Early life
Thornton was born in Arkansas to Billy Ray Thornton, a high school history teacher and basketball coach, and Virginia R. Faulkner, a psychic. Thornton has three younger brothers, Jimmy Don, born in 1958 and now deceased, Jim Bean, and John David, born in 1969. Thornton lived in both Alpine, Arkansas and Malvern, Arkansas during his childhood, and also spent time with his grandfather, Otis Thornton, a forest ranger, in a small shack in the woods. He attended Henderson State University in Arkadelphia, Arkansas, where he studied psychology but dropped out after two semesters. Thornton is the cousin of noted professional wrestlers Dory Funk, Jr. and Terry Funk, which Terry Funk notes in his autobiography Terry Funk: More Than Hardcore.
In the late 1980s, Thornton settled in Los Angeles to pursue his career as an actor alongside future writing partner Tom Epperson. Thornton initially had a difficult time succeeding as an actor, and worked in telemarketing, off-shore wind farming and fast food management while auditioning for acting jobs. He also played drums and sang with South African rock legend Piet Botha's band Jack Hammer. While Thornton worked as a waiter for an industry event, he served film director Billy Wilder and struck up a conversation with Wilder, who advised Thornton to consider a career as a screenwriter.
Career
Thornton first came to semi-prominence as a cast member on the CBS sitcom Hearts Afire with John Ritter and Markie Post. His role as the villain in 1992's One False Move brought him to the attention of critics. He also had small roles in the early 1990s films Indecent Proposal, On Deadly Ground, Bound By Honor, Grey Knight, and Tombstone.
Thornton put Wilder's advice to good use, and went on to write, direct and star in the independent film Sling Blade, which was released in 1996. The film, an expansion of a short film titled Some Folks Call It a Sling Blade, told the story of Karl Childers, a mentally retarded man. Sling Blade garnered international acclaim. Thornton's screenplay earned him an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, a Writers Guild of America Award, and an Edgar Award, while his performance received Oscar and Screen Actors Guild nominations for Best Actor. Thornton adapted the book All the Pretty Horses into a 2000 film with the same name, starring Matt Damon and Penélope Cruz. Also in 2000 he and Tom Epperson wrote The Gift which starred Cate Blanchett, Hilary Swank, Keanu Reeves, Katie Holmes and Giovanni Ribisi.
During the late 1990s, Thornton, who has had a life-long love for music, began a career as a singer-songwriter. He released a roots rock album entitled Private Radio in 2001, and two more albums, The Edge of the World (2003) and Hobo (2005). Thornton was the singer of a blues rock band named Tres Hombres. Guitarist Billy Gibbons referred to the band as "The best little cover band in Texas", and Thornton bears a tattoo with the band's name on it.[2] He also performed the Warren Zevon song The Wind on the tribute album Enjoy Every Sandwich: Songs of Warren Zevon. Thornton also recorded a cover of the Johnny Cash classic Ring of Fire for the Oxford American magazine's Southern Music CD in 2001. As of September 2006, Thornton is working on another album.[3]
Thornton's screen persona has been described by the press as that of a "tattooed, hirsute man's man".[1] He appeared in several major film roles following Sling Blade 's success, including 1998's Armageddon and A Simple Plan, 2001's Monster's Ball and 2004's The Alamo, in which he played Davy Crockett. He played a malicious mall Santa Claus in 2003's Bad Santa, a black comedy that performed well at the box office and established Thornton as a leading comic actor. Thornton has stated that following Bad Santa's success, audiences "like to watch [him] play that kind of guy"[1] and "they [casting directors] call me up when they need an asshole. It's kinda that simple... you know how narrow the imagination in this business can be".[4] His most recent role is in the comic film School for Scoundrels, which was released on September 29, 2006. In the film, he plays a self-help doctor; the role was written specifically for Thornton.[1] His upcoming roles include The Astronaut Farmer, a drama scheduled for a February 23, 2007 release; another comedy, Mr. Woodcock, in which Thornton will play a sadistic gym teacher; and the drama Peace Like A River, which is scheduled to begin filming in early 2007. Thornton has also expressed an interest in directing another film, possibly a period piece about cave explorer Floyd Collins,[5] based on the book Trapped! The Story of Floyd Collins by Robert K. Murray and Roger Brucker.
Thornton received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on October 7, 2004.
Personal life
Thornton has stated on several occasions that he has obsessive-compulsive disorder; he and rock singer Warren Zevon became close friends after sharing their common experiences with the disorder.[6] He is known for various idiosyncratic behaviors, well-documented in interviews with the actor. Among these is a phobia of antique furniture, something shared by the Dwight Yoakam character in the Thornton-penned Sling Blade. That trait was also added to Thornton's character in the 2001 film Bandits. Additionally, he has stated that he has a fear of certain types of silverware,[7] a trait which was included for his character in 2001's Monster's Ball, in which his character requests a plastic spoon each time he consumes his daily bowl of chocolate ice cream.
