What is Billy Bob Thornton’s most iconic role? Some may say the taciturn barber in the Coen brothers’ The Man Who Wasn’t There, others might contend it’s the learning disabled killer in his early film Sling Blade. But we all know the truth: it’s the sex-addicted alcoholic Father Christmas in Bad Santa who is obsessed with the “three Bs” (look it up, this is a family publication).
Be that as it may, Thornton has had a stellar Hollywood career since emerging in the mid-90s. Sling Blade, the independent 1996 film he wrote, directed and starred, won him a best adapted screenplay Oscar – though his directing career went into hibernation after a difficult time adapting Cormac McCarthy’s All the Pretty Horses a few years later. However, he became a stalwart of mainstream and independent acting in that period, with roles in Armageddon, A Simple Plan and Monster’s Ball.
