HOUSTON – Let me start by saying this: I’ve interviewed some great people, but of all the interviews I’ve conducted in my career as a culture and entertainment writer, Billy Bob Thornton was certainly not in my bingo card.
But what I would later discover, while I was researching and preparing for this interview and spending the most unforgettable 20 minutes with this gentleman on the phone, this was what I needed. Not for reasons you might think, but because he is very dedicated to his craft as an artist. And I was about to take a masterclass.
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During a time when various job industries, especially those that require creativity, are becoming increasingly more competitive, it’s hard to pause and reflect on why we fell in love with what we do, and remember why we got into the business in the first place. People like Billy Bob Thornton serve as that friendly reminder.
Landing this interview, as I mentioned, was a complete but welcoming surprise. It all started with wanting to write an article about the record-breaking series, “Landman,” available now for streaming on Paramount+, which was receiving the inaugural Texas-Made Award during the ATX Festival‘s 14th season. Mr. Thornton would be among the recipients accepting the award, along with Christian Wallace (who co-created the show with Taylor Sheridan) and Jacob Lofland, who plays Thornton’s son in the series.
MORE: Critically acclaimed series ‘Landman’ receives ‘Texas Made’ Award
The show centers on the underbelly of the oil and gas industry through the lens of a “fixer” in a dramatically thrilling way, with Billy Bob Thornton as the main character, Tommy Norris. His character, like most of Mr. Thornton’s usual roles, is suave, charming, with a gentle yet intimidating bravado that says I’m not to be crossed.
When the camera is cut, though, Mr. Thornton, in reality, is genuine and just deeply cares about his craft, and less for negativity. I told him how refreshing it was to hear, considering how volatile it can be when people in creative fields work on their respective art forms and risk their creativity in pursuit of external validation or awards. This is not to shame anyone who has won awards. After all, Mr. Thornton is the proud recipient of an Academy Award, one of just many accolades. But he truly never forgets where he comes from.
RELATED: Should movies set in Texas be filmed in Texas?
As much as he loves Texas, he’s very quick to remind himself that he’s not a “born” Texan, but has certainly learned a lot during his time here. Despite being raised in Tomball, just north of Houston, and even many of his loved ones living around Texas, there’s something about this state that has given him unforgettable lessons that I was fortunate to have passed on to me.
And in that short time. I was so mesmerized by the surrealism of our conversation that I didn’t even get a chance to ask him what he could tease about season two of Landman.
But I can tell you, he was IN Texas filming the second season, while we were less than a week away from the ATX TV Festival. Despite the hectic schedule, he paused and gave me, a young, anxious writer, whom he had never heard of, 20 minutes of his time.
Here’s what we talked about...
[The following transcribed interview has been edited for clarity]
Ahmed Humble: Mr. Thornton, thank you so much for taking the time to speak with me, first off.
Billy Bob Thornton: Well, I’m happy to.
A. Humble: Where are you right now? What are you up to?
Mr. Thornton: We are currently filming season 2 of “Landman” and we’re shooting in the whole Fort Worth area, and surrounding areas just north of Dallas toward Denton. Right now, I’m sitting on the porch on Weatherford looking at some horses.
A. Humble: I know you’re not a stranger to filming in Texas, and you grew up in Tomball, but what keeps bringing you back to Texas, besides the money, I’d imagine?
Mr. Thornton: I just love to shoot in Texas. I grew up in Arkansas. I was born in Hot Springs, Arkansas. And then after school moved down to Houston and did live in Tomball for years, and that’s actually where I went to California from, is Tomball. So, I just loved getting back down. All of my relatives live down this way. I don’t have anybody left in Arkansas really. Even my friends moved to Texas, but a lot of them were in the Timber business, so they moved to East Texas, and my other relatives are all in California.
A. Humble: Is it true you have a Texas flag tattooed on you?
Mr. Thornton: I certainly do.
A. Humble: When did you get that? What was the reason?
Mr. Thornton: That was back in, I guess, it was about 2003, we were doing “The Alamo” and a couple of the other cast members… were just hanging out…I don’t remember whose idea it was, but probably mine, because I’m kind of impulsive that way. And I said, since we’re shooting “The Alamo,” and we were in Austin at the time, and we’re shooting “The Alamo” outside of Austin, out toward Dripping Springs, out that way.
(Brief interruption because of some outside noise, so he relocated)
A. Humble: It’s funny you bring up “The Alamo because I read that historians were saying that you had the best portrayal of, or the most accurate portrayal, of Davy Crockett. And I’ve heard you say many times you sort of kind of play yourself in every character, and considering that Tommy Norris’ character [in “Landman”] was written with you in mind, how much of Tommy is Billy Bob Thornton, and how does it compare to other roles you’ve taken?
Mr. Thornton: I’ve been known for playing all different types of people, different looks, different weights, different, you know, styles. But at the end of the day, I think you need to stay in your wheelhouse. So even though I played all these various characters, they’re all, you know, [if] you play yourself, that’s going to be your strongest work. My standard joke is if they’re going to make a movie about Charles de Gaulle, get a French man. He’ll be way better than I am. Essentially, I play these characters. If I were a landman, how would he be kind of like this? I’d say the closest character I played to this, was when I played Billy McBride in “Goliath.” And so, I think if Billy McBride were a Landman, he would be about like Tommy Norris and vice versa. If Tommy Norris were a lawyer…I put as much as myself into it as I can. And even if I’m playing someone that seems to be far away from me, I still do it as if I were that person in that world.
A. Humble: That makes sense, but I feel like you’re one of the few celebrities who can sort of get away with being yourself, but you’re also still recognized by the characters you’ve played. What’s your secret to kind of staying so grounded in who you are?
Mr. Thornton: I don’t really participate in Hollywood much. I just I kind of stay out of it. You don’t see me in the magazines that much on the Star Tracks or whatever it is in People [Magazine] or that kind of thing. I don’t really go around and go to parties and stuff. Most of my friends are musicians because I grew up in music and I mostly hang out with movie people when I’m actually making the movie. And I got a few actor friends, a few director friends…I grew up in poverty in Arkansas, and then I kind of keep that in my hip pocket all the time, try to remember that every day and I got kids and I’ve been with my wife for 23 years and I just live kind of a normal life. So, I’m either working or I’m at home or in the recording studio or on tour. That’s essentially my life. I just try to live a regular life and not ‘get too big for my britches,’ I guess is what you would say.
A. Humble: Makes sense. I don’t know if anyone’s ever told you this, but you give off (at least on the outside) maybe someone who might not know you, you give off very Marlboro Man vibes. But in the interviews, I’ve heard you and even talking to you right now, you sound so more relaxed and self-aware. It’s more like Ted Lasso vibes, which is refreshing as an artist, because I feel like we’re constantly sort of putting pressure on ourselves—striving for greatness, but simultaneously that greatness is often caused by external validation.
Mr. Thornton: That’s true, yeah. I find that as you’ve been in this business—the Entertainment Business in general… the older I get and the longer I’ve done this, I seem to care less about what critics or any people like that [and] think more about what the audience thinks, you know? When you’re doing something that pleases the people that put your kids through school, then that’s sort of the goal. Plus, if you can sit back at the end of the night and let’s say you’ve made a movie or an album, then you sit back and you watch it or you listen to it. And if it’s what you wanted to say and you said it the way you wanted it to, then that’s the success right there. So, the success is more in ‘Are you satisfied with your work?’ And ‘Did you do what you set out to do?’ That’s kind of the way I look at things these days. And you do get more comfortable as you get older in this business. Because I mean, I’ve done everything pretty much, and I’ve won a bunch of awards. So, it’s not like when I was younger and you got these big dreams and you’re desperate to fulfill them. Now, every day is a dream because you’re satisfied with yourself. You’re living in the dream and not striving for it.
A. Humble: Speaking of success, we’re trying to talk about the Made in Texas Award. Who is that award then for, really, in your opinion?
Mr. Thornton: Taylor Sheridan has created an empire down here and this show is his biggest streaming show and It’s I think this is the inaugural award, so it’s really just an award saying, ‘You guys have really made a success out of a show that’s a very Texas show, and we appreciate it.’ That’s really what it’s about, and so this award is not for me. This award is for the show and for Taylor, and we’re just a few of us are just coming down there to accept it.
A. Humble: That makes sense. When you make a movie or a TV show, it’s really hard for someone to kind of be vulnerable. And likewise, people are trying to get Texas to be vulnerable and let more people film. But it seems like a lot of people are afraid of losing the Texas swagger. They say things like “Don’t Hollywood my Texas.” What’s your advice to people to kind of “Keep it real.”
Mr. Thornton: Well, first of all, I’m not sure you can do that to Texas. I think it’s kind of bulletproof, really. I think there’s an armor around Texas that I think more likely, if Hollywood moves in, they would turn Texans than the other way around. Because once you get down here, I mean, the people are great. And some people, I think, are afraid they’re going to come down here and like politically it’s going to be like really freaky and you’re going to be living in some lockdown state or something like that — it’s just not true. I mean, you can go into Dallas here or Houston, and it’s like, it’s being in LA, it’s a big city. You’ll see more cowboy hats, but that’s about it…I mean, look, I’ve shot down here in Texas a lot and not only “Landman,” I had a cameo in “1883,” and after having done some iconic things like Alamo and Friday Night Lights. You start to feel really proud. Even though my relatives did all live in Texas, I spent a lot of my childhood down here, and did live there in Tomball, sometimes I forget that I’m not just a pure Texan. There’s something about this place that really gets in your blood. And like I said, I love the people down here and the land. That’s a character in movies—the environment—and so doing “Landman,” it’s takes place in Midland-Odessa. Although we shoot some out there, not a lot, but when you’re out there in those oil fields, that becomes a character in it [of itself], and it gets inside you as an actor. I can’t remember what a famous actor said years ago. It might have been Jack Nicholson or somebody like that, but it’s something like, ‘You put the clothes on and you become the character,’ and I feel that. But I think to a certain degree, I mean the film festivals and things like that, when Hollywood comes in, it can influence it a little bit, but at the end of the day, even if that goes on for a few years—Austin got that way for a little while, but then it kind of swings back, and it’s like, ‘Oh yeah, we’re Austin,’ but I don’t think Hollywood’s ever going to ruin Texas. I’ll put it that way.
A. Humble: People kind of recognize you from the movies you mentioned, the shows you mentioned. Personally, I really liked you as Fitzroy in The Gray Man. I still think about that scene when Chris Evans kind of removes your cuticles. But what’s a movie or project you’ve been in that you’re like, ‘That’s the one I wish more people kind of remember,’ In other words, that’s your favorite role?
Mr. Thornton: Well, you know, since they’re so different, it’s hard to say. Uh, and so many different categories, but there’s a movie that I love – really was mainly understood in art communities in Europe, which was called “The Man Who Wasn’t There.” It’s a movie I did with the Coen Brothers. It took place in 1949, it’s in black and white, and I think it’s one of the Coen Brothers’ best things, not just because I’m in it, but I just thought it was a terrific movie. I think I wish people knew that one more. We got all kinds of accolades in Europe and awards and things like that, but here it wasn’t as recognized. So that one and a movie called “A Simple Plan” that Sam Raimi directed, those two I would say are ones, because I think the other ones, I could name off “Sling Blade” and “Bad Santa” and “Monster’s Ball,” but I think those got their due.
A. Humble: You had me at the Coen Brothers.
Mr. Thornton: Yeah, I really love playing that character.
A. Humble: Okay, I’ll look into that. The other one, this is a fun one from my co-worker Mario [Diaz] He was asking, if you’re getting any royalties from Michelob Ultra?
Mr. Thornton: Oh, not so far, but boy, I sure keep trying, don’t I?
Season 2 of “Landman," starring Billy Bob Thornton is currently being filmed, but the entire first season is available for streaming now on Paramount+. Learn more and get tickets to ATX Festival by clicking here. You can also learn more about Media for Texas by visiting their website or following them on Instagram.