Thornton lives in Los Angeles. He has been married five times, perhaps most notably to actress Angelina Jolie. The pair were known for their eccentric behavior, including reports that they wore vials of each others' blood around their necks; he later clarified this to be that the two of them wore small lockets that contained a drop of blood from each of them inside.[1][8] Thornton and Jolie adopted a child from Cambodia renamed Maddox. Jolie's divorce petition named the child as being both hers and Thornton's offspring and requested the Court grant her custody and Thornton reasonable parenting time.[9] He is the father of four other children: Amanda Spence with his first wife, Melissa Gatlin; William Langston and Harry James with his fourth wife, Pietra Cherniak; and Bella, with Connie Angland, who is Thornton's current girlfriend. Thornton has also stated that he will likely not marry again; he has specified that he believes that marriage "doesn't work" for him.[1]
On September 11, 2003, Thornton had received word that his ex-Hearts Afire star, John Ritter had passed away, while filming the last movie Bad Santa, which was dedicated to him. He along with Markie Post attended Ritter's funeral four days after his co-star's death.
Beauty At The Back Door
Billy Bob Thornton Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The back's just got a door and a crepe myrtle bush
And a little ole dried up garden and some woods way on the back
There's a hickory nut tree that covers the whole roof
Sounds like hand grenades hittin' the tin roof all the time
There's an old wood floor that's bowed up just about everywhere
It's got a thin coat of white stuff on it even though
There's a washing machine right outside the back door
It's a ringer washer, the kind they don't make anymore
I got my hand caught in it several times
And usually got my ass whipped for it
Even though I's the one that got hurt
There's a snake stick, that's what they called it anyway
By the back door because if you
Wanted to go outside you'd usually need it
Everything's green most of the time except in winter
When you could see the highway, it's not a leaf on the trees
There's an old rock, well, where we clean the squirrels
I used to sit out by that and watch the Carbor girl come down the road
She didn't have but one dress and that's all she needed
It was kinda red and kinda gray and kinda tore up and kinda perfect
She's built like a brick shit-house
She had polish on her toenails that only went about halfway down
?Cause they was always tore up
She used to walk across the side yard, right by the well
And go stand by the crepe myrtle bush
And look in the screen door
She'd usually stand there for about ten minutes
And back then I wasn't sure what she wanted
These days I understand, if I'd a known then what I know now
Well, my life might well have been pretty different
Well, she was about eight or nine years older than I was when I first
Started school I knew there was somethin'
There was somethin' about the south and the air was a lot heavier
And it seems like the women sweat even when they're not
I don't know if you've ever heard rain on a tin roof or not
But it's kinda tailor made for love
And day I was in the house and I was lookin' back
Toward the back screen door and there she was
Standin' there for ten minutes
The only thing different on this day is
That my daddy went back there and talked to her
And told her she looked pretty
I thought the same thing but there was somethin' 'bout the look
In his eye was a little different than the one I'd had in mine
And he walked outside and they went past the crepe myrtle bush
And past the well and out into the green
And I walked to the back door and I watched for a long time
And all I could see was trees after a time, I really couldn't see
They came back out and my daddy was walkin' way ahead of her
And she was kinda following, almost runnin'
He acted like he didn't want to have anything to do with her
And I was wondering why, why would you be so happy going in
And so down coming out, I don't know
That's what I thought then
He didn't act like she's so pretty anymore
Now I think I get it
I think I've got it several times
The song "Beauty at the Back Door" by Billy Bob Thornton recalls memories of a screened-in porch in the front and a simple back entrance with a crepe myrtle bush, a drying up garden, and woods beyond. The hickory nut tree on the roof makes a sweet sound like hand grenades, and the bowed dark wood floor has a thin whitish layer on it. There is a ringer washer outside the back door, which the singer got his hand caught in, and there is a snake stick by the door, which was needed to walk outside.
The lyrics vividly depict the setting of Thornton's formative years in Arkansas in the 1950s, where everything was green most of the time except in winter. The Carbor girl, who used to walk by and stand in front of the screen door, was eight or nine years older than the singer and had a red and grey dress that was half-torn; she was hotter than the south and had polished toenails that always got torn up. The song ends with the singer watching his father conversing with the Carbor girl out in the green, moving back toward the house and away from her, wondering why his father was looking so down, only to realize many years later, as an adult, what he couldn't understand as a boy.
Line by Line Meaning
There's a screened-in porch in the front but not the back
The front of the house is fancier than the back.
The back's just got a door and a crepe myrtle bush
The back of the house is simple and has a bush.
And a little ole dried up garden and some woods way on the back
There is a small garden and a forest beyond the house.
There's a hickory nut tree that covers the whole roof
A tree grows on the roof and provides shade.
Sounds like hand grenades hittin' the tin roof all the time
The sound of rain hitting the roof is loud and explosive.
There's an old wood floor that's bowed up just about everywhere
The wooden floor is warped and uneven in many places.
It's got a thin coat of white stuff on it even though
The floor has a thin layer of white substance on it, despite its dark color.
