Thornton was born in Arkansas, USA on on August 4, 1955. He is an Academy Award-winning American screenwriter, actor, as well as occasional director, playwright and singer.

Billy Bob Thornton was a character actor and sometime screenwriter who took Hollywood by storm in 1996 with Sling Blade, a movie he wrote, directed and starred in. Thornton had appeared in several television shows and low budget movies in the 1980s, and in 1991 earned critical praise for the script of the movie One False Move.

After the success of Sling Blade Thornton moved into bigger budget movies such as Primary Colors (1998) starred opposite John Travolta and Armageddon (1998) with Bruce Willis, and stayed busy on both sides of the camera. He was nominated for an Oscar for his role in A Simple Plan (1998), directed by Sam Raimi, he co-wrote the screenplay for The Gift (2000), starred opposite Cate Blanchett and he directed Matt Damon and Penelope Cruz in the 2000 feature All The Pretty Horses. In 2001 he teamed again with Willis and Blanchett in the comedy Bandits.

Her future project will be Mr. Woodcock (2007) and Tulia (2008).

On May 5, 2000, Thornton married fellow Oscar winner Angelina Jolie, his onscreen wife in 1999's Pushing Tin. It is the fifth marriage for Thornton, who was sued for spousal abuse by his fourth wife, Pietra Cherniak, in 1997. Shortly before his marriage to Jolie, Thornton broke off an engagement with his longtime fiancee, actress Laura Dern. Thornton has one daughter, Amanda (with his first wife Melissa Gatlin), and two sons, William and Harry, with Cherniak). Though Thornton and Jolie adopted a son, Maddox, after touring a Cambodian orphanage in 1991, Jolie filed for divorce in 2002. In 2004, Thornton confirmed that he and girlfriend Connie Angland were expecting a child in October.

Filmography

• Peace Like a River (2009)
• Tulia (2008)
• Mr. Woodcock (2007)
• The Astronaut Farmer (2006)
• School for Scoundrels (2006)
• The Ice Harvest: Alternate Endings (2006)
• The Ice Harvest (2005)
• Bad News Bears (2005)
• Friday Night Lights (2004)
• The Alamo (2004)
• Chrystal (2004)
• Bad Santa (2003)
• Love Actually (2003)
• Intolerable Cruelty (2003)
• Levity (2003)
• Waking Up in Reno (2002)
• The Badge (2002)
• "Saturday Night Live" (1 episode, 2001)
• Monster's Ball (2001)
• Bandits (2001)
• Daddy and Them (2001)
• The Man Who Wasn't There (2001)
• CatDog: The Great Parent Mystery (2001)
• "CatDog" (1 episode, 2000)
• The Last Real Cowboys (2000)
• South of Heaven, West of Hell (2000)
• Pushing Tin (1999)
• "King of the Hill" (1 episode, 1998)
• A Simple Plan (1998)
• Armageddon (1998)
• Homegrown (1998)
• Primary Colors (1998)
• The Apostle (1997)
• U Turn (1997)
• Mononoke-hime (1997)
• A Gun, a Car, a Blonde (1997)
• "Ellen" (2 episodes, 1997)
• The Winner (1996)
• Sling Blade (1996)
• Don't Look Back (1996)
• "AMC: Film Preservation Classics" (1 episode, 1996)
• Out There (1995)
• The Stars Fell on Henrietta (1995)
• Dead Man (1995)
• "Hearts Afire" (3 episodes, 1992-1994)
• On Deadly Ground (1994)
• Some Folks Call It a Sling Blade (1994)
• Floundering (1994)
• Tombstone (1993)
• Bound by Honor (1993)
• Indecent Proposal (1993)
• Trouble Bound (1993)
• The Killing Box (1993)
• Living and Working in Space: The Countdown Has Begun (1993)
• One False Move (1992)
• "Knots Landing" (1 episode, 1992)
• For the Boys (1991)
• Chopper Chicks in Zombietown (1991)
• "Evening Shade" (1 episode, 1990)
• "The Outsiders" (1 episode, 1990)
• Going Overboard (1989)
• Circus (1988)
• South of Reno (1988)
• The Man Who Broke 1,000 Chains (1987)
• "Matlock" (1 episode, 1987)
• Hunter's Blood (1987)

Awards

• Horton Foote Special Achievement Award for Screenplay Writing 2003
• Florida Film Critics Circle Award Best Actor "Bandits" also for "The Man Who Wasn't There", and "Monster's Ball" 2002
• Florida Film Critics Circle Award Best Actor "The Man Who Wasn't There" 2001
• London Film Critics Circle Award Best Actor "The Man Who Wasn't There" 2001
• National Board of Review Award Best Actor "The Man Who Wasn't There", "Monster's Ball" and "Bandits" 2001
• Online Film Critics Society Award Best Actor "The Man Who Wasn't There" 2001
• Southeastern Film Critics Association Award Best Actor "The Man Who Wasn't There" 2001
• Boston Society of Film Critics Award Best Supporting Actor "A Simple Plan" 1998
• Broadcast Film Critics Association Award Best Supporting Actor "Primary Colors" and "A Simple Plan" 1998
• Chicago Film Critics Award Best Supporting Actor "A Simple Plan" 1998
• Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award Best Supporting Actor "A Simple Plan" 1998
• Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award Best Supporting Actor "A Simple Plan" 1998
• Online Film Critics Society Award Best Supporting Actor "A Simple Plan" 1998
• San Diego Film Critics Award Best Supporting Actor "A Simple Plan" 1998
• Writers Guild of America Award Best Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published "Sling Blade" 1997
• Chicago Film Critics Association Award Best Actor "Sling Blade" 1996
• Independent Spirit Award Best First Feature "Sling Blade" 1996
• National Board of Review Special Achievement in Filmmaking Award "Sling Blade" 1996
• Oscar Best Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published "Sling Blade" 1996