Billy Bob Thornton Was Not Equipped For Fame In 20s Due To Certain Chemical Refreshments History

Updated on July 23, 2022 10:58 AM by Dhinesh

Billy Bob Thornton Was in the 40s With An Oscar Nomination

Billy Bob Thornton was in his 40s when Sling Blade (1996) catapulted him to fame with an Oscar nomination for Best Actor and a win for Best Adapted Screenplay. As the actor/writer/director/musician, 66, tells PEOPLE in this week's issue, he's happy to have found success when he did.

Billy 20s Of Certain Chemical Refreshment

If I had made it as an actor when he was in my 20s or younger, I might not even be here now, Thornton explains. He doesn’t think I was equipped in my early 20s to handle that because Billy had a history in my late teens and early '20s of certain chemical refreshments and things like that.

Billy doesn’t know if he would've made it through. He still appreciates that. I'm happy that things unfolded in a way that he didn't force, that they just happened. Thornton, who hails from Hot Springs, Arkansas, initially moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in music. A chance encounter would later change the course of his life.

Billy Recalls With Feels Poor

After arriving in L.A., Thornton says he ended up in this acting class because a guy he met said, You ought to try this. I think you could do it.

The next thing you know, he recalls, you're starving to death for years and years. People used to say, 'Why didn't you go home if it was so bad out here?' I said, 'Well, he had nothing to go home to. He was poor there.

Billy Small Role In Indecent Proposal

Billy feels poor here. What am I going to do?' And then I start getting little parts on something, and it’s like, 'Wow, he just made $750 for one day.' he thought, 'Well, maybe he should try this acting.' And then I grew to love it."

One of those parts was a small role in Indecent Proposal (1993) opposite Robert Redford. Adrian Lyne's thriller starred Redford, 85, as a millionaire who offers a couple, David and Diana Demi Moore and Woody Harrelson, $1 million for a night with Diana.