It's a dark wood floor
The wooden floor is dark in color.
There's a washing machine right outside the back door
A washing machine is located outside the back door.
It's a ringer washer, the kind they don't make anymore
The washing machine is an old-fashioned type that is no longer produced.
I got my hand caught in it several times
The singer accidentally got their hand stuck in the washing machine multiple times.
And usually got my ass whipped for it
The artist was punished for getting their hand caught in the washing machine.
Even though I's the one that got hurt
Despite being the one who was injured, the singer was still punished.
There's a snake stick, that's what they called it anyway
A tool used to deal with snakes is kept by the back door of the house.
By the back door because if you
The reason for the snake stick's location is because if...
Wanted to go outside you'd usually need it
...it is often necessary to use it when going outside.
Everything's green most of the time except in winter
The area around the house is full of vegetation, except during winter.
When you could see the highway, it's not a leaf on the trees
In winter, the trees have no leaves and the highway is visible from the house.
There's an old rock, well, where we clean the squirrels
There is a rock where the family would clean dead squirrels.
I used to sit out by that and watch the Carbor girl come down the road
The artist would sit by the rock and watch a woman named Carbor walk by.
She didn't have but one dress and that's all she needed
The woman named Carbor only had one dress, but it was sufficient for her needs.
It was kinda red and kinda gray and kinda tore up and kinda perfect
The dress was a mix of colors and had some tears, yet still seemed perfect to the artist.
She's built like a brick shit-house
The woman named Carbor had a strong, attractive figure.
She had polish on her toenails that only went about halfway down
The woman's toenail polish only covered partway down her nails.
?Cause they was always tore up
The reason for the short toenail polish is likely due to the woman's nails frequently being torn.
She used to walk across the side yard, right by the well
Carbor would walk past the well in the side yard of the house.
And go stand by the crepe myrtle bush
Carbor would stand next to the crepe myrtle bush by the back door of the house.
And look in the screen door
The woman would look in through the back door's screen.
She'd usually stand there for about ten minutes
Carbor would usually stand by the crepe myrtle bush for approximately ten minutes.
And back then I wasn't sure what she wanted
At the time, the singer was unsure of Carbor's intentions.
These days I understand, if I'd a known then what I know now
The singer now realizes the meaning of Carbor's actions, but wishes they knew sooner.
Well, my life might well have been pretty different
Knowing Carbor's intentions may have greatly altered the course of the artist's life.
Well, she was about eight or nine years older than I was when I first
Carbor was several years older than the artist during their first meeting.
Started school I knew there was somethin'
Even as a child, the artist felt a connection to Carbor.
There was somethin' about the south and the air was a lot heavier
There was a distinct quality to the air in the southern region.
And it seems like the women sweat even when they're not
The artist noticed that women would often sweat despite not appearing to be exerting themselves.
I don't know if you've ever heard rain on a tin roof or not
The singer asks if the listener has ever heard the sound of rain on a tin roof.
But it's kinda tailor made for love
The singer believes that the sound of rain on a tin roof is perfect for romantic moments.
And day I was in the house and I was lookin' back
One day, the singer was inside the house and looking towards the back door.
Toward the back screen door and there she was
The woman Carbor was standing near the back screen door.
Standin' there for ten minutes
Carbor was standing there for about ten minutes again.
The only thing different on this day is
There was a change on this particular day.
That my daddy went back there and talked to her
The singer's father went to speak with Carbor.
And told her she looked pretty
The artist's father complimented Carbor's appearance.
I thought the same thing but there was somethin' 'bout the look
The artist also thought Carbor looked attractive, but something in their father's expression seemed different.
In his eye was a little different than the one I'd had in mine
The expression in the father's eye was distinct from the one the artist had held.
And he walked outside and they went past the crepe myrtle bush
The father and Carbor left the house and walked past the crepe myrtle bush.
And past the well and out into the green
They walked through the side yard and out into the surrounding nature.
And I walked to the back door and I watched for a long time
The singer watched intently from the back door of the house.
And all I could see was trees after a time, I really couldn't see
Eventually, the singer's view was obstructed by trees and they couldn't see much.
They came back out and my daddy was walkin' way ahead of her
The father and Carbor returned to the house, with the father walking ahead.
And she was kinda following, almost runnin'
Carbor followed the father closely and quickly, almost as if running.
He acted like he didn't want to have anything to do with her
The father acted as if he didn't want to associate with Carbor.
And I was wondering why, why would you be so happy going in
The singer was unsure of why the father seemed pleased before, but now was distant.
And so down coming out, I don't know
The singer wasn't sure why the father seemed unhappy upon returning.
That's what I thought then
The artist's thoughts at the time were uncertain on this matter.
He didn't act like she's so pretty anymore
After that day, the father didn't seem to view Carbor as attractive anymore.
Now I think I get it
The artist now has an understanding of the situation.
I think I've got it several times
The singer has realized the truth behind this matter multiple times.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: BILLY BOB THORNTON, MARTY STUART
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind