Billy Bob Thornton opened up about the challenges he faced as a southerner trying to make it in Hollywood during the early years of his career.
While appearing alongside his “Landman” co-star Sam Elliott in a joint interview with Fox News Digital, the 70-year-old Arkansas native shared his view that there was a “certain prejudice” when he first arrived on the scene in Los Angeles. Thornton recalled that he wasn’t considered for as many roles as actors from coastal hubs like New York and explained how his experiences shaped his view of the industry.
“It certainly makes you, at least for a period of time, stay in your wheelhouse,” Thornton said. “A guy from the Bronx can play a guy from Mississippi in the movies, I’ve found over the years. But a guy from Mississippi can’t really play a guy from the Bronx.”
BILLY BOB THORNTON CLAIMS THERE’S A ‘PREJUDICE IN HOLLYWOOD’ AGAINST SOUTHERNERS
“There was a certain prejudice with southern actors for a long time,” he continued. “I don’t know, I actually did an audition once for a student film, and they told me I wasn’t southern enough.”
“It was about a guy from Alabama just off the turnip truck in California,” Thornton added. “And I said, ‘Well, I am just off the turnip truck from Arkansas.’ And it’s like, ‘What do you mean?’ And what they were looking for was that Foghorn Leghorn [accent], you know, the rooster on the cartoon. That’s the accent they were looking for, and I never really heard that. I grew up down there.”
Thornton noted that while he initially struggled, he could later have his pick of roles after he rose to fame and established himself as a bankable actor.
“Here’s what it is,” he said. “Once you’re successful, I could walk into Universal Studios and say I wanna play Bette Davis. And they go, ‘Oh, that sounds like a good idea.’ And then when I was coming up, I couldn’t get a part as a hillbilly.”
WATCH: BILLY BOB THORNTON RECALLS HE ‘COULDN’T GET A PART AS A HILLBILLY’ DURING EARLY YEARS OF HIS CAREER
Originally from Hot Springs, Arkansas, Thornton moved to Los Angeles around 1985 to pursue a career in acting. For the first few years, he faced difficulty landing roles and supported himself by working as a telemarketer, offshore wind farmer and fast-food manager in between auditions.
After taking on smaller roles in movies and TV series, Thornton made his breakthrough at the age of 41 when he directed, wrote and starred in the 1996 independent movie “Sling Blade.” The crime thriller became a surprise hit at the box office and received rave reviews from critics. Thornton won the Academy Award for best screenplay and earned an Oscar nomination for his performance in the lead role. He went on to earn a best supporting actor Academy Award nomination for his performance in the 1998 neo-noir crime thriller “A Simple Plan.”
The “Goliath” actor has also earned numerous accolades for his work in television, including two Golden Globe Awards and an Emmy Award nomination. In 2024, he received a Golden Globe Award for his performance in the first season of “Landman.”
Created by Taylor Sheridan and Christian Wallace, “Landman” is set in the high-stakes world of the modern Texas oil boom. Inspired by Wallace’s “Boomtown” podcast, the Paramount+ show follows several characters whose livelihoods depend on oil — from oil rig workers and landmen to executives and speculators. Thornton stars as Tommy Norris, a crisis manager navigating the moral and economic pressures of the energy industry. The first season premiered in November 2024, and in March, the show was greenlit for a second season, which began production in May.
While speaking with Fox News Digital, Thornton reflected on what he had learned about real-life oil workers from filming “Landman” in Texas and living in the show’s world for two seasons.
WATCH: BILLY BOB THORNTON SHARES WHAT HE’S LEARNED ABOUT REAL-LIFE OIL WORKS FROM STARRING IN ‘LANDMAN’
“I think the thing that I learned that I wasn’t quite aware of before — because I knew some about the oil business — but I knew people more on the sort of suit side of it, you know, in Texas. One of the things that surprised me was how many people who had had broken lives are working in the oil fields,” he explained. “Got ex-cons and all kinds of things working out there because they can make from $120,000 to $180,000 a year to take care of their families when they try to straighten their lives out.”
‘LANDMAN’ STAR ALI LARTER REVEALS 4:30 A.M. WORKOUT ROUTINE AND DIET SECRETS
“And they couldn’t make that much money anywhere else,” Thornton added. “So they’re willing to risk life and limb to support their family.”
Many members of the show’s ensemble cast, including Demi Moore, Ali Larter, Andy Garcia, Jacob Lofland, Michelle Randolph, Paulina Chávez, Kayla Wallace, Mark Collie and James Jordan, are returning for the second season.
In April, Paramount announced that Elliott had joined the show in a recurring role. The 81-year-old actor will be playing T.L., the father of Thornton’s character. Elliott previously starred in Sheridan’s acclaimed “Yellowstone” prequel series “1883,” which aired from 2021 to 2022. In the Western saga, Elliott played Shea Brennan, a former Pinkerton agent and Civil War veteran who leads a group of settlers westward on the Oregon Trail.
The “Tombstone” star told Fox News Digital that he jumped at the chance to team up with Sheridan again when he was offered the role.
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“Having worked with Taylor on ‘1883’ was one of the great experiences of my career,” he said. “I mean, this man is a genius in terms of putting a pen to the page. And when he asked me to come on and join a cast headed by Billy Bob Thornton, you know it ain’t gonna get any better for me. At least at this point in my career, you know, it’s just a blessing to be able to join this bunch.”
Elliott went on to say that Sheridan “just has a way of telling the truth in his work, on the page.”
WATCH: SAM ELLIOTT SHARES WHY HE JOINED THE CAST OF ‘LANDMAN’ SEASON 2
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“He tells great stories, and he draws these incredible relationships between characters and does it with humor and does with drama and does all the things that we actors want to have an opportunity to do,” he said. “‘1883’ for me had more colors than anything I’ve ever done. I paid the price for it, but it was again one of the great joys of my career, so I just think we’re all lucky to be here and have that to draw from.”
“And I think that’s one of the things that drives this show and has made it so successful and addictive, apparently, for people that are waiting to see it again,” Elliott added. “I don’t think I’ve ever been involved in something that so many people on the audience end of it were so excited to see.”
The official plot synopsis for “Landman” season two reads: “As oil rises from the earth, so do secrets — and Tommy Norris’s breaking point may be closer than he realizes. Facing mounting pressure from M-Tex Oil, Cami Miller, and the shadow of his kin, survival in West Texas isn’t noble — it’s brutal.”
The new season of “Landman” premieres Nov. 16 exclusively on Paramount+.
