the former camp is making movies strictly for the money, audiences can\u2019t tell. Billy Bob Thornton<\/a> is objectively very, very good at his job, but he still hasn\u2019t mastered the art of bringing his A-game to a paycheque job.<\/p>\n For example, Denzel Washington doesn\u2019t make so many action movies to satiate his artistic desires, but he\u2019s always on point. Similarly, Tom Hanks somehow managed to charm his way through the Da Vinci Code trilogy, despite calling them \u201chooey\u201d and still underselling how stupid they are.<\/p>\n When Thornton has those dollar signs in his eyes, it can be spotted from a mile away. Armageddon? He admitted he signed on to boost his bank balance<\/a>, and it\u2019s obvious. Eagle Eye? Sleepwalked through it. The Gray Man? He was barely awake. Love Actually? Serviceable, but the most energy he displayed on set was when Hugh Grant terrorised him over his fear of Benjamin Disraeli\u2019s facial hair.<\/p>\n The Academy Award winner has largely maintained his integrity and principles, though, even if he did star in a Steven Seagal movie once<\/a>. He refused to join the Spider-Man or Mission: Impossible franchises, and his blatant paydays are few and far between. Ironically, one of the most expensive films he\u2019s ever been in remains a personal favourite, and it flopped thunderously at the box office for good measure.<\/p>\n When Swampland<\/a> quizzed him on his most cherished pictures, there are no prizes for guessing which one came out on top. \u201cI\u2019d have to say Sling Blade is the one closest to be heart,\u201d he said. \u201cBecause that\u2019s what really kicked me off.\u201d After that, his first screenplay credit in an underrated gem came to mind.<\/p>\n \u201cI had written and starred in a movie called One False Move, about four or five years before Sling Blade,\u201d he explained. \u201cAnd it\u2019s kind of an unsung hero movie that got me started in the business. But Sling Blade is the one that made me a more public figure. So I\u2019d say Sling Blade.\u201d<\/p>\n Once he started rolling, though, Thornton found it difficult to stop. He\u2019d then rattle off another five features that covered the Coen brothers, a history-making Oscar winner, a raucous R-rated comedy, and a historical epic that spent years stuck in development hell before dying a slow and painful death when it was finally released, with Disney losing almost $150 million on its investment<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cA movie called A Simple Plan was one of my favourites,\u201d he continued. \u201cAnd The Man Who Wasn\u2019t There, a Coen brothers film. And Monster\u2019s Ball. And Bad Santa, I always loved. I loved playing Davy Crockett in The Alamo, too.\u201d One of those things is not like the others, with every one of Thornton\u2019s definitive septet being regarded as a good movie at the very least, if not a great one, apart from The Alamo.<\/p>\n In his defence, his performance as Crockett was one of the few things about John Lee Hancock\u2019s disastrous bomb that wasn\u2019t burned at the critical stake, but it\u2019s an understatement to say it\u2019s the worst of the seven by far.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Related Topics<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"(Credits: Far Out \/ YouTube Still) Fri 22 August 2025 1:30, UK One of the subtle differences between…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":363632,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3935],"tags":[22418,77,3943,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-363631","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-movies","8":"tag-billy-bob-thornton","9":"tag-entertainment","10":"tag-movies","11":"tag-uk","12":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115070305856817766","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/363631","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=363631"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/363631\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/363632"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=363631"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=363631"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=363631"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}